Introducing Our Newly Qualified Solicitors
Amelia Chivers and Bradley Ramsay have qualified as solicitors at Machins, marking a key milestone in their careers and strengthening our legal teams.
Holly Baker
Dispute Resolution, Commercial Litigation
Holly is a senior associate solicitor in the Dispute Resolution Team.
Contact Information
TestimonialsWe were instructed by Holly Baker who was brilliant. She provided sound and well thought out advice, outstanding communication in letters to the other party and we would not hesitate to recommend Holly.Google 5* ReviewJanice Young and Holly Baker are standout lawyers. Their commitment to client care is second to none. They are approachable, diligent, knowledgeable, and more than capable at dealing with problems in their field of expertise.Legal 500 2025Holly Baker is incredibly hard working, and she works well as part of a team with counsel.Legal 500 2025Holly Baker is courteous, professional, and skilled at handling very difficult clients.Legal 500 2025I cannot praise Holly Baker highly enough. She guided me through the process of repossessing a property and at all stages kept me in touch and well advised. Always approachable she was a complete professional and we would highly recommendWe mainly deal with Holly Baker who is fantastic, she is approachable, helpful and we would recommend herHolly Baker goes beyond the call of duty for her clients. She has strong legal knowledge and tactical skills which ensures that her cases are run to their full potential.Holly Baker is incredibly hard working and has a tactical awareness beyond her PQE. I have worked with Holly on three matters, one a multi-million property dispute. Holly had a fantastic tactical awareness (e.g. what disclosure should we seek, when should we send Part 36 offers) that belied her PQE. She was fun to work with. Unflappable during a crisis – of which there were many.Holly Baker stands out, her promptness, attention to detail, thoroughness, and foresight mean she provides her clients with an excellent service. Holly deals with difficult mediation cases and is meticulous in her work. She is always measured with her advice, I would not hesitate to recommend her as an effective solicitor to anyone contemplating litigation.Legal 500 2024Holly Baker has a strong practice covering commercial, and property litigation as well as some insolvency. I trust Holly to do a good job, be a commercial thinker and get the best outcome for clients. She operates at a level beyond her PQE. Holly has outstanding attention to detail, and is highly engaged, responsive and pro-active. She goes the extra mile for her clients, understands their requirements, and finds solutions.Lega 500 2024Holly Baker represented us on a land dispute and was excellent. Pragmatic and prompt!Google 5* ReviewHolly Baker was excellent and handled our case with professionalism and skill. She was very responsive and knowledgeable in her field and resolved our claim as quickly as possibleLegal 500 2023Holly Baker is very friendly and helpful. All of my experiences with Holly have been incredibly positive, with prompt communication at all times. When I have had to ask Holly for assistance, she has been able to explain the issues that have arisen in an appropriate manner for my level of understanding.Legal 500 2023Although I have worked with several solicitors at Machins, Holly Baker stands out. She is incredibly easy to work with, has a fantastic grasp of tactics and is unflappable. If litigation is war, she is the sort of solicitor that you would want with you in a foxhole.Legal 500 2023Holly Baker is an efficient lawyer who gets things done with no fuss. She is careful, pays attention to the detail, and really seeks to go the extra mile for clients.Legal 500 2023It was a pleasure to work with Holly - and a favourable result for our company.Google 5* ReviewThere was never a time within the period we worked with Machins, and in particular Holly Baker, where my colleagues and I didn't receive clear and precise guidance which proved invaluable to our society, leading to a successful outcome. A very professional service which would recommend.Google 5* ReviewWe used Machins for a dispute that involved my elderly grandfather. Holly Baker was brilliant and was very responsive to all our queries and dealt with my grandfather with a lot of patience.Google 5* ReviewHolly Baker has a detailed knowledge of the law and her attention to detail is excellent. I would definitely recommend her and use her again if needed.Legal 500 2021Holly Baker is a strong performer. She is extremely thorough, and she anticipates what is needed, and has done it before it is asked. I really valued her calm efficiency. She gets the line between authoritative and accessible exactly right.Legal 500 2021Having worked with Holly Baker for the best part of two years, I have found her to be most helpful and considerate in her handling of a particularly complicated dispute. Her attention to detail and knowledge of company law is to be commended. The case is ongoing with a satisfactory conclusion anticipated and I have no hesitation in recommending her services to others in the future.Our company retained Holly for advice with a difficult case involving our partners. She is excellent in responding to emails and calls and gives clear, constructive advice. I would definitely recommend her and use her again if required.It’s been a long couple of years but thanks to Holly and the team at Machins I can finally move on with my life. They have been professional, patient, and supportive through a very difficult time with an extremely complex case.I did just want to put on the record just how phenomenal you were to work with and how lucky the clients were to have you. I cannot think of a single occasion where something needed to be done and you had not proactively sorted it and done so with aplomb. You are by some way amongst the best solicitors with whom I have worked.Holly Baker is a junior solicitor with the confidence and competence of a solicitor with far more years of experience. She is efficient and intelligent, and protects her clients' interests fearlessly.Legal 500 2022Friendly and approachable, willing to go the extra mile where possible. Holly Baker is our main contact - she is personable, which certainly helps when stress levels and costs can escalate in circumstances. The team are knowledgeable and from experience appear to have their clients' best interests at heart.Legal 500 2022We approached Machins after a number of other solicitors had not wanted to take on our case, the lady we worked with, Holly, was professional and super helpful during the whole process, she was knowledgeable and gave us a superb service, culminating in an excellent outcome. We were never left to do anything on our own, and the communication was punctual and consistent - we were very impressed also with the honesty throughout, we were never given false hope. I would not hesitate in recommended Machins and would not hesitate to use them again if needed.Google ReviewHolly was very responsive and provided pragmatic advice in an easily understandable way.
