The founder and CEO of Rochdale-based motoring defence firm Scarsdale Solicitors shares a day in her working life and explains how her business has introduced a new career framework to ensure all its staff can thrive and grow.

I established Scarsdale Solicitors in 2016. At that point it was just me and my sister in a boxroom, with no clients – in fact with nothing except experience.

I was previously working freelance in London but, by that time, I had three children under six, one of whom had serious health issues, and it just wasn’t sustainable to be travelling back and forth up and down the country.

We are now based over two floors of a commercial office building in Rochdale, and are planning on taking an additional floor in the new year. As well as our core team of employed staff we work with a variety of consultants, so in total our team now consists of 22 people.

My aim now is to grow Scarsdale to the point where we can establish a pro-bono department, dedicating a staff member to work on several cases per month.

The motoring work which Scarsdale Solicitors specialises in funds our pro bono work, which ranges from helping with immigration matters to securing non-molestation orders for victims of domestic violence.

Pro bono work has always been important to me. When I started Scarsdale I would spend a day a week at the Unitarian Chapel in Oldham, giving a pro bono legal clinic.

My aim now is to grow Scarsdale to the point where we can establish a pro-bono department, dedicating a staff member to work on several cases per month.

Early morning

A typical day starts at 5.30am when I wake up to my 12-year-old poking me and saying, “Wake up Mum. I need your room!”

I always pray in the mornings, after which I do 20 minutes of stretches and strength training. I am then fully awake to start my day.

My children are all at high school, so I have to drop each of them off at their different bus stops by 7.15am. I then rush back to walk my teddy! His actual name is Bruce and he is a Caucasian shepherd rescue dog.

He refuses to walk with a dog walker, so for the last six years I have had to alter my work schedule and plans to accommodate him. He’s huge – about six feet if he stood up on his back legs.

We walk up until 8.30am and I then start to rush around, make a protein drink and run to work.

The Scarsdale Way

Yesterday was a special day for our firm, and different from the usual routine. It was a launch event for staff at which we talked about the future direction of the firm and introduced them to a new career development framework called The Scarsdale Way.

I believe our framework is unique in that it offers not just our team of legal professionals, but also our support staff, the chance to grow and develop with us.

The framework provides support, structure and ongoing development to make sure everyone has a clear career development plan, regular feedback, and the opportunity to develop their career here at Scarsdale. 

I believe our framework is unique in that it offers not just our team of legal professionals, but also our support staff, the chance to grow and develop with us.

During the launch yesterday the team heard from our HR department about the vision, values and mission for the firm, emphasising the importance of acting with integrity and transparency, and how communication drives excellence.

We also heard from our external consultants about how they are working with us to grow the firm, and what we all need to do to get there.

All of this was bookended by networking and lots and lots of food. Our staff loved it: they know they are valued and they are the foundation of Scarsdale Solicitors.

Without them we can’t grow our business, so it is really important that they understand both the vision for the firm and how important they are to it.

Meaningful journey

The two things we wanted to highlight and focus on during yesterday’s launch were creating a meaningful journey for staff, but also making sure clients’ voices are heard, giving them the service they need and delivering excellence.

We want to be known for delivering an excellent service, being on top of communication, creating the right culture for staff.

We want to make sure we’re only helping the right people and not taking on everything just for the sake of it.

We only take on work where we know we can help. We're in a place where we can turn around to clients and say, “We’re really sorry, you should save you money because you will get the same result with or without was.

“Don't waste your money on solicitors, just do this, this this and deal with it yourself.”

A lot of my time is spent doing free consultations, making sure we're only taking on work where we can definitely help. Obviously it’s a business, with cash flow requirements, but we want to make sure we’re only helping the right people and not taking on everything just for the sake of it.

Morning meetings

On a normal day my morning at the office starts with a quick briefing with my lovely team, to tidy any matters from overnight, after which my meetings kick in. I normally don’t stop unless I have a pre-scheduled appointment, for example to take the children to the dentist. Otherwise I work straight through.

Today, after I arrived at work, my 9.00 meeting had been cancelled, which gave me an opportunity to liaise with our accountant, who comes into our office every Wednesday, and attend to any outstanding financial matters.

A lot of my time is spent liaising with clients, understanding how we can help them, if we can help them, and either accepting or rejecting the work and explaining the process.

Then, from 9.30 to 11.00 I had back-to-back meetings with potential new clients. Usually my meetings involve a mixture of existing clients and potential new ones.

A lot of my time is spent liaising with clients, understanding how we can help them, if we can help them, and either accepting or rejecting the work and explaining the process.

In between those meetings I take calls from existing clients, trying to support them. For example, if a client doesn't understand the expectations of the firm or we need to manage their expectations, I will speak to them so they understand who we are, what we're doing and what we need from them.

Sometimes clients don't understand the next stages, even if their solicitor speaks to them, and sometimes they just want to speak to the director and go through what they should expect from the next stages.

Focus on growth

I was called to the Bar at the beginning of my career but early on I cross qualified and moved into general crime work at a high street solicitors’ firm before specialising in motoring defence work.

I have higher rights of audience, and if I need to put on a wig and gown and represent clients in Crown Court I will. However, nowadays I focus most of my energy on growth and scalability, helping the team and teaching them.

For example, we have a new paralegal who started with us recently. We promoted him within three months of him having started with us, and I’m now training him to be the best paralegal he can be.

Nowadays I focus most of my energy on growth and scalability, helping the team and teaching them.

Then we’re going to support him to get qualified as a solicitor and continue to develop his career. So my energy is best spent on training staff, having those meetings with new clients and making sure we’re taking on the right type of business.

After-school rush

On a typical day I rush to get my girls after school at around 4.45pm, and my son at 5.10pm. I have to drive to collect them because they all have different schedules, and each have to be showered and ready to start their evenings.

The children have tuition, so I normally drop them off, walk the dog and then rush back to collect them at around 7.30pm.

I like to wind down and start to relax from about 8.00pm but recently, because the business is growing, I have been finding myself scheduling important meetings at 8.30pm to 10.30pm. These aren’t usually client meetings but calls with suppliers like our marketing team or accountant.

By this point I am absolutely exhausted and must switch off! I also have to fit my prayers in between all of this.

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