Our History

Our History

Our firm’s legacy traces back to the late 1800s when William Garner (Snr) set himself up as a sole practitioner. A few years later, William entered into a partnership and became Wools, Patterson and Garner. In 1902, Colonel William Garner (Jnr) joined his father causing the firm to rename itself to Garner & Sons. 30 years later, the addition of Alec Hancock led the firm’s name to change to Garner & Hancock and has remained known under this name ever since. Alec’s son Richard trained as a private client solicitor and eventually took over the firm in 1970.

After 26 years of running the practice, Richard decided to sell the firm to Julian Hutson, a skilled property solicitor. In 2000, Julian was joined in partnership by Vinay Tanna, an experienced litigator and notary public. Vinay took over the practice on Julian’s retirement in 2015. Jakub Kotan, a private client solicitor, joined Vinay in partnership in 2023.

In June 2025, Jakub Kotan was appointed as the managing director of the firm, a role in which he would oversee its strategic direction and day-to-day operations. With a strong background in leadership and extensive experience in the industry, Jakub’s appointment marked a pivotal moment for the organization as it aimed to expand its market reach and enhance its service offerings.