We were instructed by Holly Baker who was brilliant. She provided sound and well thought out advice, outstanding communication in letters to the other party and we would not hesitate to recommend Holly.
Google 5* Review
Janice Young and Holly Baker are standout lawyers. Their commitment to client care is second to none. They are approachable, diligent, knowledgeable, and more than capable at dealing with problems in their field of expertise.
Legal 500 2025
Holly Baker is incredibly hard working, and she works well as part of a team with counsel.
Legal 500 2025
Holly Baker is courteous, professional, and skilled at handling very difficult clients.
Legal 500 2025
I cannot praise Holly Baker highly enough. She guided me through the process of repossessing a property and at all stages kept me in touch and well advised. Always approachable she was a complete professional and we would highly recommend
We mainly deal with Holly Baker who is fantastic, she is approachable, helpful and we would recommend her
Holly Baker goes beyond the call of duty for her clients. She has strong legal knowledge and tactical skills which ensures that her cases are run to their full potential.
Holly Baker is incredibly hard working and has a tactical awareness beyond her PQE. I have worked with Holly on three matters, one a multi-million property dispute. Holly had a fantastic tactical awareness (e.g. what disclosure should we seek, when should we send Part 36 offers) that belied her PQE. She was fun to work with. Unflappable during a crisis – of which there were many.
Holly Baker stands out, her promptness, attention to detail, thoroughness, and foresight mean she provides her clients with an excellent service. Holly deals with difficult mediation cases and is meticulous in her work. She is always measured with her advice, I would not hesitate to recommend her as an effective solicitor to anyone contemplating litigation.
Legal 500 2024
Holly Baker has a strong practice covering commercial, and property litigation as well as some insolvency. I trust Holly to do a good job, be a commercial thinker and get the best outcome for clients. She operates at a level beyond her PQE. Holly has outstanding attention to detail, and is highly engaged, responsive and pro-active. She goes the extra mile for her clients, understands their requirements, and finds solutions.
Lega 500 2024
Holly Baker represented us on a land dispute and was excellent. Pragmatic and prompt!
Google 5* Review
Holly Baker was excellent and handled our case with professionalism and skill. She was very responsive and knowledgeable in her field and resolved our claim as quickly as possible
Legal 500 2023
Holly Baker is very friendly and helpful. All of my experiences with Holly have been incredibly positive, with prompt communication at all times. When I have had to ask Holly for assistance, she has been able to explain the issues that have arisen in an appropriate manner for my level of understanding.
Legal 500 2023
Although I have worked with several solicitors at Machins, Holly Baker stands out. She is incredibly easy to work with, has a fantastic grasp of tactics and is unflappable. If litigation is war, she is the sort of solicitor that you would want with you in a foxhole.
Legal 500 2023
Holly Baker is an efficient lawyer who gets things done with no fuss. She is careful, pays attention to the detail, and really seeks to go the extra mile for clients.
Legal 500 2023
It was a pleasure to work with Holly - and a favourable result for our company.
Google 5* Review
There was never a time within the period we worked with Machins, and in particular Holly Baker, where my colleagues and I didn't receive clear and precise guidance which proved invaluable to our society, leading to a successful outcome. A very professional service which would recommend.
Google 5* Review
We used Machins for a dispute that involved my elderly grandfather. Holly Baker was brilliant and was very responsive to all our queries and dealt with my grandfather with a lot of patience.
Google 5* Review
Holly Baker has a detailed knowledge of the law and her attention to detail is excellent. I would definitely recommend her and use her again if needed.
Legal 500 2021
Holly Baker is a strong performer. She is extremely thorough, and she anticipates what is needed, and has done it before it is asked. I really valued her calm efficiency. She gets the line between authoritative and accessible exactly right.
