“A country solicitor needs to be proficient in many skills.” So said William Heelis to Beatrix Potter when they met ahead of a property auction in the Lake District: or at least he did on the film set of Miss Potter…..
Rural practitioners at the turn of the 20th century would indeed have been multi-skilled, as the population they served would have been very sparse. Firms did not have the large city based departmental practices they do today with a branch office in the small country town – if they’ve not shut it.
When I began my Articles in 1985, as training contracts were called back then, I was given a tiny office next to that of the firm’s Consultant who had been admitted to the Roll in 1933; he well remembered the days of going to the Magistrates’ Court in the morning to defend a petty criminal and apply for a pub licence extension whilst his secretary looked after a property completion. His afternoon appointments may have included clients signing wills and someone seeking a divorce. A true general practitioner, and a wonderful mentor too.
Sometimes however, it could be some completely different skill that was called upon at a client’s time of need – nothing to do with the law. I can think of three occasions where it was most definitely not my legal skills that were appreciated by the client.
On one occasion, I had gone out for an evening walk round a small somewhat overgrown field near Carsington Water that was to be sold by auction a week or two later. I needed to find the water trough in case any bidder asked where it was. When I found it, water was gushing out of it because the ball valve mechanism had broken. I stemmed the flow with a fallen tree branch and some discarded baler twine, and returned the following evening with some tools to replace the inlet mechanism with a new one purchased from the local hardware store. Thankfully the supply was not on a meter. The late owner had insisted Severn Trent provided mains water free of charge in perpetuity because they’d taken the part of the field with a spring in it to build the reservoir.
Another time, I had gone to see new clients who were buying a bit of land at the back of their home to extend their garden; when we walked down to inspect the land, their back lawn was covered in molehills. Fortunately, I happened to have a couple of mole-traps in the car boot; I’d removed them from my in-laws’ paddock the previous weekend, so I offered to set them after the meeting was over. The client watched carefully and took on board the instructions as to how to inspect and reset them. The following morning I took a phonecall to say we had been successful. Later in the week a rather bemused receptionist somewhat gingerly delivered to my office a Sainsbury’s bag containing two mole-traps, a thankyou card and a bottle of wine! I went on to do a lot of work for those clients.
Finally, I had gone for yet another walk round some land due to be auctioned – this time to check that the neighbouring farmer had removed his livestock so vacant possession could be given. I found him and his son – both tired and frustrated – chasing half a dozen young bullocks round the field. The problem was that the gap in the hedge they were trying to drive them through had been barred for several weeks by an electric fence which the livestock thought was still there. I suggested that we let the beast rest for a while, and then I’d walk round the field with my dog. After two laps with the bullocks following, I left the dog with the farmer and disappeared through the gap; he let her off the lead and she ran to me with the beast following her – straight out of the field. They were so interested in the dog they’d forgotten all about the electric fence. Job done.
People come to the legal profession from many backgrounds, and bring with them talents and skills that they never think will be needed in the context of their practice. But you never know……