Sarah Power, partner at Chadwick Lawrence, shares her work routine with Brief, providing a glimpse into her family law practice and her role leading the West Yorkshire firm’s Family and Wills & Probate teams.

As a Partner at Chadwick Lawrence, I lead our Family Law team and also oversee our Wills and Probate team. Working across several offices throughout Yorkshire means no two days are ever quite the same.

What I enjoy most is the opportunity to help people navigate significant moments in their lives while working alongside talented colleagues who genuinely care about achieving the best outcomes for our clients.

Varied early mornings

I have always been an early bird, so I ideally love my workdays to start as early as possible. I really enjoy getting into the office when it’s quiet, there is no one around, and I can get stuck into a tricky task. I like to feel that I have achieved something by 9.00am, which is sometimes optimistic!

Most of my days, however, start with delivering my sons to school, which still means an early start but is focused on making sure they’ve had breakfast, have all of their uniform and everything they need for the day. I inevitably end up having to follow them around the house, reminding them of the time.

I like to feel that I have achieved something by 9.00am, which is sometimes optimistic!

There is nothing quite like hearing "Where's my games kit?" when everyone's coats are on, and you're ready to walk out of the door. However organised I try to be, school mornings are a useful reminder that not everything can be planned!

Once the school drop-off is over, my journey to work depends very much on which Chadwick Lawrence office I'm heading to that day. One of the things I enjoy about the firm is working with colleagues across West and North Yorkshire and meeting clients from a wide range of communities. The journey can take anywhere from ten minutes to an hour depending on the state of the M62 or the TransPennine Express.

More than just paperwork

My caseload is enormously varied, encompassing divorce, financial settlements, children's matters, pre-nuptial agreements and disputes between unmarried couples.

Family law is about far more than just paperwork. Clients often come to us at one of the most challenging points in their lives, and my priority is to ensure they feel informed, supported and listened to throughout the process. That client-focused approach is something that sits at the heart of Chadwick Lawrence.

My priority is to ensure clients feel informed, supported and listened to throughout the process.

My day will also inevitably include a degree of drafting, including consent orders, offer letters and applications. I am a huge fan of making lists as a way to stay organised. I like to be able to prioritise at least three tasks that must get done by the end of each day.

The right route to resolution

At Chadwick Lawrence, we are strong advocates for helping clients find the right route to resolution rather than simply the quickest route to court. Although I treat court proceedings as a last resort, there are inevitably cases which do require court applications, meaning I am often involved in court hearings.

However, mediation, collaborative law and private evaluations are all great alternatives to the traditional court route, and clients who have used these routes to a resolution are always grateful to have avoided court. They have retained control of the process, had their matter dealt with more quickly and in a less adversarial setting.

Team leadership

Another aspect of my role is managing both the family and wills/probate teams. The work in both teams is rooted in the moments that often matter most to people.

The individuals in these teams are trusted by clients at a point when their lives are changing, whether that is because of a relationship breakdown, a bereavement or the task of putting in place a will or lasting power of attorney. It is deeply rewarding to lead teams that handle these cases with not only practical good sense but real care and empathy.

It is deeply rewarding to lead teams that handle these cases with not only practical good sense but real care and empathy.

Supporting colleagues through what is often emotionally demanding work and seeing junior members of the team develop into confident and compassionate lawyers is something that I will never take for granted.

One of the things I value most about Chadwick Lawrence is the collaborative culture. Although we work in different specialist teams, there is a genuine willingness to share knowledge, support colleagues and work together to achieve the best outcomes for clients.

No-nonsense approach

Although I try not to check emails on an evening, there are inevitably clients who have the same work/life juggle as me, and so I respond to my emails at the end of their workday. I will often find myself in an email exchange on an evening because it is more convenient to that client; sometimes it just isn’t possible to switch off as a family lawyer.

Sometimes it just isn’t possible to switch off as a family lawyer.

I am a Yorkshire lass through and through, so I appreciate and understand the down-to-earth, no-nonsense approach that many of my clients have. They often want someone who will be honest, practical and ready to roll up their sleeves and get things done. That's something I have always tried to bring to my work, and it aligns perfectly with the values of Chadwick Lawrence.

At the end of the day, whether I am helping a client through a divorce or mentoring a colleague, it is about making a positive difference in people's lives, and that is what continues to motivate me every day.

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