Madeleine St John has been admitted to the roll of solicitors and is forging ahead on a career in wills and probate with Williamsons after benefiting from the firm's training programme.

Madeleine, who has been with the practice for nearly four years as a paralegal and trainee in Hull, will move to the firm's offices in her hometown Beverley at Tower House, North Bar Within.

For the former pupil of Hymers College, Hull, the long road to qualification began with her Bachelor of Laws at the University of Warwick. She then gained a distinction in her legal practice course at the University of Law in Leeds and joined another Hull practice as a paralegal.

"There's plenty of hard work involved in becoming a lawyer and I can now start building my career," she said

"Williamsons is a good place to widen my professional knowledge. I also like the friendly atmosphere here, and I'm sure this contributes to making us very approachable from a client's point of view."

Direct Jane Cousins, who is head of conveyancing and wills and probate, said: "Madeleine is a welcome addition to our team of solicitors. We strongly believe in providing training opportunities for our employees to help them advance their careers."

Madeleine began her Williamsons career in the industrial disease department before settling on wills and probate, including tax planning, powers of attorney and estate administration.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority controls admission to the profession, which is an independent arm of the Law Society.