Women's Network blog series: Ruth McKenny
Country Solicitors - Do we Wear Wellies and Are We Connected?
Let’s get this common question dealt with quickly and easily and out of the way first. Yes it is helpful for country Solicitors to have a pair of wellies. We do not wear our wellies into Court nor do we wear our wellies into the office however it is useful when trudging through muddy laneways to meet clients on site to get a better understanding of the boundary dispute or to get a better understanding of the topography on which we are dealing.
It is hard to believe, I know, but country Solicitors do in fact have fast speed broadband, printers and all the usual mod cons including electricity and running water!
There is a persistent image of the country / rural Solicitor that we are behind the times and are really altogether a little bit through other. This is certainly not the case at all. Rural / country practice is a unique and dynamic environment in which to work. It can often be extremely complex to negotiate the daily tasks that present at our door in a country / rural practice. Unlike the big city firms our plans for the day are rarely adhered to. Emergencies will come up, clients will pop in and interesting cases will present themselves. Each day is unique and not one day is ever the same.
You can rest assured that if you ever find yourself lucky enough to work in a country practice that you will wear many hats. You may start out from Probate planning in the morning to dealing with complex licensing matters in the afternoon. Being a country Solicitor is about being immersed in the local community in which you work. It is about taking an interest in your town, taking an interest in your community and taking an interest in the people in which you serve. It is having a basic understanding and connection with your clients. We know our clients, not just their cases but we know their background and their history.
When starting out in a new country practice you will inevitably be interrogated by the locals to ensure that you are the “right person” that they wish to have in their community, meeting and serving their legal needs. It is about people skills and communication skills, something that the city firms can sometimes forget. You will find great support and comradery in the rural community, in particular from your colleagues. There will always be a wiser owl than you that you can turn to and ask for advice. There will always be someone who has experienced this strange case that has happened upon your desk that you will be able to call upon for assistance.
Country Solicitors are not “stuffy” know it all Solicitors, sometimes we have a suit on and sometimes we are in our civvies. Sometimes we are in the office and sometimes we are out and about on site or sometimes we are attending local community events. Most importantly however a country Solicitor is immersed in the community in which we are serving and hopefully through the respect that we provide to our clients, we in return are respected in the community. Rural does not mean remote it means rooted in community and that is something worth celebrating and something that should not be forgotten.
It should be reminded that it is or should be a two-way street. Rural solicitors are often expected to travel up to the bright lights of the city for training, networking or recognition and of course court but maybe it’s time more colleagues made the journey out of the city so they can see first hand just how far we are expected to travel for these events. It is not just as handy for a rural solicitor to up and leave for a day – as said before we were many hats and more than often do not have the luxury of trainees or juniors to pass on the workload to or cover us if we are out of the office. When we are out of the office the work does not get done. Being in the rural areas we do not have the luxury of catching up on work on the journey to and from Court etc. as we are driving given the lack of efficient public transport. All that being said as a woman I would not swap my country practice for a city job ever!
As a woman practice owner I have been able to create that work life balance that works for me. It is certainly not Instagram worthy but it works. That is the perk of the country – there are no pretences. You are seen as a member of the community who also has family to care for. It may not be pretty some days but we get the work done without pretence and we keep our clients happy. This creates a quality of life that we should all aspire to and should be setting as an example to our younger members in the profession. The city does not have it all!
The Women’s Network has been a quiet force for inclusion here, creating space for rural voices, working mothers and boutique firms to be seen, heard and valued. It has helped shift the centre of gravity just enough to remind us that excellence isn’t defined by a postcode and we are all in this together!
