Louise first joined Steele Raymond in 2003 as a newly qualified solicitor. Later, with two young children, she moved into a London consultancy for more control over her diary. The model brought flexibility which she loved but the novelty of working alone from home every day wained as did wearing all the hats – lawyer, bookkeeper, marketer… Coming back in 2022 as a “boomerang” partner, she now leads the Contentious Trust and Probate team, shaping workflows and standards with a strong support network behind her.
When Steele Raymond approached Louise, she was not actively looking. Her journey had started there 18 years earlier as a newly qualified solicitor, so the conversation felt less like a pitch and more like revisiting a place she already knew. Inside the firm they talk about “boomerangs” – lawyers who leave to test a different model and then choose to come back with wider experience and a clearer sense of what they want. Louise realised that label quietly fitted her. It would take a lot to persuade her to leave her consultancy setup but saying yes to an exploratory chat told Louise that her mind was already open to the possibility of what Steele Raymond had to offer.
Today, Louise’s time is spent where it adds the most value – guiding clients through contested wills, Inheritance Act claims, executor and beneficiary disputes, and the human dynamics that sit underneath each file. She leads the team as Partner and Head of Contentious Trust and Probate, backed by colleagues and the central functions that make a practice resilient. The weight of cash flow, compliance and systems no longer sits with one person at a kitchen table; it is shared across a firm that has built those capabilities over decades.
Returning meant trading solo working for a team and taking on a practice she could design, lead and grow. She took the reins of the Contentious Trust and Probate team and set the tone early – clean workflows, standard procedures, clear ownership of tasks. Matters are allocated on fit – the trainee who enjoys building electronic bundles runs with them, freeing senior hands to focus on evidence, strategy and negotiation. The structure keeps everyone aligned and creates steady momentum through each case.
The culture helps. People talk about a contented buzz – a place where someone notices when pressure rises and steps in without being asked. That atmosphere makes it easier to test a strategy, move a matter forward and avoid the bottlenecks that creep in when you are handling everything alone. It also makes it easier to enjoy the work whilst dealing with subjects that are often highly emotional.
If you are weighing up a return, Louise’s balance sheet is a useful one. Consultancy proved her appetite for autonomy and taught her to treat cash discipline as part of the craft. She has kept that mindset.
At Steele Raymond she added the pieces you cannot recreate by yourself at home – a real team beside you, specialist peers across the corridor, and the full stack of support that frees you to practise at full stretch. For those thinking about coming back into a ‘traditional’ model firm, her story shows that you do not have to abandon independence to gain that support. You bring your experience, and the right firm makes it work harder for you.
