Women in Wills hosted the second episode of the Interview Series on Wednesday the 7th of June, sponsored by Arken.legal.
Pippa Shepard, head of Customer Engagement at Arken.legal, interviewed Eleanor Evans from Hugh James and Michelle Baden-Daintree from Simpson Solicitors during a discussion about their experience in the legal sector whilst offering invaluable advice to the next generation of solicitors.
The discussion was focused on the topic of “resilience” and magnified the idea that the profession is all about helping people. Both Eleanor and Michelle agreed that you should consistently “stay true to yourself” and “you can never try and be something you’re not”.
The idea of the interview series is to create a safe space where women working in wills and probate can express themselves and speak freely about matters involving mental health and many more.
Both women said that is can be difficult working with grieving families through probate or pre-death. Eleanor said:
“We do have to be resilient – sometimes we deal with awful circumstances and people may take it out on us. It’s really hard not to take that personally and sometimes we can take things home and get upset about it. This is OK, we are human beings at the end of the day.”
Michelle expanded on this and said that “we don’t have to be made of stone all the time, if we were then we shouldn’t be in this area – the reason we do so well is because we are just human.”
Much of the discussion was also centred around advice for the next generation of solicitors entering the profession. Eleanor said that, although it is vital to have knowledge in the area, it is more important to be organised and good with people.
The concluding message that seemed to be apparent amongst all three women was that resilience is not something you are born with, it is something that you learn whilst you grow.
“It is ok to not be resilient, it is ok to not feel ok after a case. Go and sit in the toilet and have a cry – it’s ok to not be ok.”
Further feedback from the interview:
“Thank you all three of you for another fantastic webinar. It is invaluable as a young legal professional to hear that things we are feeling are exactly what you have experienced, really, thank you so much!”
Thank you to the sponsors of Women in Wills, Arken.legal and Estatesearch. If you would like to join the support network for women in the Wills and Probate industry, please see our LinkedIn group and subscribe to the newsletter.
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