By Sarah Walker
3 March 2025
Appointment marks another departure from traditional legal functions
A North East law firm with a near 150-year history has proved yet again that it is willing to break away from tradition while prospering as an independent firm, which is fit to serve the local community for another century and a half.
The appointment of Kristen McQueen as an in-house Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance officer within Jacksons Law Firm’s operations team shows the importance the firm is placing on a role that is traditionally “tagged on” to a senior partner’s position.
Having previously worked within established legal and financial institutions in both the public and private sectors, Native New Zealander Kristen’s experience also includes compliance and analyst roles in real estate, postal services, and start-up companies.
Kristen moved to the North East in 2020 and while “slowly getting used to the funny accents and cold weather,” has continued her impressive career.
She is now looking forward to working with the “friendly and welcoming teams” within both the Newcastle and Teesside offices at Jacksons.
“It’s not common for there to be an in-house, AML specific compliance person within a law firm, as it is usually a separate part of someone else’s job,” Kristen explains.
“I think it is great that Jacksons have created one specific role for this, as there is a growing need for compliance professionals within law firms.
“I personally don’t believe it’s something that can be tagged onto another job role anymore – it requires at least one dedicated person.”
Kristen added her appointment demonstrates Jacksons’ commitment to compliance with AML and she is pleased to have joined the firm at a “really exciting time” in its near 150-year history.
“With all the changes at senior management level and the growth plans of the firm I am pleased to have joined such a forward-thinking organisation,” she says.
“My appointment is part of Jacksons’ overall growth strategy for the future and it’s a great time to be joining a firm where there are so many positive changes being made.
“It is nice to have the diversity of working across both the Teesside and Newcastle offices and both offices have been really friendly and welcoming.”
Amie Callan, partner and head of operations at Jacksons extended a warm welcome to Kristen and highlighted the vital work she will be completing for the firm.
“We welcome Kristen wholeheartedly to the operations team,” Amie said.
“The work Kristen will be doing is such an important part of our day-to-day operations and ensuring we’re compliant, which is why we felt it was appropriate to appoint a specialist to focus specifically on this role.
“Kristen’s appointment sees us adding to our already growing operations team, with specialists in IT, marketing and business development, finance and operations all now working in house.
“This is in keeping with the approach we take to our legal services, whereby our clients appoint a specialist in a particular area of law.”
Erica Turner, partner and head of legal added: “By appointing specialists in their field to work with us in house, we can ensure that our clients are in the best possible hands through every touchpoint of the firm.
“We feel very lucky to have such an experienced compliance specialist as Kristen working with us and believe her to be a very valuable asset to the operations team.”
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