Set For Success: Leah Vaghela, My Law Solicitors

In this episode, recent alumnus Ben Weisz is joined by Leah Vaghela, co-founder of My Law Solicitors and a specialist in employment law. Leah studied her LLB and LPC at the University.

Leah discusses the reasons behind setting up her own firm, managing her career whilst raising children, and how sitting down for an extra hour with a client can sometimes be the answer to winning a case. 

Transcript

Hi everyone, and welcome to this mini series of the University of Law podcast, where we speak to our alumni to gain insight into their careers and how students can follow in their footsteps. Today, we're speaking to Leah, who is a co-founder of My Law Solicitors. Their business model prioritizes remote working and flexibility, and she's a specialist in employment law. Her clients have described her as refreshing, down to earth and compassionate. 

Leah, thank you so much for joining us today. 

Leah (Guest): Thank you. Thank you for having me. 

Ben (Host): We're delighted. Now let's start there. Those words that client feedback so important isn't it. But that particular feedback. Refreshing. Down to earth. Compassionate. What do those words mean to you and how do you incorporate that into your practice? 

Leah (Guest): Yeah. So they mean a lot. And for us it's not just another client that walks through the door. It's genuinely somebody that has come to us. They've got a massive problem and we genuinely care about them. And I think that that obviously comes across in how we deal with them. It's not just into that, you know, the conveyor belt. We deal with the work that we need to deal with and then kind of send them out the door. We will deal with it from start to finish. And ensure that they have the best service possible and make them feel like we care because we do. And you know what? That's to help them in that situation. 

Ben (Host): Well, yeah, the words are really coming from your clients and it's employment law specifically. So give us an idea of the day to day. I mean, what kind of cases are coming through your door at the moment? 

Leah (Guest): Discriminations. It's everywhere at the moment. And I'm not saying it's always the employer's fault. It might be through another coworker or another colleague and the employer didn't necessarily appreciate it. So it's not as if the employers always allowing it. 

But particularly at the moment, disability discrimination is what I'm seeing a lot of, and working with those clients, it's really rewarding because they'll come to you at quite a difficult time. You know, a lot of them might already be mentally or physically struggling. They come to you needing some advice. And actually we get them really positive outcomes. And it's really rewarding to us to see that because work is such a big part of everybody's life. You know, it's work and home, isn't it? It's 50 50. So being able to give them a positive outcome and make them go home feeling that if they were being discriminated against, they were right to pursue it... it gives them some comfort that they've done the right thing. And it makes us feel good as well that we've helped them. 

Ben (Host):

And how does that work for you then? So from that first conference onward, what are you taking your clients through?

Leah (Guest): So really it's once they've come through the door, it's always a meeting with them because I think it's always really important to get the client in, actually have a conversation with them, meet them in person, and understand a little bit more about them. They start to understand a bit more about me and how we work, and then it's really just about letting them tell their story and what's happened. 

With the larger firms, what I found is you have time limits on the time you can spend with them. And I don't think that should be the case. Actually, if they want to talk to you for an hour and a half, two hours, let them, because it's important to them. And actually, something might come out in that conversation that you did need or you actually find really useful. And then depending on what the work is, what's needed, it could be tribunal or it could actually just be as simple as contacting the employer and notifying them of an issue. 

Ben (Host): That's really interesting that actually you do need to make the time so that you can find that nugget at the end of a very long conference. Can you remember any examples of where you've maybe got an hour in and suddenly the client says something that makes your eyes light up? 

Leah (Guest): Yeah. So an individual simply wasn't sure if they had a claim, but said, "I'd really like to just chat to somebody about it." So I said, yes, come in, let's have a chat. So we got a coffee, we sat down, we had a chat, and on the face of it, it didn't look like there was anything there. 

So I explained how protected characteristics work and said from what you're telling me, it doesn't seem like you fit that. I explained what the non protected characteristics are. We were talking through it, and then they said, "Well, does it matter that I'm deaf in one ear?" I said, right, okay, now let's delve into this a little bit deeper. 

Because they had lived with that, it wasn't necessarily a hindrance for them, it wasn't a disability in their mind; it was just something that they had lived with and dealt with. But actually, the problems that they were raising were all linked to this disability. They just couldn't see it, but knew that there was something further. 

