Home is where the heart is

Although I always swore I wouldn’t end up married to another solicitor, Mr Right turned out to be an Aberdonian corporate assistant working in the firm where I trained. After a year or so together we spotted a derelict house on his family’s Aberdeenshire farm. During the journey back to Edinburgh we talked about what an amazing family home it would make and, after much consideration, we decided to make the move north.

At the time I was an assistant in a property dispute resolution team in another Edinburgh firm, and thoroughly enjoying it. Non-property based actions were part of my caseload, but not the real focus of the firm. In terms of court appearances I was more likely to cover cases in the Court of Session and take part in mediations than appear in the sheriff court. When I moved to Aberdeen, regardless of where I ended up, things were definitely going to be different.

As I prepared for my job interview with Aberdeen City Council, part of me was still a little daunted by the idea of spending more time in court on my feet. Facing up to that and considering the highs and, yes, sometimes the lows I had already experienced let me put any fears aside. The buzz of the court and the larger than life characters who reign over it, the pre-court nerves and the adrenalin from winning a tough argument, the chat in the agents’ room and the walk back to the office with a feeling of pride in my chosen career: the more I thought about it, the more I realised I really did want to spend more time in court.

Still, it was a little offputting when I started reading up on the numerous areas of law I might be called on to deal with in the council, and couldn’t remember learning anything during my LLB or Diploma on guardianship applications, ASBOs or child protection orders!

As I read more, I realised that I wasn’t experiencing the early onset of senility. A lot of the work was based on legislation that didn’t come into force until after my Diploma. Instead of putting me off, this actually heightened my interest in the position. We all want to be part of something that could be groundbreaking, and I recognised that these areas of law would give me that kind of challenge.

I like to think that overall my enthusiasm came across and made up for any experience I might have lacked, as a job offer was made, which I accepted.

What seemed like forever after we’d decided to move, I left private practice to join Mr Right in Aberdeen. I came to my first day armed with a copy of Doric for Dummies, a leaving present from my old work. I couldn’t help but wonder whether the book would be the only thing of any use I’d be taking from my time as a commercial litigator. How would any of my past experience help me navigate the world of ASBOs, mental health and social work?

In many ways the fact that the legislation is so young made the transition much easier than I’d expected. We are all still testing the boundaries and meaning of a lot of the legislation and guidance, and expanding how it can be used through case law. As a result, some of the actions which have been firsts for me, have also been firsts for the council and we’ve found our feet together. When this happens, the most important skill is being willing to have a go and think a little bit outside the box to find a solution. Regardless of whether your background is criminal or civil law, in-house or private practice, bringing a can-do attitude to your job is what your clients will look for.

For me, settling in and getting myself up to speed was made even easier by the fact that the local authority solicitors I work with, and those around the country, know the ins and outs of the new legislation better than most and are incredibly willing to help each other. I found that when I had a question, the answer was never more than a couple of rooms or an email away.

The past year has flown by, but in writing this article a few things have become clear to me.

On a fundamental level, I’ve realised that the training we get as litigators enables us to be quite an adaptable breed of solicitor. As long as we have our earmarked and long-suffering copy of the Sheriff Court Rules, we know we can get through most days, whether we’re dealing with a global company or a teenager who won’t keep his music down.

I’ve also realised that your in-house client base is just as varied as in private practice, as potentially every person who works for your organisation could be a client. On a daily basis I’ll speak to those in social work, housing, trading standards, neighbourhood complaints, mental health, environment and even drivers, as well as the police. More and more, with the multi-agency approach we are adopting, many of them will be represented at case conferences. Understanding different points of view and finding solutions that we all agree will work is a new skill I’m still developing, but a key one for my role.

So I’ve changed city, changed specialisms, gone in-house, but I really don’t feel that different. I don’t think my approach to each case has changed. I still try to focus on being efficient and adding value to my clients. Nor am I using a totally different skills base; I’m still a litigator. It isn’t even difficult to use a different set of annotated Acts for the more difficult questions.

I guess it’s just that when everything comes together, the rewards are far greater on a personal level because I’m part of making things better for my community.

Emma Croman is a solicitor with Aberdeen City Council