Our team

Birchwood brings no-nonsense clarity to every project.  Clients appreciate Birchwood's responsiveness and speed of turnaround.  We have considerable experience of completing transactions with tight deadlines; our small size gives us a nimbleness that larger firms may not deliver and also means that we can provide exceptional, personal service at competitive rates.
​Wendy Byrne
​Wendy Byrne founded Birchwood Solicitors in January 2010 and qualified as a solicitor in 2006. She has over 20 years’ experience in commercial property, specialising in landlord and tenant matters. She advises landlords and tenants on commercial and residential leases, renewals (including under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954), agreements for lease, licences, deeds of variation and surrenders. Wendy also has significant experience in the renewable energy sector, acting for landowners and developers on solar farm projects. Her earlier senior commercial career, including as Director of International Mergers and Acquisitions for a US-based publisher, gives her a strong commercial perspective and enables her to provide pragmatic, commercially focused advice.
Clare Marland
Clare qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive in 2006 and specialising in commercial property. She spent over 20 years working in-house within the public sector, undertaking a broad range of legal work with a particular focus on real estate transactions, including acquisitions, disposals and development projects involving housing, office and retail schemes. Since moving into private practice in 2022, Clare has worked closely with clients in the renewable energy sector. She has significant experience negotiating complex option agreements to secure land for solar farm developments and carrying out detailed property due diligence in support of solar project acquisitions. Clare has a keen eye for detail and is driven to achieve the best possible outcomes for her clients.
Sue Maddix
Sue joined Birchwood in 2014 and has extensive experience across commercial and residential property matters. She works closely with developers on the acquisition of land for development and the subsequent sale of building plots and completed new-build homes, including transactions involving self-build purchasers. She also advises on high-value residential conveyancing and has significant experience in residential lease extensions. Sue’s work spans the firm’s wider practice, including commercial acquisitions and disposals and title due diligence for renewable energy projects, particularly solar farm developments. She is known for her thorough approach and ability to manage complex transactions efficiently from instruction through to completion.
Helen Brierley
Helen qualified as a solicitor in 2014 and has over a decade of experience in commercial real estate. She has worked both in-house for national housing developers and institutional landlords, and in private practice advising on acquisitions, disposals, finance and lettings of large-scale housing and mixed-use developments, as well as office, leisure and retail premises.
Helen has a strong focus on renewable energy projects, particularly solar farm development including complex lease structures, options and conditional site acquisitions.
Tara Smith
Consultant solicitor
Tara is a property solicitor with over 10 years’ experience advising on commercial and residential real estate matters across top tier private practice and high growth businesses. Tara qualified at international law firm, Trowers & Hamlins LLP, where she handled complex asset management and leasing for major retail and multi let portfolios and supported high value acquisition and development finance. Tara advises on a broad mix of commercial property work, including the full lifecycle of commercial leasing, asset management and financing as well as sale and purchases. Driven by a commitment to secure the best possible outcomes, Tara combines technical excellence with practical, solutions-led advice that clients value and rely on.
Michael Twomey
Consultant Solicitor
​Mike qualified as a solicitor in 1994 at the London firm of Slaughter and May. His areas of work include commercial and corporate matters including advising on: company law; business structures and start-ups; commercial contracts; joint ventures, cooperation and collaboration agreements; data protection, e-commerce and online trading.