Legal eagles at family firm: What it's like to be a solicitor

And helping to find solutions to people’s problems is what makes it a rewarding role for Andrew Martin.

He works at family firm Adcocks Solicitors which has offices in Lichfield, Birmingham and West Bromwich, where it was founded in 1910.

Andrew, who lives in Stafford, spent two years training before qualifying last autumn and specialises in commercial and residential property.

“My role involves conducting purchases and sales of property, granting, surrendering and/or varying leases and other legal work relating to property as required, such as re-mortgaging, merging titles and more,” explains the 25-year-old.

He had been thinking about a career in the police after spending time volunteering as a special constable while studying at university.

“I first became interested in law in college when taking law at A-level. I pursued this interest in my law degree at Edge Hill University, but did not decide to become a solicitor until later on.

“Up until late on in my second year of my law degree I was still actively engaging with the police as a special constable and was considering a career there.

“I have qualified as a solicitor via the traditional route. I obtained a 2:1 law degree at Edge Hill University, completed the Legal Practice Course with commendation at BPP Law School Manchester, completed the Practical Skills Course with the University of Law in Birmingham and completed two years of qualifying experience working as a trainee solicitor,” explains Andrew.

He works with many different types of clients ranging from developer landlords and national commercial tenants to residential first-time buyers.

“I have worked in a couple of high street firms, operating as part of a close-knit team both times.

“I enjoy the freedom that I have to engage directly with clients and always try to be easily contactable so that clients can discuss their objectives or concerns so that we can work together to come up with the most effective and sometimes unique solutions to their legal problems.

“A typical day will begin by checking emails and post to ascertain whether there are any urgent matters requiring priority. Otherwise matters are then dealt with, so far as possible, in date order, by appointment, and/or based on urgency. Every day is different and every matter is different in some way or another,” Andrew tells Weekend.

To have a successful career in law he believes you need to be skilled in organisation, time-management and critical thinking. He says it’s also important to have an eye for detail and to be personable.

“One of the most important elements of the job, in my opinion, is to manage client’s expectations and to explain the progress in their matter in a way that is easy to understand.

“The challenge here is to ascertain each client’s requirements as some may be fully familiar with the legal process and do not need, or want lengthy explanations, whereas other clients may want to be updated at each step of a matter so that they can plan their next steps,” says Andrew.

When asked about what he enjoys most about his job, he tells Weekend: “Finding solutions to people’s problems, sometimes where they have been struggling to find a resolution without legal advice for years, is the most satisfying part of the job, but otherwise doing a good job for clients in the normal course of business is always rewarding.

“I qualified as a solicitor in September 2019 and as the culmination of many years of hard work that is the most memorable moment of my career thus far.”

Also relishing his role is trainee solicitor Daniel Farrelly who works in the residential leasehold department at Adcocks.

“My work largely involves advising leaseholders of their individual rights to extend the lease of their flat or purchase the freehold of their leasehold house as well as their collective right, with the support of their neighbours, to manage their building and their collective right to purchase the freehold of their building,” says the 23-year-old.

He studied law at the University of Liverpool for three years before returning home to Lichfield to complete his Legal Practice Course and Masters in Legal Practice at University of Law in Birmingham.

“From a young age I had an interest in pursuing a career in law which developed as I gained a better understanding of how to pursue this career path.

“Whilst at University I spent time volunteering with the Citizens Advice Service through which I gained practical experience of advising clients and finding solutions to their problems. I then conducted work experience at a number of high street solicitor firms and it was at this point that I developed an interest in property law in particular,” says Daniel.

He started working at Adcocks as a paralegal in the residential leasehold department in August 2018.

“I’ve learnt a lot about this niche area of legal practice from the solicitors I’ve worked alongside, including the director Mark Adcock.

“In March, I started my formal training period at Adcocks, known as a training contract, and I am set to qualify as a Solicitor at the end of 2021.

“Routine duties include attending to emails and correspondence from clients and other solicitors as well as attending meetings with clients. We also hold staff training seminars and review meetings with my training principal to review my ongoing matters.

“But there is no ‘typical’ day as every day poses new problems to solve for our clients,” Daniel tells Weekend.

He is enjoying tackling different challenges as they rise as well honing his legal skills and the variety the nature of the job brings with it.

“The most challenging part of the work we do is negotiating with the freeholders representatives or solicitors regarding the terms and price for a lease extension or freehold acquisition on behalf of our leaseholder clients.

“However this is made less of a tricky task by having an in-house surveyor to assist with negotiations and ensures that we get the best possible results for our clients.

“No transaction or negotiation is the same as another as each matter I deal with, particularly at this stage in my career, is a learning curve with a unique problem or issue to solve for the client.

“One of the things I enjoy most is presenting to leaseholders, as we are often asked to present to a group of leaseholders to inform them of their individual rights as well as their collective rights, exercisable along with support from their neighbours,” says Daniel.