Under the Equality Act 2010, there are nine protected characteristics. And what that means is if you have one of these certain characteristics, you may potentially be afforded protection under the Equality Act. Examples include sex, gender, pregnancy, maternity, and disability. With disability, that's the main one, and this can be a physical or mental impairment. It doesn't have to be obvious. And it's completely different to the medical definition. So you might think, "Well, medically I don't see a consultant, I don't see a doctor, I don't go to hospital." But that doesn't necessarily mean for employment law purposes that you're not disabled. 

Ben (Host):

And what happened? What was the outcome?

Leah (Guest): So we actually went to tribunal for that client in particular. We actually settled 20 minutes before the hearing started, but we still took it as a win. And it was really, really rewarding for the client to see that, because if I had not taken that initial "let's have a coffee, let's sit down and let's really dig deep and ask all these questions," we might not have got that. 

Ben (Host): And you've also said you were the co founder of My Law Solicitors. Now, what inspired you to take the leap and start your own firm? 

Leah (Guest): So I worked for quite large law firms previously. And we just wanted to do something a little bit different because I think really we could see a couple of flaws in the larger law firms. For us, it's always got to be our client start to finish; they are our sole focus during that time. We didn't want something to be focused on billing targets or what fee earners can and can't do. It was more about the experience for those clients, making it more accessible. We wanted to create a modern way of working in a more modern setting so that everybody off the street could walk in and seek legal advice. 

Ben (Host):

In terms of having lower overheads and not large offices, how was it? I mean, did the pandemic come into it for you in terms of shaping your thinking and the lockdown working we all got used to?

Leah (Guest): Yeah, so it was massive for us with the pandemic. It showed us a world that could work remotely and virtually, and everybody was quite happy to do that. For our clients, because we see them sometimes when they are starting employment, during employment, or at the end of employment... trying to fit in a meeting with a solicitor when they might be juggling work life and home life can be quite challenging. So actually, for me to say, "Just pop on a Teams call with me, it's fine. You don't have to come into an office, you don't have to drive and park your car somewhere," a lot of them are quite happy to do that. 

What we actually found as well, because the age range that we deal with is huge... literally from 16 to 18 all the way up to retirement age... we tend to find that the older generation really want us to go to their house as well. Not many employment solicitors would do that, typically it's wills and probate lawyers that go out to houses and do home visits, but we're more than happy to do that. We understand everybody's needs are different. And again, it's a way of keeping our costs down so that we can pass that saving on to our clients. 

Ben (Host):

And that must be a big percentage of the market potentially opened up to you... older people, disabled people who need that kind of home visit.

Leah (Guest): Massive. So particularly with discrimination and disability, I appreciate that it doesn't necessarily always have to be physical, but when it is a physical disability, they can be quite limited as to where they can go, how they can get there, and when they can get there. They might need support from other people. And we've actually told quite a few clients, "Don't worry, I will come to you." And that's meant the world to them, just to think they don't have to worry about how they're going to get there. It really helps them just feel more at ease in their own home. 

Ben (Host): So what would you say then? Because it's a big debate, isn't it? Every week on Legal Cheek it seems there's some kind of article about some big law firm trying to get everyone back into its expensive office. What would you say to somebody in that camp of the debate who really thinks lawyers need to be back in their offices? 

Leah (Guest): I think when you're training, it's quite valuable to have that contact with other solicitors just to even hear them on the phone and learn from their telephone manner and how they deal with things. I think you can learn a lot from that. I did my training pre COVID, so I had the benefit of that. 

But I think once you've qualified and you understand the telephone manner and you're quite comfortable with what you're doing, I don't think there's any need to be in the office permanently. I think there is still a place for it, mental health wise as well, it can still be really good for people to get out, talk to other people, and socialize. But I certainly find myself more productive working at home alone than in a big office. In a big office it's "How was your weekend? How was this?" and you're thinking, "I just need to get my head down and get on with this piece of work." It's lovely to catch up, but please, I've got a deadline. 

Ben (Host): So as well as starting your journey in the law and moving into employment law, you founded a company quite early on in your career. There must have been so much you learned during that process. Where did you start? 

Leah (Guest): It was quite a big journey, to be honest. Both myself and my business partner had always thought, let's do it, but it's that question of where do we start. 

First of all, for me, it was resigning from my role because I couldn't take on this challenge due to non compete policies while working for the firm, and time wise I couldn't do it either. It would have been too much. So that was the first step really, saying when is the time for me to resign and step back. 

