Stevens & Bolton has today announced the appointment of Alexa Payet as a Partner in its private wealth disputes practice, alongside a number of internal promotions, in an ambitious 2026 growth drive.
Alexa joins the firm from Michelmores, where she built a significant practice and strong reputation in trusts and estates litigation, specifically in contentious probate. She has nationally recognised expertise in cases involving assisted dying and relief from forfeiture applications, having acted in all of the key decisions and helped shape this area of law in recent years.
Her practice also includes extensive work in the UK Court of Protection, advising on complex financial and property matters, including the appointment and removal of deputies and attorneys, statutory will applications, lifetime gifting and property and affairs disputes.
Alexa’s appointment further bolsters Stevens & Bolton’s well-established and successful private wealth team, which has seen exponential growth in recent years.
Commenting on Alexa’s arrival, James Lister, Head of Private Wealth Disputes, said:
“It is a pleasure to be welcoming someone of Alexa’s calibre. Our private wealth disputes team continues to go from strength to strength, having seen 23% growth in the last financial year alone. Alexa has a pre-eminent track record in a number of specialist legal areas critical to client needs. She brings not only outstanding skill but a reputation for handling sensitive matters with care and authority. Assisted dying /forfeiture is a sensitive and complex area of the law, and Alexa’s arrival will play an important role in further growing our capability for handling such cases. It’s particularly exciting to see the firm continuing to invest in our leading private wealth disputes practice alongside the continued growth and success of the private client business as a whole”
Alexa Payet, Partner, added:
“This is an exciting time to be joining Stevens & Bolton which is on an ambitious growth trajectory. The team’s expertise in handling complex contentious private client matters, both in the UK and internationally, is well-known, and I am really looking forward to working with the team to grow the practice further, particularly against a changing legislative backdrop.”
The news accompanies 9 recent internal promotions including the promotion of Krishna Patel to Partner in the Corporate team and appointment of Abigail Palmer-Page as Head of Probate and Estate Administration within the Tax and Trusts team.
Jeremy Kelly (Commercial & Technology) and Deliya Meylanova (Commercial Litigation) have been promoted to managing associate; and Adam Creasey (Tax & Trusts), Chelsea Feeney (Employment), Alice Gardiner (Tax & Trusts), Kerry Roshier (Commercial Real Estate) and Amelia Talfourd-Cook (Tax & Trusts) promoted to senior associate.
The announcements also follow two recent leadership appointments within the firm: Hannah Ford as Head of Employment, Immigration & Pensions, and Charlie Maurice as Head of Commercial & Technology.
Commenting on the expansion, James Waddell, Managing Partner, concluded:
“Investing in our team is a core part of our growth strategy at Stevens & Bolton. Alexa’s deep expertise in trusts, estates and complex assisted dying matters makes her an exceptional addition to our Private Client offering. I am delighted to welcome her to the team and extend my congratulations to all our new partners, managing and senior associates, and Heads of Practices. Seeing talented lawyers continue to develop their careers with us is especially rewarding. Investing in our people and creating opportunities for them to grow remains central to our long‑term strategy and to delivering excellence for our clients.”
