Lawyer of the Month

Solicitors Newcastle and Sunderland

Which area of the law do you work in?
I work in our Private Client Team covering Wills, Probate, Lasting Power of Attorney and Elderly Client matters. I tend to specialise in looking after the affairs of older clients who have no one else to help them. I also deal with all aspects of divorce law in particular complicated cases involving multiple investments, pensions and businesses.

Did you always envisage a career in the industry?
I wanted to be a lawyer from the age of thirteen.

What has been your career path so far?
Initially I started off following a traditional route. As soon as I left Chester College of Law I obtained Articles of Clerkship with Wheldon Houlsby and Scott in South Shields which then became Ward Hadaway. After I qualified as a solicitor I then took off round the world and ended up working in such diverse jobs as debt collector and working on a fishing trawler. The latter I gave up the day we brought up dozens of sea snakes in the nets! When I returned to this country I built up expertise in a number of areas of law including Personal Injury and Medical Law, which had always been my passion, housing and general Civil Litigation. I ended up helping out with Family Law and Wills and Probate and realised that I really liked people centred law. Having hit a glass ceiling I decided to set up on my own when I was 31. I started with no clients at all and lived on fresh air for a couple of years.

What have been the biggest challenges you have faced so far?
The big recession of 2007 onwards was an absolute killer. The financial pressure was unbelievable and left me and my husband, who is my Co-Director, exhausted.

Who do you most respect in your industry?
Quieter lawyers, who are respectful and who send conciliatory letters and have a let’s get this settled attitude. As opposed to lawyers who fight and battle for the sake of their egos.

Which fictional lawyer would you most like to meet?
Calista Flockhart from Ally McBeal. She always has a head full of music like me.

What is your greatest strength?
Dogged determination, without it I would have given up years ago.

What is your biggest weakness?
Slowing down when the pressure is off. I now realise that I thrive on adrenaline and so I find it difficult to keep plodding along.

What are your remaining career aspirations?
To win the national Law Society Excellence Award for Private Client work. We have been shortlisted for this twice, an amazing thing in itself. We have also won Law Firm of the Year and I have won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Wearside Women in Business Awards but winning the Private Client Award will amount to the ultimate achievement for me.

How do you see your industry evolving in the next 10 years?
To be frank I have now been in this profession for 32 years and it hasn’t really changed that much. It is better for women than it was when I started but there are still sole practitioners, medium sized firms and large firms just as there ever was and I think that will remain the same.

Family Law Solicitors Newcastle:  0191 284 6989

Family Law Solicitors Sunderland: 0191 567 6667

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