Alternative track
BDBF partner, Emma Sell, gives an insight into her journey from A-levels to partner.
I did not set out to become a partner in a law firm when I finished my A-Levels and started working in a local solicitors’ office in Norfolk. Fast forward 21 years, and I’m an equity partner at a London law firm. In 2012, alternative business structures (ABS) were allowed to provide legal services. This was initially seen as a competitive threat to the traditional market. It may still be a threat, but one benefit of being an ABS is that the firm can appoint non-lawyers to partnership roles.
My journey to becoming a non-lawyer partner may well be different to many others’ – I wasn’t a lateral hire and I didn’t do a similar role in another environment. It went as follows: office junior, legal secretary, PA, office manager, then practice manager. I didn’t plan to make partner, I just wanted to learn everything I could about whatever task I was undertaking, from answering the phones through to drafting management accounts. I had no career path and deliberately didn’t set goals. Working in so many different roles in business support gave me a wide-ranging outlook on what it takes to make a law firm successful, and what keeps staff motivated. However, around 2013, I decided that I wanted to make my experience ‘official’ as my A-Levels were becoming irrelevant. I did a year-long post-graduate qualification in legal practice management at Manchester University to prove to myself that I was qualified to do the job I was already doing.
Practice managers are involved in every aspect of business operations: nothing goes on without you knowing about it or being required to make it happen. Such knowledge makes you an integral part of senior management because you can offer a broader view of how decisions will impact every aspect of the business and its people. I’m generalising, but many lawyers are by nature technically-minded people, and possibly lack the soft skills required to keep things on an even keel. Trusting you to get this right, removing this burden from lawyers, allows partners to concentrate on growing the business. However, even though I felt like I was being treated as an equal, I was not a partner so had no voting rights if I was adamant about something.
So, during one appraisal, I raised the possibility of the firm appointing non-lawyer partners and we agreed that I would look into what was involved and report back. What I did not know was that our managing partner had had the same thought. He put it to the vote: if I could sort out the ABS conversion and become an ‘authorised person’, I would be invited to the partnership.
Unlike the lawyers, I didn’t have to meet certain criteria or objectives. However, my path wasn’t without its own challenges. We had to devise a new remuneration policy because a non-lawyer cannot be benchmarked against a lawyer in terms of the amount of work they have generated. Also, I didn’t have any hours or billing targets to be measured against. It was a learning curve for all of us, but it definitely sent a positive message to other members of our support team that it was possible to reach the highest level.
In reality, nothing has changed: my job is exactly the same (although getting my P45 was a bit frightening). However, it does feel a bit different, and it’s nice to be recognised and valued for what I do. The 18-year-old me would be very surprised!
This article can be found in February’s LPM magazine: Innovation Nation
