As head of professional liability at Midlands-based Smith Partnership, Alison Neate specialises in professional negligence claims. Her journey with Smith Partnership began in 1994; she is now an owner of the business and today she shares her daily routine with The Brief.

Starting the day

My day typically begins at 5:40 AM when I get woken up by both the Today radio programme and my dog. I then check my emails in bed and gather my thoughts for the day.

What I do next depends on other family members’ schedules and locations. My husband works in Edinburgh for most of the week, and it falls to me to coax our nine-year-old out of bed and into his school uniform!

I work at home one day a week, and on that day I 'enjoy' a PT session at 07.30. On PT day, I always feel especially energised and raring to go.

I then do the school run, and after checking my emails again I set off on an hour's drive into the office in Leicester. I listen to a novel on Audible. I’m currently enjoying anything by Colleen Hoover.

Spending more than eight hours a week commuting made me focus on making that time count for me. So, an Audible novel or catching up on The Archers radio programme along with a coffee in my trust Chilly thermal cup is something I really look forward to!

In the office

On arrival at the office, I briefly check in with the team and then settle at my desk to look at my emails once more. Where I can, I reply straightaway. I also have a running list of tasks and if an email can’t be answered straight away then it instead goes on to the list. Naturally, I review that in the morning as well.

I live by the Stephen Covey rule of categorising communications and tasks, i.e. by importance and urgency. I find this to be a great tool.

It’s basic housekeeping really but litigation revolves around deadlines and so having an up-to-date task list is essential.

I work closely with my trainee solicitor, Jade, with the added bonus that we’re seated side by side. So she’s constantly aware of what is happening on our cases.

This boosts her learning opportunities, as well meaning we can give great client service because she knows the cases in detail. She and I don’t necessarily have daily formal meetings anymore – we tend to work so closely it’s bit like osmosis!

We do, however, schedule meetings on specific cases.

Pro neg work is a technical area and I am mindful of carving out time for a trainee to read around a topic or view a webinar before they are immersed in a task on a specific case. As an example, PD57AD is a source of great fun at the moment!

Managing workload

I have usually planned the cases that I’m going to work on during a particular day, and the nature of pro-neg work is that it’s commonly document-heavy and requires quiet thinking and working time for a chunk of time in one go. It’s not often something that you pick up and put down particularly quickly.

During the day, invariably I’ll need to pause to cover tasks that interject. I especially prioritise taking client calls.

Like some other practice areas, pro-neg requires a good deal of client contact and a lot of handholding. Being accessible to my clients is important to me.

Crucial client facing

My clients are usually individuals or family businesses, and it’s a distressing situation for them because they’ve been let down by a professional in whom they place their trust. They have usually suffered significant adverse financial consequences. So having that client contact is an important part of the job that we do.

I don’t have that many meetings in person nowadays. Maybe when a client matter is first coming on board or if we are at a significant or complicated stage in the case, then we’ll have a face-to-face meeting. However, in post-Covid style, clients tend to favour telephone or remote video calls.

The difficult and challenging nature for clients of pro neg claims was summed up recently in an email I received from my client who’s literally lost their livelihood, home, health, everything because of the negligence of a professional whom he had engaged. In this case, it was his former solicitor.

He wrote: ‘You are my filter between the real world and the surreal, ridiculous world that’s called the legal system.’

And I think that shows just how much clients rely on you to hold their hand and to guide them through the ordeal they are suffering.

Collaboration and teamwork

During the day, I’ll have contact with colleagues in teams in other disciplines.

Pro neg requires a working knowledge of the subject of the underlying claim, so I’m often talking to, for example, our employment team about an employment-related issue, or our corporate team about how a transaction should have been dealt with, or our conveyancing team about how a conveyancing transaction should have gone.

Every ten days or so, I enjoy spending the day working from our head office in Derby. Having personal interaction is invaluable and is obviously great for sharing ideas and knowledge.

Balancing work and home life

At the end of the business day, I head home, collecting my son from his after-school club en-route. Luckily, his prep homework has been done in school, so I am spared that experience since his Year 5 maths is already looking unfamiliar!

I then settle him down (and the dog) and I log back on again for a brief session before it’s time to prepare dinner. For now, my work/life balance is somewhat out of kilter.

I’d like to say that later in the evening I’ll watch a box set, but that never happens! There are always my son’s swimming lessons and the packed lunches for tomorrow and sports bags to sort out, and that’s me about done.

Extracurricular and community involvement

I’m also proud to be part of the Birmingham Assay Office where I am amongst a number who hold the office of Guardian of the Standard of Wrought Plate. The Assay Office is a centuries-old institution probably best known for the hallmarking of precious metals.

Nowadays it is a broad-ranging organisation with services such as gem laboratories, valuation of precious gems and metals, and education in the jewellery trade.

I’m involved in an advisory capacity for legal matters. I also attend promotional events and am a member of the Remuneration and Appointments Committee.

I was drawn to the organisation having been born and bred in Birmingham. When in 2020 the opportunity arose to apply, I leapt at the chance.

It is a real pleasure to work with them. I have also until recently been a director and trustee of a local children’s hospice.

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