60-second interview: Rebecca Fisher

What priorities do you face in your new role?

My immediate priority is ensuring a seamless transition for my clients and getting to know my team. Everyone at Russell-Cooke has been hugely welcoming and supportive in getting me up to speed.

My ambition over the longer term is to take our private client offering into new areas, both in terms of building on the links we have in the London office and ensuring that this offering is as relevant as it can be to supplement ?other departments of the firm.

What are your clients talking to you about at the moment?

It is very difficult to put client concerns into one category. Those concerns are often shared but differ depending on their stage of life and personal circumstances. For many clients, the thought of preparing a will or addressing estate planning issues is a difficult one. Those clients with young children are concerned about ensuring their children's security in the future.

Clients who are employed or manage their own businesses are often striking a balance between working, looking after their own parents and preparing for their children to leave the nest. For those who have retired, they are looking to pass assets to the next generation. Happy and satisfied clients are the life blood of any law firm.

What are your immediate and long-term concerns?

This is an exciting and challenging time for lawyers, and not just in the private client field. In this competitive landscape, we need to maintain a relentless focus ?on client service.

The challenge for private client lawyers is to keep up with and deliver against client expectations. For those that can, there are huge opportunities.

What was your career plan ?after finishing law studies?

I'm very lucky because I have always known what I wanted to do. In private client, the work is extremely diverse; often, no two days are the same.

I really enjoy getting to know my clients as people, understanding their needs and their goals in life. Sadly, I also look forward to the Budget to add a bit of spice to life.

What advice would you give someone climbing the private client career ladder?

Private client law is extremely rewarding. You get to know real people and help structure their legal affairs. At the same time, it is an intellectually demanding and rapidly evolving area of law.

A key element of our work is ensuring that our clients understand what we are doing for them. It is crucial that you should be able to simplify complicated theories to clients both in writing and in person. This coupled with an ability to put the client at ease will help to place you at the forefront of their minds as a trusted adviser.

What's the biggest professional lesson you've learned?

Sometimes you need to pause and take a big breath. Earlier in my career, I had a tendency to try to forge ahead on all fronts: networking events, online campaigns, new clients, STEP exams. You learn that there is an infinite amount of things that you could do - the art is in prioritising ruthlessly for what is best for your clients and your firm.

What attracted you to your ?new firm?

Many of the people and teams here are leaders in their field. The breadth of expertise means that the firm can tackle complex multi-dimensional cases. I think the offering for clients is a compelling.

Plus, it gave me the opportunity to work with [partner and head of the private client group] Richard Frimston, who has one of the most impressive tie collections in the legal profession.

 

Rebecca Fisher is a partner at Russell-Cooke

Jennifer Palmer-Violet is acting editor of Private Client Adviser