After qualifying as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand, where there is a unified profession, Lorene worked for a small firm in Wellington for three and a half years. During that time she had a mainly legal aid practice, involving crime and family work.
After arriving in England in late 1999 Lorene worked exclusively for local authorities in the children’s law teams, initially under delegated authority provided for in the Local Government Act 1972.
In December 2003 she sat the Qualified Lawyers Test and was admitted to the Solicitors’ Roll in 2004. She applied for Higher Rights in Civil Proceedings via the exemption route, which required her to evidence that she had completed a sufficiently high level of advocacy (up to and including the Court of Appeal) to be awarded Higher Rights without the need to attend the course or sit the exam. Lorene was duly awarded Higher Rights in Civil Proceedings in December 2005.
While working for Essex County Council Lorene had primary responsibility for the development of court precedents and templates. She devised the previous pro forma Essex CMO, and shortly before transfer to the Bar she had completed work on adapting the President’s Draft Order, devising versions which are relevant to Essex while also making the lay-out more logical.
Lorene has also worked collaboratively with Essex Social Care Academy and identified learning needs for social care, developed training and presented same. Presentations have included case law updates, section 7 and section 37 reports, and Connected Persons training.
From September 2010 Lorene was a member of the Law Society Children Law Sub Committee. This meets four times a year and identifies key areas of legal practice which affect children. Whilst a member she worked on drafting the standard letters of instructions and the Good Practice Guide to Child Care Proceedings.
Outside of work, since 2015 Lorene has been a Corporal in the Royal Air Force Police. Having had additional training in aviation security and teaching, she holds an NVQ level three civilian qualification in teaching. Mobilised and deployed to the Falkland Islands, while there she undertook general police duties and was sworn in as a Special Constable for the Royal Falklands Island Police; the most memorable incident being guarding an unexploded grenade from the Falklands War.
