My 30 years as a Solicitor

Much has changed since I was admitted to the roll as a solicitor on 15 September 1989.

Gone are the days of faxes and typewriters and doing everything by post!

It’s also much less common to find traditional high street practitioners, who would as an individual undertake your conveyancing, write your Will, act for you on your divorce or personal injury claim and any runs in you might have with the police!  The move to specialisation has meant that as solicitors we are able to focus on one particular subject area providing high levels of expert advice, which in my view is much better for the client.

I continue to find my work as rewarding as ever and try to approach my work with empathy, integrity and a high level of client care.  Each client is an individual with individual circumstances and it is always important to remember how emotional a separation can be.

Another major change is that it is now possible to do a divorce online.  This may work for some people but each situation is different.  Divorce is such a vulnerable time and I think people need the reassurance of a human face.  For us to achieve the best outcome, we like to get to know our clients, to understand their objectives and see how this can work for the whole family.  We offer a fixed fee meeting for up to an hour for £50 including VAT, so our prospective clients can get to know us before they engage us to assist them.

Happily, there is now a greater emphasis on trying to find resolutions without the necessity of going to court.  Over my career I have undertaken training to keep up to date with new approaches, including becoming a Collaborative lawyer in 2018. At Tisshaws we are able to offer a full range of resolution services including mediation, collaborative practice and access to arbitration.

I am thrilled at the number of personal recommendations I get which is testament to the fact that I must have been getting things right in respect of the service I offer and the client care that myself and my team provide and which I hope to continue to provide for a number of years yet.