A day in the life of…Emma Oliver

As a Senior Associate solicitor in the Real Estate team at HCR, I specialise in development work acting for landowners, promoters and house builders. I work predominantly with projects that are aiming to achieve a planning consent for residential developments. A large part of my work is to help our clients negotiate the documents which sets out how planning will be obtained, who is responsible for what, when the approval of both parties are needed and the price the land will be sold.

Of course, my day starts earlier than the office. Sometimes, pre-office time is the hardest part of my day – and others the best part of my day.

Today started with ten tiny toes kicking me and the first words out of my adorable toddler’s mouth is “bottle”. I rushed around chasing my bundle of joy trying to get him dressed and eventually negotiated with my three-year-old to brush his teeth despite his “solid” argument he did them yesterday! Through some miracle we managed to do the impossible and get out of the house by 7.30am, arriving at nursery some 10 minutes later.

The next challenge was removing my beautiful toddler who had wrapped his arms and legs around mine wanting to stay with “Mummy”. I managed to pry his arms and legs off mine and passed him to his nursery teacher. The tears are real, and I leave feeling bad. I’m always told he is fine 30 seconds later.

The next battle was the A43 commute to our offices in Central England overlooking the River Nene.

Now, with my laptop switched on, the kettle boiled and outlook open, it was time to plan a busy day in the Property Development team. We work in an open plan office where we can collaborate and discuss our ongoing matters meaning that our clients are confident that the entire team is aware of their transaction.

This morning, I had a team meeting to discuss our ongoing matters, our plans for the team and a general check in with each other.

Following this, I prepared one of my promotion agreement matters for exchange, which entailed speaking with and emailing all parties to get everything set up, ensuring monies to secure the exchange were on their way from the promoter’s solicitor, confirming we held signed documents, answering last minute queries and setting up the logistics with our accounts team to ensure the correct monies are sent to the correct places.

My next task for the day was to finalise a report on an Option Agreement to a landowner client explaining how the agreement works and how long the developer had to secure planning. I then detailed how long the developer had the option to buy the land, what restrictions and obligations the landowner had to comply with, and of course how the purchase price would be calculated in the event there was a sale to that developer.

I try my best to use straightforward language and to make the report read like a story about the process rather than a technical document; I find this helps clients to better digest often difficult-to-understand information.

Next up was a Teams meeting. Teams is a massive part of how I communicate on a daily basis with colleagues, clients, agents and other party’s solicitors. This time it was a meeting with the client to go through any questions, queries or concerns regarding a written report on a purchase of a property with some significant land annexed. If a meeting cannot be face to face, I believe that a Teams video call is the next best thing, and still helps you build rapport and trust. The meeting was longer than expected and took me up to “home time”.

Laptop closed. Back in the car. Down the A43. Collected my son from nursery. Snacks, bath, books, bed at 7pm – more successful than the morning chaos. Then a little time for me, before we go again.