“I started my legal career at a small firm in Edgware, working for their mortgage repossession team whilst studying for the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) qualification. I knew I wanted to work in the legal sector but felt I wasn’t really getting the training where I was, so I decided to join Matthew Arnold & Baldwin as a Conveyancing Secretary within their Residential Property Team. I now work as an Associate in the same team.
The firm encouraged me to continue with my ILEX studies. The qualification was in two parts. The first, which took two years, gave me a general grounding in the law. I then spent a further two years studying my chosen specialist areas, which included all the property-based subjects, contract and equity and trusts. When I qualified in 2001, I had already been working for four years and learning on the job, which meant that as soon as I had qualified I was able to start taking on work in my own right. Although I would like to continue my studies and qualify as a solicitor, I have a very heavy caseload which means I do not have a great deal of spare time for my studies. Also, as it is now more than five years since I qualified, I would need to resit all my previous subjects. Most importantly, I am not sure that continuing with my studies would make any difference to my day to day work or my career (I have recently been promoted to an Associate within the firm).
I enjoy the mix of people and the different types of work I deal with in my current role. I am also a bit strange in that I love ploughing through huge bundles of paperwork and learning more about the sites; it’s a challenge I love. I also enjoy enfranchisement work; it’s technical, it’s ever-changing and it’s an exciting and growing area.
I like the fact that we practice as experts in a particular subject rather than as generalists in a multitude of disciplines. It also matters to me that we have enough of those experts to meet all of our clients’ needs, and that’s something MAB prides itself for.”
Karin Holt - Consultant, Residential Property
Amanda Melton – Partner, Family
Joe Kwok – Partner, Commercial Property
Mark Tempest – Partner, Corporate Recovery
Samantha Lloyd – Associate, Corporate
Pete Smithson – IT Helpdesk Manager