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.

Jessica Jamieson is an associate at Cripps Harries Hall LLP, a leading southeast law firm. She studied law at the University of Nottingham, motivated by the “glamorous” lives of televisual lawyers (Kavanagh QC, anyone?). An enjoyable year doing the LPC at Nottingham Law School was made even more so by the knowledge that she had a training contract with Cripps safely tucked under her belt: “It meant I could do the private client module and a couple of others that were interesting and related to what I do now, rather than having to do the hardcore corporate subjects.”

The training contract experience at Cripps was a good one, due in large part to the flexible seat system: “It is geared towards both the needs of trainees and departments, and I was fortunate to work in departments that I was interested in. I had a long six-month seat in private client, with shorter periods spent in other departments – for example, three months of conveyancing was quite enough!”

Jessica qualified into the private client department in 2003. Her day begins with the all-important cup of tea, she says: “After that, I might be drafting a will, chasing people to return powers of attorney, supervising the work of one of our trainees or newly qualified solicitors, or attending an internal meeting. I spend quite a lot of time managing client expectations – they generally will have no idea of the steps involved and may have an unrealistic view of how things work. I usually have one or two client meetings a week, possibly about a discretionary trust or probate matter. At the end of the working day, there’s often a seminar, which may in turn be followed by drinks!”

Jessica enjoys the benefits of working in a regional firm: “There are definite advantages to being in Tunbridge Wells rather than London, especially as a trainee. You’re given a lot more responsibility and client contact – I took my own client meeting when I was still a first year. There is also a really good social scene already set up. I specifically didn’t want to work in London; the commute and the hours deterred me. However, I would stress that private client isn’t nine ‘til five – there’s always at least a week’s worth of work to do and you spend a lot of time keeping on top of the law.”

A recent turning point in Jessica’s career was the publication in the New Law Journal of an article she had written on radical changes to the taxation of trusts contained in the Finance Act 2006. She explains: “People started to think of me as having a head for the tax side of things. It felt like I’d made the transition from trainee to someone with a developing career. Also, I’ve just been made an associate, which I think related in part to the article.” She also mentions a recent receivership case as having been particularly enjoyable to be involved with: “It centres on two mentally disabled children and an estate of £14 million on the Isle of Man. We’ve been trying to work out the tax and domicile issues. There are six different firms involved and lots to be done, especially keeping all the different personalities in the family happy. We’ve had some very tight deadlines, including one where we ended up with just days to spare but which saved the client about £5 million in tax. It’s been really interesting.”

Jessica discusses what she most and least enjoys about being a private client lawyer; the good, the bad and the paperwork, if you will: “I like the client contact and the detailed analysis – I enjoy looking at the law. What I wasn’t prepared for is the amount of admin involved. There’s time recording, billing, being chased about having too much work in progress, being chased when bills haven’t been paid, checklists on files – it goes on! There is an awful lot to be done that isn’t law. Then there’s the internal side of things as well: marketing, drafting client notes and working on precedents (which seems to involve an inordinate amount of arguing about commas!). But it’s all a necessary part of the job and would be the same in any law firm. It helps you to understand that this is a business, and we have to make money and get bills paid. The more you understand that, the easier it is to understand your role.”

As Jessica has mentioned, the ability to manage client relations well is a key skill: “Every client is different, so you need to work out what each client needs and try to provide it. For example, someone may have been recently bereaved and emotionally distressed, so you have to understand his/her needs and be aware of the underlying issues. You also need to manage their expectations about cost and timescales. Cost can be a big issue – people want the work done and they know the hourly rate, but they still contest it. Clear explanations are required; it’s all very well knowing the law, but you have to translate that into what the client needs to know and can understand.”

Other key skills include “the ability to analyse legislation. I often refer back to it, particularly in relation to tax. Good drafting skills are also important, as is an eye for detail. Mental arithmetic is important too. We have a lot of high net worth clients here, so tax issues come up a lot”.

Jessica has some nuggets of advice to offer as to improving your chances of training contract success: “Any work exposure is good, although it’s difficult to get meaningful experience before university. It’s also important to get a feel for the area and begin to see what kind of things people are working on and whether it’s of interest. Starting early on applications is always good, although I did it late! And take a focused, rather than scattergun, approach – make sure you know about the firm and what they do, and target your covering letter accordingly so that they know you’ve done your homework. Confidence is essential as well – I swotted up on legal changes and financial news, but in the end it is as much about whether I was confident and whether the firm would be happy putting me in front of a client. It’s also worth thinking about where you want to work – for example, London or not?”

Ultimately, says Jessica, it’s not just about the law: “You may love the study of the law, but the job is much more than that. You need to practise applying what you learn, and you have to have common sense and business skills. And, of course, an ability to keep up with the admin!”