Thornton Legal Meets...Rose Moss of Weightmans
Rose is a specialist in the full range of commercial real estate legal services for companies, individuals, public and private sector organisations.
How does your day start?
My day starts with a review of where I am up to generally, my to do list and a think about priorities. One of the hardest things about this job is managing all the differing priorities of a mixed case load, so I find its important to keep that at the front of your mind.
Can you tell us a bit about your background, your role at Weightmans?
I am a development solicitor at Weightmans. I act for a varied range of clients in several sectors. My role is to support my clients, deliver their services effectively and efficiently and to think about what is needed strategically for them, as well as on a day to day basis. I work with more junior members of the team, helping develop them and sharing my experience to help them with any challenges they may face as well. I have a varied background in Commercial Property, I have worked for smaller firms as well as larger regional firms. It has been interesting to compare their different offerings and at each I have learnt different skills which have helped me become a rounded solicitor with a wide experience on which my current practice is built.
How’s business?
Business is good. We have been very busy, it’s been a busy market over the summer, with some great deals to work on which has been really rewarding.
Why did you choose a career as a lawyer?
I chose to be a lawyer because I love people. You get to meet all sorts in this job, you get to help people solve problems and reach their goals. It can be really rewarding. Law itself as a career is a really varied offering, your day to day practice can be very different depending on which firm you work for and the area you work in. I loved the scope that gave me for the future.
What’s the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is working with great people. I really enjoy helping more junior team members to think about next steps, and to delve deeper into their transactions. I also find it really rewarding working with some of my clients, who know where they want to get to, but not how to do it. It’s great to work it through with them and deliver a project together.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
I would say the biggest challenge has been when recessions have hit, and the firms I was working for at the time have struggled. I lost my training contract in 2001, and my role in 2009 as well. But I can honestly say on both occasions it was one of the best things that happened to me. I learnt so much about business and resilience from both occasions, and whilst feeling really hard at the time, both lead to some of the best opportunities I have had in my career as a result.
If you hadn’t been a lawyer, what would you have done?
At the beginning of my career I would have said a Management Consultant, I really enjoyed understanding how businesses worked and didn’t. Now I would probably say I would go into coaching, using my skills to help others to grow and develop.
How do you spend your time away from the office?
I love getting outdoors. I find it important to get outside and to get moving when I am not at my desk. I have taken up paddle boarding, and can often be found trying to stand up… and not fall in…
What plans (professional or personal) do you have for the next 12 months?
The market is challenging for my clients. There is a lot of uncertainty around the economy so I plan on spending the next 12 months helping my clients to achieve their goals and to flex with the changing challenges that will come. Personally, I’m looking forward to some adventures, I don’t know what they will be yet, but am sure some will include walking up a few mountains… and still trying to paddle board properly.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?
I wish I had known that even in the tough times when we hit recessions, that out of it would come some of the best opportunities in my career and not to fight the changes that came my way but to see them as the opportunities for growth that they were. I also wish someone had told me to look at the life I wanted to lead, the kind of people I wanted to work with and for, and the type of working patterns I enjoyed. It would have helped me to identify the sector, the type of firm and the clients I wanted to work with more quickly if I had sat down and asked myself those questions earlier than I did!
www.weightmans.com/people/rose-moss
Thornton Legal is a leading recruitment agency, working in private practice across Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, West Yorkshire and the West Midlands. Main locations include Liverpool, Chester, Preston, Manchester, Leeds, Shropshire and the surrounding areas. At Thornton Legal we work with partners, solicitors, paralegals and legal assistants across a range of practice areas including (but not exclusively) corporate, commercial property, employment, litigation, private client, family and residential conveyancing.