Legal 500 2021
Having worked with Holly Baker for the best part of two years, I have found her to be most helpful and considerate in her handling of a particularly complicated dispute. Her attention to detail and knowledge of company law is to be commended. The case is ongoing with a satisfactory conclusion anticipated and I have no hesitation in recommending her services to others in the future.
Our company retained Holly for advice with a difficult case involving our partners. She is excellent in responding to emails and calls and gives clear, constructive advice. I would definitely recommend her and use her again if required.
It’s been a long couple of years but thanks to Holly and the team at Machins I can finally move on with my life. They have been professional, patient, and supportive through a very difficult time with an extremely complex case.
I did just want to put on the record just how phenomenal you were to work with and how lucky the clients were to have you. I cannot think of a single occasion where something needed to be done and you had not proactively sorted it and done so with aplomb. You are by some way amongst the best solicitors with whom I have worked.
Holly Baker is a junior solicitor with the confidence and competence of a solicitor with far more years of experience. She is efficient and intelligent, and protects her clients' interests fearlessly.
Legal 500 2022
Friendly and approachable, willing to go the extra mile where possible. Holly Baker is our main contact - she is personable, which certainly helps when stress levels and costs can escalate in circumstances. The team are knowledgeable and from experience appear to have their clients' best interests at heart.
Legal 500 2022
We approached Machins after a number of other solicitors had not wanted to take on our case, the lady we worked with, Holly, was professional and super helpful during the whole process, she was knowledgeable and gave us a superb service, culminating in an excellent outcome. We were never left to do anything on our own, and the communication was punctual and consistent - we were very impressed also with the honesty throughout, we were never given false hope. I would not hesitate in recommended Machins and would not hesitate to use them again if needed.
Google Review
Holly was very responsive and provided pragmatic advice in an easily understandable way.
About Holly
Holly joined Machins as a trainee in 2016, qualified as a solicitor in 2018 and was promoted to Associate in 2022. Since qualification, Holly has continued to provide an exceptional level of client care whilst displaying a detailed knowledge of law, especially in property disputes.
She has quickly established a reputation for her attention to detail and dedication to building strong relationships with clients. Holly thrives on working closely with clients to deliver the best possible outcome and has a pragmatic approach to resolving disputes.
Holly deals with all aspects of dispute resolution. In recent years she has worked on cases involving emergency injunctions, complex boundary disputes, a substantial structural defect claim in a luxurious multi-million pound dwelling, and a property dispute involving lucrative land worth more than £10m.
In addition to her legal work, Holly founded the Machins Business Mixer networking group and co-leads the Machins Generation20 initiative, a networking group aimed at connecting junior and up-and-coming professionals within the local community. She also assists with the firm’s trainee solicitor recruitment process.
Holly has been listed as a ‘Rising Star’ in the 2024 edition of the Legal 500.
Specialist practice areas- Landlord/Tenant disputes including both residential and commercial
- Property and neighbour disputes including advice on easements, covenants and injunctive proceedings
- Co-ownership disputes (often between former cohabitees)
- Commercial disputes including breach of contract disputes and corporate, director, shareholder and partnership disputes
- Debt recovery
Latest news by Holly Baker
Abolition of Section 21: What Landlords and Tenants Need to Know
The landscape of the private rented sector in England is set to undergo significant change with the upcoming abolition of Section 21 possession claims (often referred to as “no-fault evictions”). The Renters’ Reform Bill continues to progress, albeit slowly, through Parliament. These changes aim to enhance tenant security while also presenting new challenges for landlords.
Rent Deductions from Benefits: What Landlords and Tenants Need to Know
The automated system that allows landlords to deduct rent from tenants’ benefits is under review due to concerns that it may be leading some tenants into financial hardship. The process of rent deductions from benefits has been in place for some time, but it is now facing scrutiny, with potential changes on the horizon. Current
Rental Reforms: Key Changes for Landlords and Tenants
The government has outlined major rental reforms to improve tenant rights, housing standards, and landlord accountability. Learn how these changes may affect you.
Trainee solicitor opportunities at Machins Solicitors
Explore exciting trainee solicitor opportunities at Machins Solicitors. Join a leading regional firm, gain hands-on experience in diverse legal areas, and contribute to our vibrant community. Apply by 1st April 2025!
Tenants to get more protection against discrimination by landlords
The Government has announced changes to the Renters (Reform) Bill to protect vulnerable residents and improve the safety of homes for tenants. It has tabled amendments to make it illegal for landlords and agents to have blanket bans on renting to people who receive benefits or who have children – ensuring families aren’t discriminated against
Surge in number of landlords issuing section 21 notices
There has been a surge in the number of renters seeking assistance with no-fault evictions, suggesting that landlords are rushing to move people out before new legislation comes into effect. According to Citizens Advice, nearly 2,000 individuals sought help with section 21 evictions in May, the highest number recorded in a single month and a