Elaine J Standish & Co was established in 1997 by Elaine Standish to provide the general services of a Notary Public and, in particular, to provide specialised advice in the field of Spanish law.
Elaine Standish gained an Honours degree in Spanish from Durham University and has studied at the University of Navarre and the University of Granada. She sat the Common Professional Examination and qualified as a solicitor in November 1993 and was admitted as a Notary Public four months later in 1994. She worked for four years with Staffurth & Bray, a firm of Solicitors and Notaries Public in West Sussex, taking the decision to start her own firm in 1997. She practised as a solicitor and notary public until 2004 when she ceased to practise as a solicitor in order to devote her time to her notarial practice.
In addition to her private practice, Elaine is the Education Secretary of The Notaries Society, a role which involves amongst other things, the organisation of all continuing professional education events run by the Society for the benefit of its members, including its annual conference. She takes a keen interest in the education and qualification of student notaries and was, for a number of years, a tutor and marker for the Notarial Practice Post Graduation Diploma Course at the University of Cambridge and is responsible for the delivery of compulsory continuing education courses for newly qualified notaries as well as running the Society’s Continuing Professional Education programme for all notaries in England and Wales. She regularly lectures on Spanish notarial matters and Spanish documents as well as matters of general notarial practice.
At the request of the Regulator of the notarial profession, Elaine co-wrote the Code of Practice which affects all notaries in England and Wales. She is the current Editor of ‘The Notary-a Practical Guide’ and has written articles on various aspects of Spanish notarial practice as well as an article on the role, standing and qualifications of English and Welsh notaries published in El Notario del Siglo XXI.
Elaine is an active member of The Notaries Society, and was a council member of the Society for 10 years, standing down from the council in 2017 so that she could continue in her role as Education Secretary of the Society.
In addition to her involvement with the Society, she serves on the Qualifications Board and the Master’s Advisory Board at the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury which regulates all notaries in England and Wales.
Elaine Standish is also a member of the Institute of Linguists and collaborates closely with a number of prestigious legal firms throughout mainland Spain and the Spanish islands.