Rebecca Brady
Rebecca's interview
You can find out more about Rebecca by watching her interview, or by reading the transcript below, in which she discusses her career journey so far, her area of expertise, and advice she has for individuals coming through the ranks at the moment who want to make Partner.
Take us through your career journey so far.
l trained at the bar before coming to Devonshires in June 2012. I joined as a Paralegal in the Housing Management department, I’ve been here ever since and cross qualified as a Legal Executive in 2016.
My route of qualification was as a Legal Executive, that was a route that I used because I'd originally trained at the bar but I think that it's great that there's other routes available. There's not always one path that fits everybody and I think it's good that there's lots of different routes now to qualifying as a lawyer. There's just so many options that are available now, you don't have to necessarily go down the path that everyone might expect with going to University and then getting your training contract. I think it's just about being aware of the different routes to qualification and what might suit you best.
Please could you outline your area of expertise and what attracted you to it?
My area of expertise is advising registered providers on all aspects of tenancy and leasehold management in respect of their stock. I have a very wide and varied practice because I work both on leasehold matters and also advise on tenancy matters. I also sit in the information team and advise registered providers in relation to data protection law, including subject access requests, data breaches and data sharing agreements. I have a particular interest in advising clients on trespass cases and also cases involving any type of unlawful occupation of properties. I feel that social housing is something that's obviously very valuable and it's there for those in our society that are most in need. Therefore I think it's important to ensure that the housing is being used for people who have that genuine need. I'm particularly interested in advising clients on those sorts of cases to ensure that housing is properly used by those that genuinely need it.
What I enjoy about the area of law that I work in is that the law is constantly changing and developing. It’s linked very much to social, economic, and political factors. With every new Government, there is often new housing policy, and that keeps things really fresh, it keeps things really interesting and so l enjoy the fact that the law doesn't stagnate and it's always changing and developing.
What advice do you have for those individuals who are coming through the ranks at the moment and want to make Partner?
For anyone aspiring to be a Partner in a law firm, my advice would be to focus. Obviously on the end goal of joining the partnership, but also to really enjoy the process, the contacts that you'll make, the experience that you'll gain, the knowledge that you'll develop. Enjoy that process and make the most of it and take every opportunity that comes to you.
Tell us something interesting about yourself.
Outside of work, I have recently bought my first home with my other half. So at the moment I'm enjoying watching lots of home improvement videos and attempting some DIY myself. We're also enjoying and getting used to our new local area with our mini dachshund, Winnie.
What do you wish everyone knew about Devonshires that they don’t currently know?
Something I wish that people knew about Devonshires is that Devonshires is not just a firm that provides services for registered providers. We're actually a full service law firm and although we had our roots in social housing, we've expanded and our client base is actually much, much wider than just social housing providers.
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