Meet Kerry Haynes – Solicitor at Kerseys

Kerry Haynes ‘Meet Me’ Video transcript:

Hi, I am Kerry Haynes and I am a Solicitor in the Residential Property department here at Kerseys.

I completed my undergraduate at the University of Greenwich before going onto do my LPC at The College of Law in London.

I managed to secure a position as a paralegal at a local firm in Ipswich where I worked for a year in the residential property department, before starting my Training Contract.

After completing several ‘seats’ including Company/Commercial, Litigation and Family, eventually ended up specializing in Residential Property and qualified as a Solicitor in 2009.

I then re-located to Kent and practiced there for 6 years and got married and starting my family before eventually moving back here to Ipswich.

What started my interest in a legal career?

My interest in the Law begun when I was still at secondary school, after reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom and this inspired by his journey and the fact he was an outstanding lawyer, that it cemented my own decision to pursue a legal career.

Why Law?

I really enjoy reading and learning and the law is always changing so there is always an opportunity to learn something new and develop your own skills, particularly with residential property its quite a stressful time for our clients and one of the things I really appreciate about this area of law is that this something I can help take away the stress of that transaction which for most people is one of the most expensive and most important transactions they will make in their lives.

Advice for anyone wanting to pursue a legal career?

My advice to anybody wanting to pursue a career in the law is firstly get work experience is it paramount, it is a must; you need to get to know what it is like to work in a law firm and the inners workings and daily life before you commit yourself to the cost and the time it takes to pursue a legal career. Once you have got your work experience you can then decide which route you want to take, my route was quite traditional, I did my degree, then I did the LPC and then I did a training contract and that can be quite lengthy, 6 years in total and quite costly.

There are different routes available now thankfully with the Solicitors Qualification exam, CLC for Licensed Conveyancers and ILEX, and those 3 routes all open doors to potential partnership in a firm as well.

If you do decide to pursue a legal career, it is rewarding, it is challenging but it is well worth the hard work!

Why I joined Kerseys?

Kerseys is a very well-known and well respected firm in Ipswich and also in the Suffolk region.  I actually used Kerseys for my own property purchase a few years before to joining and I was very impressed with the service, attention to detail and the fact that client care is at the top of our priorities.  It was a no brainer to join this firm and continue my legal career here, the firm is very flexible and friendly in its approach to how you work the fact that I have a young family it is has bene very good experience working here.