Kelly's
Story

Joan Hamer is my nan.  She was fantastic and I adored her.  As she got older, and her health started to deteriorate I did everything I could to make sure she had everything she needed. I sorted the practical stuff but also did the fun stuff.  She loved afternoon tea at The Ritz and her lunch on the Pullman steam train.  She valued me sorting out the meter readings for British Gas and I clambered through her understairs cupboard to read the meters.  She relied on me to make sure her bills were paid.

 

Everyone knew my nan.  All were welcome in her home for a cup of coffee, cake, and biscuits.  She always had people dropping in for a chat.  She listened, understood their worries, and passed on her wisdom to those who chose to confide in her.  She instilled in me my sense of right and wrong and my compassion for others.  It is because of her I am who I am today. 

 

Nan told me about her wishes for the future and I gave her a voice whenever necessary.  My nan battled with numerous health issues towards the end of her life, but nothing could dampen her spirit, not even a bad day.  She died at the age of 91, in her own bed complaining to my aunt about how she didn’t have a tissue for the drip on the end of her nose.  Just as she wanted.

 

The hands-on experience I had with my nan gave me the skills I use each day to support my clients, even climbing through understairs cupboards!

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How did I get here…

 

Again, not what you expect to hear! I do like to be different! I come from ordinary beginnings. My dad is a builder.  My mum picked apples during school holidays and brought us up because my parents divorced when I was young.  I have two younger sisters.  Life was not always easy.

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When I left school I went straight to work.  I started life as a secretary and took exams to qualify as a Legal Executive whilst I was working.  In 2005 I passed all my exams and became a qualified specialist lawyer!  This is when I started to support clients.  I have worked at Brachers and Furley Page and have managed a team of lawyers at each firm.  I completed my law degree when I was 35 and just after this, I became a partner at Brachers, running their elderly and vulnerable client team.  I was the first secretary to become a partner in the law firm as no-one had worked their way up the ladder as I had.

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Being a Legal Executive brings so much added benefit to my clients. I chose to qualify as a Legal Executive as this was a way I could become a lawyer by an alternative route.  I couldn’t afford large student loans and really didn’t want to move away from home.  I wanted to experience life so decided to go to work. By learning on the job and studying as I went, I gained so much more than going to University.   I get life, and the ups and downs it throws at us as I have lived it. I know my job from top to bottom as I have done it.  I have typed the letters and filled in the forms that get the job done. I have learned my skills through years of experience, which enhances the book learning I have done.  But, more than that, I spent two years learning about the area in which I work and taking exams so I have a great depth of knowledge on the areas I specialise in.  That’s why I am a CILEx Specialist Lawyer.

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Breaking ceilings and pushing boundaries was not enough for me.  Becoming a partner did not fill the passion I had.  I wanted to do things my way and focus on how clients should be looked after.  I wanted to work with my clients not tell them what to do.  I wanted to have relationships not transactions, so I left the traditional law firm environment.  I went to University whilst I was working, studied and passed my law degree.  I am a bit of a pioneer in the Legal Executive world as I was one of the first to gain my practice rights, so I didn’t have to be supervised by a solicitor (not a comment on my experience but a quirk in the law). Having practice rights means I can work for myself and not for solicitor’s firm.  I was also one of the first CILEx regulated legal practices to set up in the Country. This means I have had an independent body assess my ability to do my job and advise my clients.  My regulators make sure I do things correctly and that the work I do for you is the best quality.    I clearly passed my assessment.  I started Argo, and here I am!

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I am the founding director of Argo.  A legacy to my grandmother.  A company which gives a voice to those who cannot be heard.  My nan is the reason Argo exists. To help those who need it.

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