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 charity law 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 the private client lawyer as a result of acting for clients who are based outside the United Kingdom or who own assets in various countries throughout the world.

Paul Solon is a partner in the private client department of national firm Mills & Reeve. He has worked in the profession for over 30 years and has witnessed considerable changes since his training in the City - which he remembers as a "fantastic experience". Enjoyable as it was, there was no question of being gently eased into the legal life. He recalls: "On day one, my supervising partner told me, ‘What I do, you do,' so from the very beginning I was involved in high-level work. I was taken to board meetings of public companies and worked on some major litigation."

The sociable aspect of the solicitor's role is what attracted Paul to this branch of the profession, rather than the more "cloistered" life of a barrister. For those undecided about which path to take, Paul advises: "It comes down to temperament. You need to think carefully about which role would suit your personality." A wide-ranging caseload was also appealing and a quick rundown of Paul's morning schedule is illustrative of the variety of work he handles on a daily basis. "I started early today because of an 8:00am conference call I had with the trustees of a family trust. The trustees are in the middle of a dispute about funding the care and education of a schoolchild with disabilities. Their decision will have far-reaching ramifications for the parents and the child, so as well as discussing the legal issues, we had to think about the human considerations. After that, I advised some beneficiaries who are seeking to build a Huf Haus (a German bolt-together home) on trust property: we thought about the legal implications involved and the practicalities too. Next I spoke to a couple who wanted to take out some life assurance to protect their children if they should die. I then had a discussion with a colleague about some charity law issues affecting one of our college clients here in Cambridge. After all that, I just had time to get myself a coffee before sitting down to be interviewed for this profile."

Private client can be split into three distinct areas, with lawyers tending to focus on just one. Paul is lucky enough to have gained experience in all three, which is part of the reason his workload is so varied. He explains: "The first area of work is for individuals and families who require services such as having wills drawn up, buying and selling a house periodically, maybe a dispute over a boundary. This type of practice revolves around wills, probate and associated estate planning. The second area is the work for trustees, which generally involves family trusts of significant wealth. This involves trust and tax advice, often on strategic issues. Finally, there's the institutional business, which tends to be acting for charities. The legal problems they face tend to be similar to private trusts but with some additional tax and regulatory issues. Private client lawyers will tend to specialise in one of the three."

Taking on responsibility for decision making is an important part of the transition from trainee to newly qualified and one that can be daunting. "When you are training, you have the wonderful luxury of never having to actually make the final decision. There is always somebody who will check your work and, essentially, take it out of your hands. The day you qualify, you suddenly discover that the buck stops with you. As you progress through your career, the decisions you are called upon to make will get harder and harder. What will single you out - regardless of other qualities you might have - is the ability to make a decision and take responsibility for it. You've got to have the confidence to make the choice." Resilience is another key trait for success, Paul warns: "This isn't the job for somebody who doesn't enjoy being under pressure."

Paul identifies making partner as a particular career highlight; another is the people he has come across through his work. "I really enjoy the people aspect. I've met a huge number of clients and colleagues over the length of my career who have been a real pleasure to deal with. The thing I find least enjoyable, on the other hand, is filling in timesheets. If anyone says they like it, they're lying."

To be a private client lawyer you need a range of skills - not least a strong intellect. "Private client is intellectually a very challenging branch of the law. Anybody who doubts that just needs to go and look in a Butterworths Yellow Tax Handbook - you'll need to be able to understand a fair chunk of the stuff in there." Then there's stamina, Paul continues: "The legal industry is very much tougher than it was 30 years ago and I suspect it's going to get tougher yet. With so many changes in the pipeline (eg, the changes brought in by the Legal Services Act that allow multi-disciplinary practices and non-solicitor law firms), things are changing rapidly and solicitors have got to be able to keep up." But he enthuses: "If you're up for it, you'll have a wonderfully satisfying career. I do think that private client is one of the last areas of legal practice where you're able to be more than a hamster on a treadmill."

Paul gives some more general advice for a winning career in law. He has two golden rules for trainees: "Number one: read everything. If you try to skim-read, you're bound to get caught out. Number two: don't guess. It's absolutely fatal and it's what'll get you sued. If you read everything and don't guess - you'll have a wonderful career!"