Meet the Partners: Fiona McLeish, Property Lawyer

How did you get into law?

I studied Law at college and it really interested me. At the age of 17, I found a job as a legal clerk and it was onwards and upwards from there!

How did you qualify as a lawyer? What route did you take?

Once I achieved my CILEX I found that Licensed Conveyancers had more rights than Legal Executives (this isn’t still the case). I felt rather frustrated, so I then did some more studying to convert my qualification to become a Licensed Conveyancer.

What barriers did you encounter on your career journey so far, and how did you overcome them?

It’s normal to reach a certain point in a job and not be able to progress any further, as your current level only suits your employer! So whenever I reached this point, I would leave and find a new job with new opportunities to progress. As a result of this, I hopped around for a number of years at different firms!

What brought you to GoodLaw? What do you value about working here?

I’ve been at GoodLaw for five years now and my circumstances are totally different to when I started. In the company I worked in prior to GoodLaw, I was just totally overworked and given no choice but to work 12-hour days and 7-day weeks. Unsurprisingly enough, I reached the point of burnout.

I left my job, took some time off (had an amazing holiday!) and then started at GoodLaw. The ethos here is just totally different. While we all work hard, we aren’t expected to give up our own lives to do so – a burnt-out lawyer isn’t much good to anyone! 

How did you become a Partner?

The company decided to make some restructuring changes and they offered me a partnership and the Head of Conveyancing title. It was just such a wonderful feeling that all my hard work and dedication to the firm were appreciated! 

What are the most valuable lessons you have learned?

Working in a good company that cares about its staff is one of the more important things to do. Work takes up 8 hours of our everyday lives and you can’t put a price on not being miserable or overworked for those 8 hours. 

How do you manage a work-life balance?

Simply, managing my caseload. If I take on too much work, I have to work long hours. I don’t like to be exhausted and overworked because this means that I can’t look after my clients in the way that I want to. I’m known for my service to clients and friendly manner, so I never want to reach the point that I am too tired to be able to offer that!  

What has been the best moment so far in your career?

Being made partner and head of department.

Get in touch with Fiona and her team today for your conveyancing quote on 01252 471214 or email fmcleish@goodlawsolicitors.co.uk.