When all you've worked for is to be a solicitor and then you're going to just quit your job and walk away, that's a really big gamble. We found the right time to do it just before we had our little girl, and I said, right, this is it now, it's now or never, because I don't think I was ever going to feel entirely ready to do it. 

Ben (Host): So you took the leap. What helped you take the leap? Because a lot of people who listen to this podcast might be wondering about making a leap. What prompted you in the end? 

Leah (Guest): So I had our boy, who was 18 months old, and we were just about to have our little girl. In my head, it was a decision of, do I go part time and put my career on pause, or do I take a career break? What do I do? And I don't think it has to be one or the other; I think you can have both. 

But with the firm I was working for at the time, I don't think I could have had both. I needed that work life balance, and actually, believe it or not, starting our own company and starting our own firm has actually given me that. That will reassure a lot of people that entrepreneurship can actually take a burden off. 

Ben (Host):

So how do you go about it then, once you and your business partner are ready to start setting things up? What are the next steps?

Leah (Guest): It's essentially the forms with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the SRA. It's completing the forms, and I make that sound really simple, but obviously it's not. There's a lot of form filling. You have to prepare business plans, provide a full passport, and cover everything like that. 

That can be quite challenging when both myself and my business partner had never run a firm. He's actually an accountant, so the financial side was all taken care of, and I was there to explain how the client files would be managed, how they would be secure, and how they would be dealt with. But there are still quite a lot of hoops to jump through. 

Once we filed those forms, it was a case of waiting a couple of weeks to find out what the decision was. We set up as an alternative business structure because it's also owned by a non lawyer, which is my partner who is an accountant. Once all that had been vetted and checked, it was then fairly straightforward to do the usual registration at Companies House, and that was it. 

Ben (Host): And once you're set up and running, how do you find your clients? That can be a challenge because when you are in a larger firm, work just gets put on your desk. 

Leah (Guest): Obviously, when you run it yourself, at the start it's about building your reputation. So there was lots of networking. Marketing was set up quite loosely because I'm no expert in marketing, I'm a solicitor. You don't get trained on how to market and pull in clients, you get trained how to service them. That was quite challenging, and we've now hired somebody to help us with that. 

It does get easier when you build that pipeline. What you find is that if we give great customer service, you get referrals where someone says, "Oh, I referred you to so and so." Word of mouth gets a lot of work around, so it's really important to build that pipeline by using your initiative and being proactive. 

Ben (Host): Give us some examples of what you did, because it sounds like you had to teach yourself marketing and client finding from scratch. 

Leah (Guest): I looked at lots of networking events just to get my name out there. I didn't necessarily expect to achieve a lot of clients directly from there, but I thought it might be helpful to know people who could help follow on from that. 

Previously, I had lots of clients that I've dealt with in the past. When we posted on LinkedIn, I actually had a lot of clients reach out and say congratulations, this is amazing. They wanted to meet up for coffee, so we'd have a chat. At that point in time, they might not have needed an employment lawyer, but what I found is a lot of them have come back to me because they've had another issue, or their uncle has had an issue. For me, the most important thing we've done is connecting with people and making those connections. 

Ben (Host): That's fascinating. The networking word makes some people's skin crawl, but you're saying go and meet people and have a coffee without an immediate purpose, as it's a relationship to bank for when somebody does need your help. 

Leah (Guest): Yeah, a lot of our work now comes from recommendations, and you think, "Oh, I met them at that networking event or I had a coffee with them last year." The fact that they've remembered and pointed people in my direction is great. 

The website massively helps as well; that's been a huge thing. We've got great Google reviews that really help, because when people type in "employment lawyer," they always look at reviews to see if there are good ratings, and that's really helped us. 

Ben (Host):

So for those networking events, what are your tips for a newly qualified solicitor or a law student going along to them? How do you get the most out of them?

Leah (Guest): Be confident and be brave, because sometimes when you walk in as newly qualified, you might find that there's a bit of a clique where everyone is already familiar with each other. But they've been where you've been; they've been the newbie in that group. Nobody's going to turn their back and not talk to you, even though that's what you feel like sometimes when you walk in or feel like you might be intruding. 

It's nothing like that. If you put yourself out there and you are confident, you will find that you'll walk in and have the room talk to you, saying, "Hi Leah, how did that client get on last week?" or "I sent somebody to you last week." Then you'll see the new person walk in the room and think, "I was them a few weeks ago, but that's not me now." 

Ben (Host): That's really great advice. Now that you're running a law firm as well as being a solicitor, what has surprised you down the line? 

