In this series, we introduce some of the people that make up Stephens Scown. We learn about their expertise, what drew them to join the legal profession and find out a little bit about who they are outside of work.
Here we introduce Jess Lewis, paralegal in our Real Estate team.
Can you share with us a little bit about your role and a typical day?
Of course, so I am an experienced paralegal in the Real Estate team based in Truro. I joined Stephens Scown in December 2015 and am part of the Social Housing sub-team. A typical day for me involves working with the Social Housing and Public Sector teams to support landlords, charities, registered providers of affordable housing, estates, local authorities and other clients with their conveyancing needs.
I deal with a wide variety of transactional property matters, including:
- Charging portfolios
- Site set ups (both shared ownership and open market)
- Easements and utility transfers
- Freehold and leasehold sales and acquisitions of residential and commercial property, including charitable transactions
- Lease extensions and variations
- Supervising and managing sales and disposals for providers (including shared ownership transactions, such as resales, staircasings and buy-backs).
Why did you specialise in (your area of) law?
Despite previously dabbling in family law, I really enjoy the non-contentious side of property law. It’s always interested me, and I like the variety, every matter is different. I especially love that I get to work with repeat clients, build relationships and help them to meet their targets and achieve their goals. I feel like part of my clients’ teams rather than just their lawyer.
What do you love most about your role?
The most rewarding part of my role is helping my clients achieve their goals. I’ll never get bored of being able to happily tell clients “we’ve completed!”. As part of my role I also supervise and train newer members of the team and I love to see their confidence grow as they gain experience and deepen their knowledge.
How do you spend your time outside of work?
I enjoy being active purely for the endorphins, walking the glorious coastal paths of Cornwall and generally spending time with my young family – I have a very energetic toddler who keeps me on my toes outside of work hours!
If you weren’t a lawyer, what you be and why?
I’ve always found people’s behaviour fascinating, so before beginning my legal career, I studied Psychology with Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies at University. I wrote my dissertation on “the Lying Brain” and wanted to be a research psychologist, studying the human brain and behaviour.
What does it mean to work for Stephens Scown, what makes us different?
I’ve been at Stephens Scown for nine years this year and I think that is a testament to the great culture we have grown here – people want to stay! I started as a legal secretary, was supported through my training and always eagerly encouraged to develop. There is such a wealth of knowledge and experience in each team that is shared across the firm rather than gatekept. Being the UK’s first large employee-owned law firm and the first South West law firm to become a B Corp shows how we do things differently. We have an innovative and inclusive ethos that trickles into every part of our work.