Spotlight on….Emilie Pownall

Before my introduction to housing law, I completed a law degree at the University of South Wales in Swansea, travelled around the world for 6 months, worked briefly for the Crown Prosecution Service and in the construction industry before eventually relocating to the West Midlands with my husband.

I started my housing career as a Legal Assistant in a busy housing litigation team at a specialist firm in Birmingham in 2008. There I assisted a team of Solicitors with their files and went on to complete my LPC part time whilst continuing to work and gain experience.

I then went on to complete a Training Contract at the same firm and, upon qualification, I was offered a role back in the housing litigation team. I have worked in this area ever since (with a couple of breaks here and there to start my family).

I have now been at Devonshires for seven months and already have a busy and varied practice of disrepair, anti-social behaviour, possession and other ad hoc pieces of work. I am part of the new Birmingham team in the Housing Management and Property Litigation department which is very exciting. I am also part of our Wales team, assisting Welsh community landlords.

I have worked part time since qualifying and am delighted that Devonshires have enabled me to have the flexibility and support to continue to do this so that I can balance the needs of my young family and the job that I love.

It is an exciting area of law to work in. One morning, you can be assessing the value of a complex disrepair claim and by the afternoon, you can be working on an emergency injunction following a serious incident at a client’s property. There is never time to get bored in this role and the job satisfaction when you achieve a good outcome for a client can be extremely rewarding.

When I am not working, you will probably find me in my campervan exploring a new part of the UK or visiting family in Wales.