Leah (Guest): I think when you look at the larger firms, solicitors are actually quite a small part of the firm. You have finance, IT, marketing, HR teams dealing with employees, and a compliance team. The minute you start on your own, where's all that support gone? It's gone, it's disappeared, and you are taking on everything. 

I've always appreciated what support teams do for law firms, but especially when we started on our own, it was very much a case of, "Oh, I'm doing this on my own, I'm opening client files on my own, I'm raising the invoices on my own." You take it for granted when you work in a firm how long that process can take, but actually how vital it is. If there ever was a dispute, things always tend to fall back on the initial setup of the relationship, what was said, and the terms. So for me, that was probably the biggest shock... that we don't have that support team in place. Always value your support staff and your secretaries; they are worth their weight in gold. 

Ben (Host): Now, you studied at the University of Law for your LLB and then you completed your LPC. Talk me through your time at the university and how it shaped the way you are today. 

Leah (Guest): Yeah, so I absolutely loved the law. I actually started at a different university and left after a couple of months because it wasn't for me; it was purely academic and I felt like something was missing. Then I started at ULaw, and I thought, "This is what it's supposed to be like." You got so much more practical insight into what the legal world is like and what working in a law firm is like. 

I was taught by former practitioners, solicitors and barristers in the legal world, who would give the academic side in theory, but then also say, "In practice, this is how it would work." The practice side of it might not be what you write in your exams, but that's what allows you to walk into a firm and go, "I already know that, I can deal with this." Having former practitioners teaching you was a really important part of that. 

Ben (Host):

Was there anyone in particular who you remember just being an inspiration while you were here?

Leah (Guest): There were lots of them, they were all fantastic. Jenny Gerard and Patrick Phyllida were absolutely fantastic. What was really nice is you'd walk into a workshop or a seminar and you would know that whoever was teaching you, it was going to be great. You could always ask as many questions as you wanted, no question was too stupid, and they were always really welcoming, open, and warm. 

Ben (Host):

What advice do you have for current students who are listening? Is there anything you wish you'd known back then?

Leah (Guest): Make sure you do ask those questions, because sometimes law can feel quite scary and intimidating. You might think, "Oh, I don't want to ask that question." 

I remember starting as a paralegal at the same time I was at the University of Law, and lawyers would throw words around where I'm thinking, "I have no idea what that means." But then I asked, and I felt more comfortable to walk up to my team and say, "You're going to have to help me with some of this terminology because I'm getting lost." I was too nervous to ask the solicitors I was working with at the time, but I remember one person in particular taking the time to sit down and say, "Tell me everything you want to know and I'll talk through it with you." That person had a critical matter out the door but was still ready to sit down and help me. So ask the questions, don't hold back, just ask them. 

Ben (Host): One thing that you've talked a lot about, both in this interview and on your LinkedIn profile, is your family. It seems they are quite important to you and sit front and center in your corporate identity, making it important to make time for work life balance discussions. 

Leah (Guest): Yeah, absolutely. My kids are my number one priority, always have been and always will be. But that doesn't mean to say that work isn't up there as well. I do have a great balance. I drop my kids off every morning, I pick my kids up every evening, and whether it's sports or doctors' appointments, whatever they've got going on, I will be there and work my way around it. I also work with some fantastic clients who fully appreciate that everybody has a life outside of work as well, and without their support, I would really struggle to do what I do. 

Ben (Host):

What practical steps do you have to take within the business to make sure that people can make time for their families in that way?

Leah (Guest): It is about protected time. I'm not saying I'm uncontactable before 8:30 because I absolutely am, but it's about protecting my time in the afternoon so that I can be away from the office when my little one finishes. So I'll maybe put my last meeting at 3:00 or 3:30, and then I've just got that time to finish up, tidy everything up, and focus on my kids. From 5:00 until 7:00, that's my time for them. Those hours a day are protected, and I don't do anything with any clients at that time. 

Ben (Host):

Would it have been as easy to do that had you still been working for a firm?

Leah (Guest): No, definitely not, because I can put my laptop back up at 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. and that's absolutely fine, but with a firm, it's very much a case of core hours where they want you to work 9:00 to 5:00. That proves quite challenging when both myself and my partner work full time in quite demanding jobs. I love my children and we've got these clients, but I also don't want my children in nursery from 7:00 a.m. in the morning until 6:00 p.m. in the evenings because I don't want to miss out on what they're doing. So I think I would have really struggled. 

