After more than a decade at another South-Coast practice, Jane Anderson realised she was spending as much energy looking for help as doing the work. When that firm axed its sole HR post and left support staff “very much alone”, she decided it was time to move on.
The change was immediate. “From the get-go it’s more professional,” she says. “I know what I’m walking into each day”. Colleagues stop to chat at the coffee bar, partners greet people by name, and Managing Partner Jenny Rogerson regularly walks the floors to say hello.
Jane supports a busy disputes team that values pace and precision. With clear workflows in place she can focus on drafting, bundling and client liaison instead of “flying by the seat of your pants”, the feeling she remembers from earlier roles. Because everyone understands the process, urgent tasks land in the right hands quickly and nothing stalls for want of direction.
Regular lunch-and-learns, drinks in the client suite and ESG events mean Jane meets people from both offices and feels part of a wider community. A short walk down Richmond Hill turns coffee breaks into catch-ups with colleagues from other departments, reinforcing connections that matter when work gets busy.
What strikes Jane most is parity of esteem. “The value placed on the support team is level with the fee-earners – neither can do the job without the other,” she notes. If a problem crops up, there is always someone willing to help, whether that is another secretary, a senior associate or a partner.
Jane calls Steele Raymond “certainly the best firm I’ve worked in”. Her advice to support professionals feeling overlooked elsewhere: look for a place where systems, respect and genuine friendliness intersect. “Here I’m supported, trusted and part of the team – every day.”
