What is in a name?

The Trial of Penenden Heath

Occurring some ten years following the Norman Conquest of 1066, the trial of Penenden Heath is regarded as perhaps one of the most important events in the early history of English law.

The trial involved a land dispute between Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was fighting on behalf of the church the depredations of Odo de Bayeux, half-brother of William the Conqueror.

Various prominent figures at the time were called, including Æthelric II who was the most prominent legalist in England on Anglo-Saxon law.

The trial of Odo lasted three days and ended in the partial recovery of properties for the church.

Although a mere land dispute at the time, Penenden Heath is considered today by scholars to serve as evidence of continuity, of Norman respect for the pre-conquest Anglo-Saxon legal tradition, and of the importance of memory in the transmission of this tradition (precedent).

Penenden Law, Accountancy & Advisory

Fast forward a thousand years, and the legal concepts evident in English common law and precedent are all that much more current, especially when it comes to emerging markets such as Central and Eastern Europe.

Penenden upholds this tradition of precedent, of continuity, and of tradition; applying Anglo-American jurisprudential concepts and international accountancy standards to Central and Eastern Europe in the context of those continental civil law traditions.

Our professionals have been focused on Central and Eastern Europe for over twenty years. We have seen the monumental changes to these societies since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Where we do not have a physical presence, we have developed close working relations with solid and professional local firms in order to ensure seamless service to our clients at a consistent level of quality and responsiveness.

We offer our clients the know-how and experience of local professionals in local jurisdictions with strong native language drafting and analytical capabilities, alongside knowledge of local legislation and systems.

What is in a name?

We could have chosen a multitude of different names to represent our concept of efficient and cost effective delivery of high quality legal services. We chose Penenden.

Granted, none of us were around at that famous trial at Penenden Heath in 1076, but we understand its relevance.