Capability in chaos
“I want to be leading from the front. The employment and HR landscape has changed a lot, and the competition keeps me looking forward and developing. I’m constantly looking at where I can change things and make a difference.”
Interview: Sue Wilcock | Martine Silkstone
Pictures: Warren Page
Julie Temple talks to Essex Director
When navigating the path to success, the more skills and experience acquired along the way, the better. Julie Temple has embraced this simple principle from the start of her career – exploring a variety of different disciplines and gaining valuable knowledge on the road to her current role as partner and head of the employment team at Birkett Long Solicitors.
But, whatever the waypoints on her journey, the destination was always clear and always law.
From the young girl on the Wirral watching US legal dramas, to the professional woman she is today, it has been her constant passion and somewhere she felt she could make a difference.
She says: “The law is something that has always intrigued me; I saw it as a way of helping people. But I wasn’t sure which field I wanted to go into, so when I was looking for a training contract, I targeted large firms where I could get a wide range of experience and have the best chance to find an area that I loved – and I did. I would recommend that to anyone; whatever industry you are going into, be open minded and get as much experience as you can.”
This approach saw her take on a variety of roles during the early years, from legal cost assessment to family law, where she learned important skills around finance, advocacy, research and more. Her recent mention in the Legal 500 as a leading individual in the field of employment law, is testament to the expertise she offers today – and it’s something of which she is rightly proud.
However, as a busy solicitor, mentor, and mother, what actually sets Julie apart is her innate ability to calmly deal with whatever comes her way – whether tribunal cases or triplets (yes, triplets!).
“My head is almost always whirring,” she laughs. “I have to balance my home life with my professional life, which includes client demands, team demands, firm demands, and marketing demands. I am also currently co-chair of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and a school governor.”
“Prioritising and time management are my key skills. No two days are ever the same, and every day is a learning day.”
Growing up
Julie was born in November 1976, at the Clatterbridge Hospital on the Wirral.
The second of two children, her brother David’s third birthday was the following day, and her mother has described going through labour while worrying about not having made his cake. Meanwhile, Julie’s father, an electrical engineer, was working away and the police had to search South Wales for him so he could be back for the birth.
It seems that hard work and responsibility – and a slight penchant for chaos perhaps – runs deep in this family’s genes.
Following her safe arrival, Julie had a happy childhood on the Wirral and has fond memories of time spent with her nan while her parents were at work – going for an iced bun every Wednesday, on bus trips to the beach during the holidays, and occasionally taking the ferry across the Mersey to Liverpool for a day out.
At the weekends and on holidays, the whole family would go caravanning – just loading up, choosing somewhere interesting on the map, and setting off on an adventure at a moment’s notice.
“We just packed a bag, hitched up the caravan, and drove off,” Julie remembers. “There was nothing pre-planned. It seems crazy looking back, especially with two kids in tow – I remember particularly some of those unplanned trips being to France, but always Dad would drive and, to stop us arguing, my brother would be in the front, map-reading.
“We still bicker today,” she grins.
Finding her path
When it came to her education, Julie was encouraged by her father to take the 11 plus and secured a place at the local, girls-only grammar school. Always “a bit academic”, she loved her time there and, with ‘LA Law’ now showing on the television, an interest in the legal profession was stirring.
During her GCSEs, a period of work experience at the local council cemented her growing fascination and introduced someone who would be an influential role model, as she explains: “My mum, who worked at the town hall, arranged a two-week placement for me in the legal department where one of the solicitors, Veronica Calderbank, took me under her wing. I’m still in touch with her today – someone like that can make a big difference to you when you’re young. She invited me back over the summer and I got involved in all kinds of different areas and worked with different people within the team – it was a great experience.”
With her career path now set, university beckoned, and Julie took a place at Newcastle to study accountancy and law – dropping the accountancy part at the last minute which she says was “definitely the right decision”.
While there she studied hard but was also working where possible to earn extra money, picking up jobs at the zoo, a pub, and in the local cinema – though her time as an usher may have tainted her movie-going experience forever.
“Watching films all day sounds like great fun,” she explains, “but I can’t bring myself to sit through Men in Black or Con Air one more time! I loved them both to start with, but however many times later…”
In fact, her favourite films are Dirty Dancing, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Top Gun, and Cocktail, but with four children (more on that later), the cinema is still an unappealing prospect.
