SUSIE Murray, a solicitor with the rural services team at Westcountry-based Stephens Scown, has become one of just a handful of lawyers in the country to be awarded a Fellowship of the Agricultural Law Association.

Mrs Murray, who has specialised in agricultural property and rural land issues for many years, has had her expertise in all legal matters relating to rural business formally recognised, having passed the ALA's inaugural Fellowship examination.

She joins just 23 lawyers nationwide who have earned what is the ALA's highest specialist qualification.

Mrs Murray, who qualified in 2003, said: "Being awarded a fellowship of the ALA means I can offer clients a much wider range of skills covering any legal issue they might encounter in the agricultural sector. This ranges from trusts, tax, tenancies, farming partnerships and property matters to handling disputes, development planning issues, Single Farm Payment entitlements and stewardship schemes."

The ALA has a membership which includes lawyers, surveyors, accountants, bankers and farm business consultants.