Posted on 11 August 2022
Journal of a busy father, balancing life as a Commercial Property Consultant Solicitor and family in the West Midlands…this week’s topic is Tenacity.
Welcome back to my semi-regular blog posts about life as a Consultant Solicitor. I work as a Commercial Property Partner with Nexa Law. Mixed with this I am an active parent to my two boys aged 6 and 3, with my fantastic wife. Consulting is the best balance I have found yet for juggling the two. In this column I range over different aspects of life as a Consultant. Maybe you are considering consultancy as your next career move? Maybe you are curious as to what you are getting when you instruct a Consultant Solicitor? If so, read on…
Walking the Wall
Earlier this year, in May, I completed a long held target. I walked the Hadrian’s Wall Path from Wallsend in Newcastle upon Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast of England – an 84 mile trek – in the good company of my 70 year old father-in-law and my sister-in-law. The blog photo is me at the half way point – it got a bit wet along the way!
It was not an easy walk – I started out in my trusty old boots which I’ve had for 20 years or so. Unfortunately the first day was pretty much all tarmac through the centre of Newcastle, and by the end of the day I had 7 or 8 blisters. At the end of the second day I had more, and was in such pain I wondered if I should pull out. But, I don’t like to give up on things I have started. So, my wife bandaged up my feet and we resolved to get me into some new boots in the morning…
Keep Going!
On the third morning we took a trip into Hexham and I bought some new boots. To be honest, I should have read my previous blog Consultant Life | Father in Law | Time for a Change? (mcleanlegal.co.uk) and embraced change sooner. Boot technology has moved on considerably from my old pair! It was like putting on a pair of slippers – albeit slippers with lots of blisters in them. From then on I knuckled down and kept going and going. It’s a really great route, with some fantastic Roman forts along the way. Chesters, Housteads and Birdoswald are some of the highlights. We watched the Queen’s Jubilee beacon being lit at Vindolanda, and saw the famous Sycamore Gap:
My feet hurt like hell pretty much every step of the way, but I carried on and on. I even managed a sprint finish at the end to get home first (I’d been playing “on your left” with my sister-in-law (check out this if you don’t know what I mean “On Your Left” Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson – Running Scene – Captain America: The Winter Soldier – YouTube ))! It was a great feeling – a sense of satisfaction of having conquered the elements and gritted through despite set backs.
Legal Work – Tenacity
Why am I talking about this? Well, it’s just to highlight one of the features of my work. I will be tenacious for you; I will get the job done. If I run into a problem, I won’t give up; I’ll find a solution and keep the deal going for you. I will do what it takes to ensure your transaction is completed when you want it, and how you want. My training at Eversheds was to always deliver. To do that, you need to be tenacious, otherwise issues will either not get dealt with, or not get dealt with soon enough. I’ll make sure they are picked up early, and then dealt with to a satisfactory conclusion.
As a Consultant Solicitor, I have complete control over the way I work, and I’ll do that to your best advantage. I take on fewer clients at a time than a solicitor employed by a traditional firm, so that I can give each client the service they deserve, rather than just the service I have time for. Overworked and overstressed solicitors at your traditional local practice just can’t compete. Don’t take my word for it, here’s some feedback from one of my clients about this:
Feedback
“There were many complications within the deal and thanks to Johns thoroughness and tenaciousness this large deal concluded on time and in budget.
John got this deal past the post for me and there were many occasions when he contacted me or was working on this well beyond normal office hours.
It was a very professional job and I am indebted to John for his help in this.”
Malcolm Proctor, Managing Director, Quantor Limited
Summary
I remember when I did my Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s award as a teenager – one of the group leaders commented “the thing about John is he’s like the Duracell bunny – he’ll keep going when all the others have stopped.” He wasn’t just talking about my copper top, I will get to the bottom of issues that others would give up on, or resolve problems by going the extra mile when others will fall by the wayside. If you want a lawyer by your side who will tough it out for you and get the best result for you and your business, then give me a call!
Contact Me
For a no-obligation, free, quotation you can contact me via enquiries@mcleanlegal.co.uk or on 01384 872069 or via my Free Enquiry Form. I carry out all work through Nexa Law Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the SRA. Check out my LinkedIn profile and Facebook page too.
Thanks for reading my above article, and I look forward to seeing you on the next blog post!
Thanks
John