But we digress…
After graduation, Julie returned home to help care for her mum, who was unwell at the time, and completed the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law in nearby Chester. While her degree had covered all the technical aspects – the history and legislation – this gave her a more rounded, practical skill set that included advocacy and the simple ability to find information in a law library when required – a valuable tool even in the digital age.
A year working in legal cost assessing followed, during which time she met her husband-to-be and applied for final training contracts, specifically seeking out larger firms across the country that offered a range of disciplines.
Aged 23, Julie found the perfect place.
East Anglia beckons
In September 2000, having moved to Ipswich, Julie started her year’s training at Birkett Long.
Her first role was based in the Halstead office within the family law team, and she was working with Philip Hoddell, who is now chairman of the firm. She says she loved the drive to the office through the Suffolk countryside but found the field of work tough.
“It was great to watch Philip and learn from him, but family law was difficult,” she says. “You are dealing with children and, you know, it’s emotionally draining. For that reason, I knew it wasn’t something that I wanted to go into; I was only there for six months before moving to the Colchester office.”
Here Julie went into corporate commercial law – buying and selling businesses – where she worked under another positive female influence in her career, Wanda Domhof.
“I remember one time I was sat in Wanda’s office, and I was on the phone to a client. It was a new enquiry and when I came off the phone she said: ‘I really liked how you dealt with that’. I thought, crap, you’re listening to me!
“But to get that kind of recognition for something as simple as a phone call was amazing, and I think that was probably the first time I felt I was actually making a difference.”
“It is so important to give positive feedback and it’s something I’ve carried through to this day.”
Having enjoyed the commercial side of corporate law – the facts and figures – litigation proved too broad a scope for someone so detail-orientated, and Julie finally found her perfect home in the employment team, where she officially qualified in 2002.
Graduating was “a proud moment” for both her and her parents.
Finding her speciality
As a newly qualified solicitor, employment law offered Julie the perfect combination – the buzz of litigation in tribunals, along with the attention to detail required for contracts and policies. She could enjoy building a case, advocating for her client, and, most importantly, helping businesses to improve their processes and empowering staff to make good decisions.
She says that no two cases are the same and in dealing with a wide range of individuals – clients, advisors, colleagues – the ability to adapt communication style is essential. That, and the ability to juggle deadlines while staying up to date in an ever-changing field.
“The main challenge is keeping on top of what is going on,” she explains. “My field of law is constantly moving – and at speed – and there are learning opportunities everywhere for me as a professional, as a team member, and as a team leader. I try to grow through every interaction and frequently read industry newsletters, scan the news, and keep an eye on social media. I also read employment, marketing, and psychology books for new thoughts and initiatives. The ability to find information is so important – clients rightly expect us to know everything, and when we don’t, we need to know how and where to look for the answer.
“There is little certainty in what we do and making that clear while still being reassuring is a real challenge,” she adds. “I’m afraid ‘it depends’ is a phrase I use a lot and I always have in mind the strict letter of the law – it can be the difference between winning and losing.”
Moving on
In April 2004, after a brief spell working in the newly opened Chelmsford office, Julie left Birkett Long for pastures new. She was approached by Howes Percival in Norwich and, feeling a need to gain more experience elsewhere, it seemed like a good time to move on.
She worked in Norfolk for two years and during this time learned more about marketing and formed a relationship with the CIPD, where she would eventually become co-chair of the Essex and Ipswich branches.
Unfortunately, the role didn’t develop as she had hoped, so when she was introduced to Simon Quantrill and invited to join his niche employment practice, the timing was perfect.
She started at Quantrills in April 2006, and by 2009 she had become a partner.
With her career now firmly established, it was time to grow her family.
Two become six
Having married in 2005, Julie’s first daughter, Alex, arrived in November 2009.
Julie took six months maternity leave then returned to work, sharing childcare with her husband, and taking one precious day off each week to spend with her new baby. This, in combination with a nursery place, worked well for a couple of years then Julie became pregnant again.
“It was triple trouble,” she grins.
“When we went for the scan, the sonographer said: ‘I think there’s three’, and quickly went to get a colleague. I just burst into tears. Alex was with us and asked my husband why I was crying. He said: ‘Mummy’s happy’, and I was like – no, mummy’s terrified!”
Julie finished work in August 2012, just missing the London Olympics but in time to watch the Paralympics on television as she rested and waited for the new arrivals. Three of everything was bought and delivered, and she made Alex a pirate ship out of the boxes – a fond memory to this day.
