SOLICITOR Jonathan Rouse has retired after working for a Basingstoke law firm for 33 years.

The career of the former dispute resolution partner was celebrated by partners and staff of Penningtons Manches, which has offices at Da Vinci House, on Basing View.

More than 50 people, including clients and local business connections, attended a drinks reception at The Hampshire Court Hotel in Chineham.

Jonathan, who qualified in 1974, joined Penningtons Solicitors in 1982, when it was known as Ward Bowie Solicitors, and became a partner in 1986 and a consultant in 2010.

He initially covered all court-related matters including crime and was one of the founders of the Basingstoke Duty Solicitor Scheme.

During his career, which included being office managing partner during the 1990s, he acted for a wide range of clients in their commercial and private affairs, including commercial litigation, employment disputes, debt collection, family law, and more recently specialising in licensing and property disputes.

Pennington Manches partner, Charles Brooks, gave a farewell speech for Jonathan in which he said: “After a lifetime in the business community here in Basingstoke and north Hampshire, Jonathan’s presence will be sorely missed by his colleagues and clients alike, both for his skills, experience and practical approach to dispute resolution, as well as his organisational skills and wholehearted attitude to represent the firm’s and our clients’ interests whenever the occasion arose.”