We caught up with Kent Law LLB alumna Alexandra Gordon to discover more about her impressive career success story to date, her work as a private client lawyer and her role for 2021 as President of one of the oldest Law Societies in the UK.
Congratulations on your appointment as President of Kent Law Society! Can you tell us about the Society and what the role will involve over the coming year?
Thank you – the Kent Law Society is one of the longest running Law Societies in the country (older than The Law Society!) and we exist to promote the interests of the legal profession in Kent. The President gets to choose what they would like to concentrate on during their Presidential term and also the charity to benefit from our fundraising. I will be concentrating on mental health and my charity is Catching Lives based in Canterbury. The role this year will be very different to other years as I will be unable to attend events with other law societies, MPs, students etc. We do however have some great events planned both educational and social.
Are there ways in which Kent Law School students can get involved with the work of Kent Law Society?
Yes, students can become members for free and can get involved with all of our events. Our last event for students and junior members was a virtual escape room and prior to that a virtual baking event. It is a great opportunity to meet members of the legal community in Kent whilst having some fun! You can join by completing the form found here: Join KLS – Kent Law Society
Tell us about your work as a Partner at Brachers, specialising in private client law?
I am one of four partners in our team at Brachers and I head up the Wills and Estate Planning sub-team and the Probate sub-team. We have an absolutely fantastic team (22 of us) and have recently won Private Client Team of the Year at the British Wills and Probate Awards. My work involves a lot of client contact and a huge variety in work. No two clients are the same or want the same thing.
What does a typical day look like for you?
A typical day starts at 7:30am (having dragged myself to the gym beforehand). I like to get in early to get any drafting done before the chaos of the day! I tend to have lots of client meetings (now on Zoom) and calls throughout the day and also supervise junior members of staff on their work. Quite a few days a week I would be attending networking events and that still happens virtually. I’ve had a few virtual cocktail makings, gin tastings and quizzes over the last 12 months!
Thinking back to your university days, can you tell us why you chose to study law at Kent Law School?
The Kent Law Clinic is the reason I choose to study at Kent. It was also local to home and had (and still has!) a great reputation. I remember visiting and falling in love with the campus and all the green areas – very different to the other universities in London I visited.
How did your time at Kent prepare you for your legal career?
The Kent Law Clinic showed me exactly what being a solicitor would involve. It taught me how to deal with clients and also introduced me to the local legal community. I honestly believe without the Law Clinic, I wouldn’t have managed to obtain a training contract.
Who or what inspired you to specialise as a private client lawyer?
I actually qualified into Litigation having developed an interest in contentious probate work. I qualified as the recession hit so ended up doing both non-contentious and contentious private client work. When I moved jobs I had to pick and thought it would be better to gain a deeper knowledge in the non-contentious work to help me move back to contentious down the line. Ten years later, and I am still loving the non-contentious side! The best thing about Private Client work is that the area is so vast, so you are always learning. Also, no two clients are the same so every day is something new. I also love the tax side and I still get to have involvement when matters become contentious.
You still have close ties with Kent Law Clinic – can you tell us about your involvement with the work of the Clinic, past and present?
I have been an adviser of the clinic since I was a trainee (having a short break when I worked in Surrey for a year). I owe the Law Clinic (especially former Law Clinic Director Professor John Fitzpatrick) for starting off my career so I will always support them where I can.
You’ve had a hugely successful career to date (Kent Law Society Junior Lawyer of the Year 2014; eprivateclient Top 35 under 35; Citywealth Top 100 Future Leaders 2019) What’s your motivation and what advice would you give to aspiring lawyers?
Anything is possible if you have someone pushing you to be your best. I have the most wonderful mentor who supported me with all my qualifications and kept telling me I could achieve anything. Although we don’t work together anymore, he is still my biggest fan. My advice to aspiring lawyers would be if you don’t ask you don’t get – over the years I have always tried to offer work experience to every student who has had the courage to ask. Also let your personality show!
How do you unwind; do you have time for other interests outside of law?
In the non-COVID world I love travelling, playing netball and going out with friends. At the moment I am really enjoying exercising and having time to watch series on Netflix.
What’s next for you in terms of your legal career? Where do you hope to be in five years from now?
I have just qualified as a Notary Public which is really exciting and adds another layer to the type of work I will be doing. Also Brachers opened an office in Canterbury last year so I’m very involved in making sure this is a success. In five years’ time, I hope our new office is thriving and that our Private Client team has won more awards!
