A private client solicitor looks after the affairs of individual clients and trustees, planning and managing all aspects of their finances, including wills and probate, onshore and offshore trusts, and tax matters. Private client lawyers also handle a wide range of charity work, advising on specific legal issues as well as on commercial and property matters that affect charitable organisations and the establishment of charities. Private client work is booming and, increasingly, multi-jurisdictional issues are becoming more important for private client lawyers as a result of acting for clients who are based outside the United Kingdom or who own assets in various countries throughout the world.

When Hugo Smith realised during the course of his natural sciences degree that his future lay outside academia, law presented itself as an alternative that had long lain at the back of his mind. But he didn't rush headlong down this new career path without careful consideration.

After finishing his degree, he explored all other options further and only then did he apply for the CPE (now the GDL). He also waited until the end of his CPE to apply for his training contract, in order to find out more about the profession and give himself a better chance of securing the right training contract. "I didn't want to just apply to the firms that everyone at Cambridge had heard of, in case I ended up somewhere I didn't want to be," he explains. "So I waited a year before applying and I'm glad I did, because I found it gave me a much better background of knowledge and I was able to structure my applications much better."

That time and space also allowed Hugo to pinpoint private client as an area of interest that he wanted to experience during his training contract. Although still not 100% decided, this preference helped guide his choice of firm to apply to, and he finally settled at Penningtons' City office.

The reasons for Hugo's interest in private client were twofold. First, he had always been interested in tax law, with a good grounding in mathematics (at one point he had also considered a career in accountancy); second, he felt that it would be more enjoyable dealing with individual clients rather than large companies and corporations. Fortunately, his experience has matched his expectations. "I'm nearly 11 years' qualified now and I'm very glad that I did go down that route," he says. "I find it hugely enjoyable and very fulfilling. It has intellectual challenges - there are some areas that are very technical, the tax and offshore side of things in particular, and there are some tricky trust law issues to deal with, but it's not all like that. There is a lot of personal interaction, dealing with clients and with individual people. You are helping families, husbands and wives handle their family wealth and pass their assets down to their children. I feel that you have a much closer relationship with your clients. You see that what you're doing for them has a very definite benefit. As families grow and as children grow up, you can see what you've done for them."

Hugo also thinks that private client is a great seat for trainees who thrive on client contact and enjoy using their initiative. "You get client contact and a great deal of responsibility from day one," he explains. "A team working with a client will often consist of a partner and a trainee, so you are there in the first meeting with a client taking work on from the very beginning and, in some cases, running things on a day-to-day basis."

Another reason why private client work has better prospects for career progression than other areas is that at the top end of the market, there is comparatively little competition. "Because there are not that many firms in London which offer training contracts with a private client seat, there are relatively few qualified solicitors with this area of expertise," claims Hugo. "So in terms of your career, you are putting yourself in a very good position, because if you are two, three or four years' qualified, there is far more demand for people than there are qualified solicitors out there."

The early client contact during training is vital because, as Hugo suggests, one of the key skills required of a private client lawyer is the ability to craft and maintain long-term relationships with the firm's clients. It also means that as you are helping to forge these relationships from the beginning, your career can once again progress far quicker than in other areas, as clients swiftly come to regard you as part of the team.

"I was promoted to partner this year, after 10 years at the firm," says Hugo. "After you have been working with a client for a certain time, they will come back to you directly and the evolution of the relationship passes to you. As you take on the day-to-day responsibility for looking after the clients, you become their main point of contact." It almost goes without saying that this relationship can become intensely personal, and Hugo counts the connections he has made with some of the families he works with among his proudest achievements. It is important to remember, however, that these relationships can also create complications if not carefully managed.

"It can sometimes be difficult dealing with clients, particularly if you are dealing with problems within families," he says. "It can be difficult seeing parents arguing with children; brothers and sisters who are not speaking. It's a challenging field to deal with and you can find yourself in the middle and trying almost to mediate the family dispute. Particularly if you've had a longstanding relationship with the family as a whole, you can find yourself emotionally involved. But you have to be able take a step back and realise that, as close as you are to these people, it's not your family and they are looking to you for objective advice."

Current areas of interest for private client lawyers include recent changes to the tax legislation, particularly anti-avoidance measures that have changed the landscape considerably, meaning that much traditional tax planning can now no longer be implemented. "It has been a very interesting period," says Hugo, "getting up to speed with the new law and then looking at ways to deal with the situation we are faced with. I think with the way that the government is looking and the requirement it has for more revenue, it's likely we'll see a lot more of that sort of thing."

Another growing trend that Hugo has spotted is the proliferation of multi-jurisdictional transactions. London is increasingly seen as a centre for international wealth structuring, so those considering a career in this area cannot afford to lose focus on the international aspects of the sector. "I think all of the main London firms are seeing a lot more international work and are looking for new clients overseas," he claims. "So lawyers coming into the profession will need to keep an eye on the global market. They may well find themselves dealing with clients from South America, the Far East or the Middle East who are coming to London because it has a reputation for wealth structuring and wealth management, in the same way that Switzerland has had historically."