Charlotte Perry, Family Partner at Knights’ Cheltenham office, shares a glimpse into her working life with The Brief.

I joined Knights in summer 2024 at the business’s Cheltenham office. Since then we have built the department, developing a strong and growing client base and ensuring we are well placed for continued growth.

Morning routine

My day starts whenever the baby wakes me up. I call her a “baby” but she’s two-and-a-half years old!

My husband works for himself so fortunately he is able to take her to nursery, and to pick her up at the end of the day.

Before work I would like to say I exercise but what I actually do, without fail, is make my bed. That might sound ridiculous, but we have been renovating our 1920s house for the last four years and my bedroom is my sanctuary because most of the rest of the house is under construction at one point or another.

My bedroom is my sanctuary because most of the rest of the house is under construction at one point or another.

It doesn’t matter if it makes me late for something or means I miss a train. Every morning I make my bed because then I can leave for work feeling that I have organised something and something has gone right.

I live 40 minutes away from the office in a riverside market town and I drive to work. I’ll usually listen to podcasts and things like that on my way in (anything Mel Robbins).

Although I drive to the office, I will usually catch the train from Cheltenham if I need to visit one of our other offices or travel to court.

Team spirit

Knights encourage a “one team” approach which means everyone is in the office pretty much every day. This creates a genuinely collaborative environment and a strong team spirit.

When I joined Knights, the paralegal I had worked with at my previous firm came with me. She has more than 30 years’ experience in family law and we have worked together for more than seven years – her experience is invaluable to me and the team.

Our team is strengthened by a trainee solicitor and a solicitor who joined us in the last month, and I am so excited to see the team continue to grow.

Knights encourage a 'one team' approach which means everyone is in the office pretty much every day.

There is no hierarchy in the team, though. We all work on the same client files and approach matters collectively, supporting each other where needed.

Time is set aside for training and regular catch-ups, including team lunches, which helps maintain our collaborative culture.

We also have a team meeting every Monday morning to talk about all the cases we are working on, find out who has capacity and decide who wants to work on which cases.

Flexibility and empathy

There isn’t really a nine-to-five as a family lawyer, although Knights does encourage us to keep to office hours. But when you’re dealing with people who are going through trauma and also trying to keep everything together, including their own jobs, you have to be flexible.

For example, it is not uncommon for clients to need support outside standard hours, and the team works together to ensure that support is available when it matters most. An evening or weekend call is not unheard of!

Clients usually come to me because of the empathetic service I provide. Often, I’m kind of a release valve for them so I do try to be available when I can.

I do like to structure my day, though, so that I go through emails first thing and plan in particular times when I will speak to clients.

Strategic counsel

We work together as a team so my colleagues will usually deal with draft applications and procedural matters, allowing me to focus on overall case strategy.

One of the key things I do for my clients is to hold a strategy meeting with them before a court hearing so I can manage their expectations and give them an overview of the different possible outcomes. I do this formally, with an agenda and minutes being taken, and clients value it because it gives them back a bit of control before they go into what can be an intimidating situation.

Whilst we try to engage in arbitration or mediation, a proportion of cases do ultimately proceed to court.

Court is very much the last option, and at Knights we offer a premium non-court dispute resolution service, but sometimes it is necessary. Whilst we try to engage in arbitration or mediation, a proportion of cases do ultimately proceed to court.

On average I am probably in court about twice a month, although it isn’t usually spread out evenly – you might have four cases listed in a week and then have a long period without any.

Some matters progress to court because one party is not engaging or progress cannot otherwise be made and, in those situations, an application can help move matters forward constructively.

Thriving on complexity

I tend to focus on cases that involve complex structures. One of my largest current cases involves multiple jurisdictions and businesses, as well as trusts based in Jersey.

It takes a team to be able to navigate all the aspects of these really complex cases, and we regularly draw upon the expertise of colleagues who specialise in trusts, corporate and property law whenever it is necessary.

These cases are like onions – you start off with something that looks one way but, as you peel back the layers, you discover another treasure trove of assets or businesses or trusts that require careful consideration.

Pre- and post-nups

I also undertake non-contentious work on pre- and post-nuptial agreements and wealth preservation. This often involves working closely with financial advisers and other professionals in Cheltenham and the Cotswolds, particularly where generational wealth is involved.

You have to be quite sympathetic to both parties in situations where pre-nups are required because, quite often, you find it’s not always the case that the spouse who is marrying into the wealthy family is 100 per cent comfortable. It needs to be approached with sensitivity.

You have to be quite sympathetic to both parties in situations where pre-nups are required.

I have never had a case where the marriage has been called off because of a disagreement over a pre-nuptial agreement but I did have one where the prospective husband wouldn’t countenance the idea of a pre-nup so they ended up having a ceremony that wasn’t an official wedding. Everybody got to have the celebration but the couple’s legal situation didn’t change.

Business development and networking

Business development and networking are key aspects to my role, as they are for everyone who works at Knights.

My route into the law wasn’t a traditional one. I got married at 23 and studied criminology and criminal law, followed by my law degree in the evenings before landing a training contract so, all in all, it took me ten years to qualify.

While I was studying I worked for a time in events management and I still love the using the skills I learned there in my role current role. I am very active on Instagram and LinkedIn and I am involved in a number of Knights events, ranging from wellness retreats to wealth management Q&A sessions.

Evening wind-down

I try to get home for around 6.00-6:30pm, to spend time with our daughter before her bedtime, which is about 7:30 (on a good day!).

Then, if there is any work to finish off, I will get that done or otherwise I just prepare for the next day. It is very much my intention to get out to the gym later in the evenings but it doesn’t seem to be happening.

So then I sleep – or lie in bed for two hours writing and scheduling all my social media posts for the following week, as I did last night!

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