With everything in place, Harriet, Fraya, and Gabriella (Gaby) arrived – two minutes apart and in that order – in September. They spent six weeks in the special care baby unit at Ipswich Hospital before coming home where the chaos of feeding, changing, and sleeping began.
“We would have the cot and whoever was on shift set up in the living room,” she remembers. “We’d sleep on the sofa, then every three hours it was time to get them up, feed them, get them back to bed, clean up all the bottles, and try to get some sleep before doing it all over again.
“I’d do the week when my husband was at work, and then he’d do the weekends. I remember waking up on a Saturday morning feeling so completely different because I’d managed to get some sensible sleep. It was a crazy time.”
With a lot of help from close friends, slowly things settled into a calmer routine and nine months later, Julie returned to work.
For a while the children were at nursery and they employed a nanny to help, but eventually her husband gave up work and Julie says it was great to know that their children had a parent at home full time – even if she did miss an occasional sports day.
Reflecting on motherhood today, she affirms that her four beautiful girls are her greatest personal achievement, and she wants to set a good and healthy example for them as they grow up.
“I am not convinced I am quite there yet, but I am working on it,” she says, with an uncertainty that will resonate with all parents.
Full circle
A few years after her children were born, Julie was approached by Birkett Long and was asked if she would be interested in leading the employment team. It was too tempting an offer to refuse, and in January 2019 she returned to the firm where she had originally qualified.
“Walking back in was a memorable moment,” she recalls. “I was lucky enough to return as a partner and I don’t know whether that made it easier, having the respect that carries, or harder, as those who knew me from before potentially still saw me as the person I had been back in 2004. It definitely took time to get to know the team and how things worked, but I always tried to do my best, listen to the points of others, challenge and speak up where I felt appropriate, and reflect and adjust.”
The transition wasn’t helped by the pandemic and lockdown, which hit just over a year after her move back to Colchester. Given the area of law and how much things were changing for employers and employees, Julie had to hit the ground running.
She says she was lucky that her husband and children were able to take refuge at their home on the Norfolk coast for the duration, leaving her free to focus on work and the difficulties ahead.
“Covid was a real challenge, but I am really proud of how we stepped up and adapted during this period.”
“My inbox was huge, overtaken by government updates, and I took on the role of reviewing it all then sharing my interpretations with colleagues so they could advise clients. I often sat with a glass of wine around 5pm on a Friday, reading the latest government release. The restrictions changed regularly, and we had to be on it.”
Eventually, with remote working becoming easier over time, Julie was able to join her family and work more from home. This hybrid arrangement has remained in place, but while the comfort of jeans and the chance to do the school run are nice, she says it is still important to have that office environment where you can talk to people and share praise where deserved – just like she experienced as a trainee.
Finding balance
Having worked early mornings and late into the night during the pandemic, as things returned to normal it was then important to find a more sustainable work/life balance moving forward.
It’s not an easy task for a busy solicitor, but Julie now enjoys more flexibility and finds having separate work and personal phones helps her to switch off at the end of the day.
Yes, downtime is still at a minimum, but with her four children holding her to account, she makes time where possible to go running or sit with them to watch TV – Race Across the World, Friends, or an occasional legal drama (still a favourite to this day).
She is also keen to indulge her passion for photography. Her subjects are mostly landscapes and wildlife, but she describes the recent aurora in the night sky as an “incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience” – one she woke her girls to see.
Pleas from Gaby to get a dog are currently being resisted, but time will tell…
So, what’s next?
“I’m going to enjoy watching my four girls grow up. I can’t wait to see what they decide to do and I plan to support whatever that might be.”
“Professionally, I want to be leading from the front. The employment and HR landscape has changed a lot, and the new competition keeps me looking forward and developing ideas. I’m constantly looking at where I can change things and make a difference.
“For example, we are currently working in-house and with our clients to improve and serve in a more proactive way, helping prevent problems from happening in the first place. Many employers find themselves in difficulty because their managers don’t have the confidence or knowledge needed to deal with issues that arise, and we are developing some basic tools so they can be prepared if and when something happens. Of course, it’s not easy, but it’s about education.
“At the end of the day, ‘people’ is over everything that we do – more than any other discipline, I think – and I want to continue to build strong relationships and offer advice and support where I can.
“The journey might be bumpy at times, but I am sure it will be worth it…even if my email inbox is horrendous!”