Ben (Host):

Why do you think it is that lots of firms don't recognize the importance of this?

Leah (Guest): I think there's been a big shift and firms are seeing it more now. Historically, I think there's been an expectation on the woman that she picks the kids up, drops them off, and deals with them when they're poorly, and that's absolutely fine, but I didn't want to go part time in my career or step back. 

There was no other alternative at the time, or at least it didn't feel like there was, because my partner also didn't want to go part time. My firm would have been fully supportive of me reducing my hours and making a flexible working request, which is absolutely fine, but for me, that wasn't the solution because I still wanted to work and progress my career. I didn't want to step back. 

Ben (Host):

If there are people listening who don't have the ability to take control by starting their own firm, what can they do to start to carve out a bit of protection like you described?

Leah (Guest): I think it is making it known from the outset. You sit down with your employer and say, "Look, my kids are my absolute number one priority." No employer is going to think badly of you for that; everybody's kids are their priority. But if you just speak, communicate, and have an open conversation, they might say, "That's fine, as long as you do eight hours of work a day, I don't particularly care when those times are, do what works for you." I think you actually get a lot more out of your employees that way. With our employees, we are very much like that... here's the number of hours, do it when you need to do it, because we understand life gets in the way. 

Ben (Host):

How did your family support you through this whole transition into setting your own firm up?

Leah (Guest): They've always been supportive. From a really young age, I knew what I wanted to do, so it was a case of, "Oh, she's going to do it." Then obviously I dropped out of one university, and I think my family thought, "Oh, you know what, maybe she's not going to do this now." But I did, and I made it. 

I think there was actually a lot of doubt in their mind when I had my first child as to whether this was going to stop me, because of that expectation that it's all on the woman. But then when I said, "No, actually, they will go off to nursery, I will go back to work, and we can do this," they supported me. Without my family helping me pick them up and do things with the children, I couldn't have done it. 

Ben (Host):

Have you ever had a mentor who inspired you through your legal journey?

Leah (Guest): Yeah, there's one person in particular. I started my first paralegal job when I was at the University of Law, and she was fantastic. I worked at a law firm in Nottingham at the time, and she owns and runs her own firm down there. She said, "Come on, let's get in, let's do some work." Sometimes just getting your foot in the door for work experience can be really difficult, so to walk in there was fantastic. I did four weeks with her and then she offered me a job at the end of it, which I wasn't expecting at all. I took the job and loved it. 

We've always stayed in contact, and she's always helped me and checked in on me. When we went to set up My Law Solicitors, I reached out to her and said, "I need help, where do I start, what do I do?" and she was fantastic guiding me through it because she's been there and done that. Her advice on doing it like this or like that has been invaluable. 

She absolutely loves the model that we've set up. She actually has an employment law firm as well, so people might think we're in competition, but we're looking for different clients and we actually refer work to each other quite a lot of the time. It's just a great relationship and somebody to bounce ideas off who is in the same boat. 

Ben (Host):

What advice would you give to a young solicitor just starting out, or to your younger self just embarking on this legal journey?

Leah (Guest): When you start, you have this mindset of, "I'm going to get my degree, I'm then going to do my LPC, and then get qualified to be a solicitor." That's ultimately your end goal at that point, and I was so fixated and focused on that, I probably missed the journey. 

I remember the day that I qualified as a solicitor, nothing changed. I got a practicing certificate from the SRA that said you can now practice as a solicitor, and it was very much a case of, "Oh, okay... that was quite underwhelming." There are no big cannons going off behind you. It wasn't what I thought it would feel like, so for me, it's about enjoying the journey more. It's good to have an idea of where you want to be, but it's not always just about when you get there because you might be disappointed. 

Yes, I'm very proud of what I've done, and anybody should be proud of whatever they do, but enjoy how you get there as well. Try making a point of enjoying it from day one, enjoying the ups and downs. Hopefully one day we might have ten staff and look back and think, "Oh, we did that," but I want to remember how we got there. 

Ben (Host): Fantastic advice, and thank you so much again for sharing your insights with us today and sharing your story of founding My Law. I'm sure you will have inspired lots of our listeners. 

If you would like to learn more about the University of Law, you can do so by visiting law.ac.uk. If you enjoyed this podcast, do follow us on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share it with your friends or a classmate, and we'll keep you up to date when a new episode is live. Thank you again, Leah, and goodbye. 

Leah (Guest): Thank you.