From loyal to curious
Laura expected to finish her career at her previous practice. A recruiter persuaded her to meet Steele Raymond in January 2020. The first thing she noticed was how support staff were treated. “You can tell a lot about a firm by how it treats the person scanning your filing,” she says. A quick tour and coffee with two partners confirmed the fit.
Laura joined a week before the first lockdown. The firm arranged a rolling series of five-minute Teams calls so every partner became a friendly face. With one senior colleague on maternity leave she took charge of most property litigation files. Autonomy was high, but partners and IT checked in daily. “It was tough but never lonely.”
Instructions grew fast. Rather than cap workload, leadership green-lit recruitment; the team count continuously reflects demand led growth. Laura helped create a receivership workstream and mentors trainees on that work. “It went from my steepest learning curve to the area I teach.”
Meetings end with clear decisions and titles never trump ideas. Partners regularly ask her where she wants to head next and help map the route. On late nights colleagues message to check she got home safely – small gestures that matter. “The firm is a custodian for the next generation; partners genuinely mean that.”
Laura walks to the office through leafy Dean Park, loops the pier at lunch and paddleboards from Boscombe after work. “You get City-grade work and sea air within minutes.”
If you judge a firm by the depth of its work and how it treats every person, Laura suggests a visit. Steele Raymond passed that test for her – turning “unpoachable” into firmly at home.
