PROMOTION 30 Years a Solicitor Deborah Cahill from The Family Law Company has been qualified as a Solicitor for 30 years this year. Her colleagues asked her about the changes she has seen in that time and how she remains successfuly engaged with her work What is the greatest change you have seen to the legal profession over the last 30 years? The effect of the ubiquitous What are your top tips for lawyers embarking on their career? When you start out, try and get as much experience of different areas of law. Hopefully you will have a long career, so you need to find anarea which interests you. You spend a lot of your life at work, you may as well try and enjoy it. my ideal non-legal job, would either be librarian or book shop owner, money being no object computer with all its faults and advantages. Pros-there is no need for a library of books anymore and you can find cases and other resources in a What do you like about being a lawyer? Every day is different and you never know what a client is going to present you with next. I don't know about other areas of law but family law is so varied and the differences there can be in cases few seconds. Cons the forever What aspect or achievement of your career are you most presence of emails and the need for an immediate response. When I started, there was no means it is seldom boring proud of? Still being here after all this time without having had any major disasters Ilike to think I have made some people's lives easier when they have been dealing with difficult circumstances. The law computer on your desk and clients (and other solicitors) could only contact you via traditional snail mail, fax (who uses them You qualified in 1989, apart from this momentous achievement for you personally, what else stands out from that year? In the legal world, the Children anymore?) or through our very vigilant receptionist. Now an email pops up every couple of minutes and a reasonably immediate response is expected. can be very opaque to non-lawyers and being able to explain clearly what is happening and why is a very important skill which I think and hope I have acquired. Act 1989 became law and this has influenced my professional life ever since, In thewider world, Maggie Thatcher was still PMand the biggest "good news" story was Another change is that there are no general practitioners anymore we are becoming more and more specialist and niche. Additionally there are an awful lot of litigants in person now which makes the job interesting. On reflection, there has been a lot of change. the fall of the Berlin Wallwhich If you were nota lawyer, what would you do I's the only career I wanted to do happened only days after I qualified. If you need advice with any family law issue, please call us on O1752 674999. from the age of 14, and I still can't imagine dainganything else. Maybe Lower Ground Floor, Princess Court, Plymouth PL1 2EX Baliol House, Southemihay Gardens, Exeter EX1 1NP 01752 674999 01392 421777 www.thefamilylawco.co.uk PROMOTION 30 Years a Solicitor Deborah Cahill from The Family Law Company has been qualified as a Solicitor for 30 years this year. Her colleagues asked her about the changes she has seen in that time and how she remains successfuly engaged with her work What is the greatest change you have seen to the legal profession over the last 30 years? The effect of the ubiquitous What are your top tips for lawyers embarking on their career? When you start out, try and get as much experience of different areas of law. Hopefully you will have a long career, so you need to find anarea which interests you. You spend a lot of your life at work, you may as well try and enjoy it. my ideal non-legal job, would either be librarian or book shop owner, money being no object computer with all its faults and advantages. Pros-there is no need for a library of books anymore and you can find cases and other resources in a What do you like about being a lawyer? Every day is different and you never know what a client is going to present you with next. I don't know about other areas of law but family law is so varied and the differences there can be in cases few seconds. Cons the forever What aspect or achievement of your career are you most presence of emails and the need for an immediate response. When I started, there was no means it is seldom boring proud of? Still being here after all this time without having had any major disasters Ilike to think I have made some people's lives easier when they have been dealing with difficult circumstances. The law computer on your desk and clients (and other solicitors) could only contact you via traditional snail mail, fax (who uses them You qualified in 1989, apart from this momentous achievement for you personally, what else stands out from that year? In the legal world, the Children anymore?) or through our very vigilant receptionist. Now an email pops up every couple of minutes and a reasonably immediate response is expected. can be very opaque to non-lawyers and being able to explain clearly what is happening and why is a very important skill which I think and hope I have acquired. Act 1989 became law and this has influenced my professional life ever since, In thewider world, Maggie Thatcher was still PMand the biggest "good news" story was Another change is that there are no general practitioners anymore we are becoming more and more specialist and niche. Additionally there are an awful lot of litigants in person now which makes the job interesting. On reflection, there has been a lot of change. the fall of the Berlin Wallwhich If you were nota lawyer, what would you do I's the only career I wanted to do happened only days after I qualified. If you need advice with any family law issue, please call us on O1752 674999. from the age of 14, and I still can't imagine dainganything else. Maybe Lower Ground Floor, Princess Court, Plymouth PL1 2EX Baliol House, Southemihay Gardens, Exeter EX1 1NP 01752 674999 01392 421777 www.thefamilylawco.co.uk