Nicola Nutley - Partner and Head of Banking, Burnetts Solicitors LLP
What were your career ambitions growing up?
I was the first person in my immediate family to go to university and we had never had any lawyers in the family. I wanted a career which would be intellectually challenging and varied and I quickly realised that banking work was for me, mainly due to the huge range and variety of work.
Tell us about your current role and what do you most enjoy?
I am a partner and head of the 12-strong banking and property finance team, including solicitors, paralegals and trainee solicitors. I am also involved in developing and growing the Burnetts offering in Newcastle, which includes recruitment and helping with our imminent move to new city centre premises. I love helping steer the growth of the business.
What is your proudest business achievement?
Becoming a partner at Burnetts. I am privileged to work with a bunch of very talented, motivated and enthusiastic colleagues. I have also taught and supervised many trainee solicitors over the years, many of whom have gone on to have very successful careers and that makes me very proud.
How has your industry evolved in the last decade and what changes do you see in the next decade?
Technology has changed my area of work enormously and will continue to. AI will become more prevalent – it is already being used by some firms to conduct initial reviews of large documents such as leases – and I am currently investigating to see how it can be used to streamline or improve our service.
What are you currently working on?
We are doing a lot of work for lenders at the moment in the healthcare sector, with the funding of acquisitions in the pharmacy, dental, GP and care home areas being very active. Two new corporate partners have joined the Burnetts Newcastle office within the last few months and I have been providing banking and funding support on their transactions and spreading the word about our corporate offering.
Tell us about the team you work with?
My team is well known for delivering our service in a very friendly and co-operative way and for being pragmatic and solutions-focused. I am concentrating on bringing through lawyers from the beginning of their careers and training them how to do things in the Burnetts way. We have a dedicated banking training programme to give graduates meaningful work experience, with a view to hopefully progressing to a training contract and then qualifying with the team. I have just appointed our second graduate, just as the first graduate is starting a training contract.
What is the best piece of business advice you have been given?
That the best form of business development is to do a fantastic job for each existing client and on each transaction. That naturally leads to winning repeat work and excellent “word of mouth” referrals. It can be tempting for lawyers to run around spending a lot of time and effort chasing new work which might not lead to anything, but they sometimes do this at the expense of spending quality time and effort on cementing existing relationships and at the expense of doing the best job that they can, every time.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?
By then, I will be getting ready to hand over the reins to someone else but I have no doubt that by then, Burnetts will be one of the largest and most well-known law firms in Newcastle.
Who would be your four ideal dinner guests, alive or dead?
I asked my 12-year-old son to help me with this question and he said that if the four people I ideally want to spend my time with are not myself, my husband and the two boys, then I am doing something wrong. So, I will go with his answer for this one.
How do you unwind outside of work?
Life outside of work is generally hectic and involves lots of time in the outdoors and lots of football. When I do get time to myself, I like to cycle. I am also very skilled at playing video games, playing laser tag, mini golf, escape rooms and bowling – so, in summary, my life outside work is basically lived like a teenage boy.
Favourite Book and Boxset?
I came to it late, but I have just finished watching Breaking Bad, which is so well written and fascinating in terms of character development.
I like books which let me escape into another world or another time. I am a big JRR Tolkien fan and I have really enjoyed the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.
www.burnetts.co.uk