Final day of Exeter graduation honours lawyer and artist

Fiona was educated at Benenden School in Kent and went on to undertake her law degree here, at Exeter. Although prior to starting her distinguished legal career she taught herself to cook, becoming an executive caterer for a short while.

She qualified as a solicitor in 1980, joining Brecher & Co in 1981 and was made a partner later that year.  She joined Farrer & Co in 1984 where she became a partner in 1987. She is currently a Partner at Payne Hicks Beach whom she joined in 2001. She is also Personal Solicitor to Prince William of Wales and Prince Harry of Wales.

Robert Seabrook QC says of her ‘Fiona is the leading divorce lawyer of her generation. She has that rare talent of being able to tell her clients the things they don’t want to hear whilst retaining their confidence and respect – however rich, eminent or famous they may be. She has exquisite judgment; identifies the key issues with remarkable perception and clarity; will try to achieve and agreed outcome where possible; but will never sell her clients short or let them down.’

Following Fiona onto the stage is Peter Randall-Page, a sculptor with an international reputation.

Born in the UK in 1954, Peter Randall-Page studied sculpture at Bath Academy of Art from 1973-77. During the past 25 years he has undertaken numerous large scale commissions and exhibited widely. He has work in public and private collections throughout the world including Japan, South Korea, Australia, USA, Eire, Germany and the Netherlands. His public sculptures can be found in many urban and rural locations all over the UK including London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge. He is also represented in the collections of the Tate Gallery and the British Museum, amongst others.

‘Give and Take’, in Newcastle, won the 2006 Marsh Award for Public Sculpture. A member of the design team for The Core at the Eden Project in Cornwall, he incorporated his enormous granite sculpture ‘Seed’ at its heart. Recent projects include ‘Green Fuse’ for the Jerwood Sculpture Park, Ragley Hall and a major one person exhibition in and around the Underground Gallery at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, June 2009 - April 2010.