Here at WBW, we value every one of our team members. Each member of staff has their own stories, motivations and reasons why they enjoy working for WBW Solicitors.

Today we talk to Louise Crockford, an Associate in the Property team in our Launceston office.

What is your role at WBW and what area of law do you specialise in?

I am a CILEX Lawyer (both a Chartered Legal Executive and CILEX Conveyancing Practitioner) and an Associate of WBW.  I specialise in Residential Property Conveyancing and am based in our Launceston office.

What did you want to be when you were young?

The only ambition I had was to be a balloon lady. When I was a child I had a Disney annual which contained a photograph of lady selling helium balloons at Disneyland.  That was my dream.  Unfortunately, I still haven’t achieved that ambition. I imagine it would be much less challenging than being a property Lawyer, so perhaps a career change beckons in the future.

What was your first full-time job?

Five days after the last of my GCSE’s, whilst I was still only 15, I started as an office junior at Peter Peter and Sons in Launceston. I have worked through two mergers since I started. Peter Peter and Sons merged with Langsford Davies in January 2004, becoming Peters Langsford Davies and then Peters Langsford Davies merged with WBW in January 2017.

Before starting work in the office full time, I used to help out with the post after school.  I was even in the office in the womb as my Mum was pregnant whilst working as a secretary, only leaving to have me, so I am definitely part of the fixtures and fittings here in the Launceston office.

After starting, officially, at Peter Peter and Sons, I soon progressed to be a legal cashier in the accounts team before then training and qualifying as a Chartered Legal Executive in 2002 by studying at Exeter College one day a week for 4 years.  I have recently obtained my CILEX Level 7 Advanced Conveyancing Practice Rights following assessments through the University of Law.

Having undertaken many roles in the office I understand and appreciate the importance of teamwork, and do my best to support colleagues wherever possible.

What made you decide to practice property law?

Whilst working in the office as a Legal Cashier, a position came up for a Trainee Legal Executive due to the retirement of a long-standing conveyancer within the team. After spending some time with the department, the role really appealed to me. I applied and the rest is history.

What do you like the most about the town you work in?

I was born in Launceston and have lived in the town my whole life, so I know the local area and its people well.  This also means that I am very familiar with properties in the locality and the local quirks that come with them.

Launceston is a lovely little market town and retains a local community feel, despite its growth over the years. I have lots of friends who live in and around Launceston, and enjoy catching up with them as much as possible.

What has been the best moment in your career?

I can’t say there is one best moment but the feeling when clients, who you have acted for previously, contact you and ask you to act for them again is very rewarding, as is receiving good feedback from clients.  I always encourage my clients to leave feedback for me, good or bad, as I am always looking to improve the level of service that I provide. So far, all the feedback I have received has been good.

What are your top tips for clients? 

I could write a very long list but here are few

• Make sure that you keep all Guarantees and building regulations compliance certificates safely.
• Check to see whether you need planning permission, building regulations approval or listed building consent before undertaking any work to a property. It will save time an money when you come to sell.
• Make sure that your mobile phone is charged on the day of completion.
• Remember that any dates for completion that are discussed and agreed are NOT legally binding until contracts are exchanged and that they may and very often do change.
• Do not hand in your notice on a rental property until contracts are exchanged on your purchase and likewise when selling do not enter into a tenancy agreement for a rental property until contracts have been exchanged on your sale. Despite my advice I have had client’s hand in their notice on their rental property and then end up homeless as their purchase has been delayed or ending up having to pay rent and a mortgage when their buyers withdrew before exchange and after they had committed themselves to a six-month tenancy.
• Ask us if you don’t understand anything, don’t Google it or rely on advice from someone who is related to or a friend of someone who used to work in a solicitor’s office for a few months 20 years ago, it does happen, trust me.

What has been the most challenging part of your career?

Working though the Covid pandemic and the challenges that brought, including managing the various stamp duty deadlines that the government brought in as a result of the pandemic was a huge challenge. Supporting the firm with additional workload due to colleagues being furloughed added to the pressure. All this, and being a working mum who had to cope with a different approach to home learning sometimes proved very difficult.

I think the most challenging part of my career however would be my training to be a Chartered Legal Executive. 

Although I had been learning new skills in my roles within the office since I left school, it had been eight years since I had been in a learning environment and it was very difficult to get back into that frame of mind. Looking back, working four days a week in the office and managing an ever-increasing caseload, whilst attending college one day a week for four years was often challenging, but to do that whilst achieving the equivalent of 2 A levels and a degree makes me look back with a great deal of pride and satisfaction. The fact that I achieved this whilst owning and running my own home adds to the satisfaction.

The hard work I put in was ultimately worth it, and the fact that I did not end up with a massive student debt at the end of it was a massive bonus.  The CILEX route into working in law is definitely worth considering for those interested in a career in law, despite the hard work needed to achieve the qualification.

Favourite Additional Enquires Received on a Conveyancing Transaction

My particular favourites include the following: –

• An enquiry I received from a solicitor acting on behalf of the buyer of a property that I was acting in the sale of. The other solicitor, who wasn’t based in the area asked
  “Who supplies the Radon gas?”
  That enquiry made us all chuckle in the office!
• Another one that I received when I was selling a property with a private drainage system was “Where is the “Sceptic” tank?”
• When selling a second-floor flat I received the following enquiry “Does the property have a conservatory?

What’s the biggest misconception people have about your profession?

That working in a law firm is the same as you see on television dramas or in films – it is not!

An interesting fact about me is…

I once played table tennis for Cornwall during my teens… (Not because I was any good, just because I played for fun in the local league and there were very few female players in Cornwall at the time).  I was beaten miserably!

Should you have a Property matter that you wish to discuss with Louise, please contact her by telephone on 01566 771102 or email louisecrockford@wbw.co.uk.