Our Story

Our story began with our founder Sarah Bentley.

A former student at Burnley Girls High School, Sarah achieved a Law degree at Birmingham University before completing her professional qualifications at Chester Law College.

She completed her ‘articles’ at Southern, Jobling and Ashworth – a Burnley practice with a history dating back to 1792 and which later became Southerns Solicitors – and rose to partner level by the age of 28.

Sarah’s work covered the whole spectrum of law early in her career. She completed all types of conveyancing work, litigation including family law, criminal advocacy both prosecuting and defending and served as one of the first members of the then police duty solicitor rota.

With over 30 years’ experience Sarah was long recognised as an expert in family law across East Lancashire. A leading and well-respected ancillary relief practitioner, renowned for her rigorous yet fair approach, Sarah’s desire to concentrate in this area of law and a dedication to provide the highest standard of service to clients led her to establish her own practice in 2017, and so, Sarah Bentley Solicitors was born.

Sarah led the business from the front until 2021, when she took a step back to enjoy her well-earned retirement. Wanting to ensure her good name and reputation was retained, Sarah actively sought out Waddington & Son (Solicitors) Ltd knowing the Directors shared the same work ethic and excellent reputation within the legal community.

The team at Sarah Bentley Solicitors have been trained to Sarah’s exacting standards to provide a practical, discreet, and supportive service. In particular Eve Brelsford, who had worked with Sarah since 2015, prior to the firm’s inception in 2017.

In 2021 Waddington & Son (Solicitors) Limited took over Sarah Bentley Solicitors, making it a subsidiary company of Waddington & Son (Solicitors) Limited. The Directors, Colin Warner and Trish Hassell, are committed to maintaining the meticulous standards set by Sarah Bentley and delivering the same gold standard of service to our clients.