Should you need to call on us for legal services, our barrister intermediary, Sharon Rigden, will be your first point of contact and the vital link between you and your legal team. Here we introduce Sharon, explain what she will be doing and tell you why she’s just perfect for the job…
To be able to provide our new range of legal services, and access to experts in virtually every area of law, we have become accredited members of the Legal Services Guild (LSG). We have also employed a qualified Barrister Intermediary who – as the name suggests – will be the link that connects the client to the barrister or legal team working on their case. Having an in-house Barrister Intermediary also ensures that the service we provide is personal, of a consistently high professional standard, and tailored to the needs of our clients.
We are very pleased to introduce our new Barrister Intermediary, Sharon Rigden, and welcome her to the role and to RfM.
Supporting you every step of the way
Sharon can now assist you with a range of personal and business legal matters from wills and trust planning to business agreements and conveyancing.
View the full list of services we offer at www.rfmlegal.co.uk
Should you require a service that we don’t currently offer directly, Sharon will be happy to refer you to the appropriate legal team at LSG. Whether we manage your case in-house or refer you to a specialist, Sharon will be there to support and assist you every step of the way.
A passion for service
LSG doesn’t just give members access to legal expertise. It also provides additional support to enable member companies to run an ethical and effective service, such as helping with the recruitment of a suitable Barrister Intermediary. The Guild suggests that the ideal person for the role will have a background in banking, a passion for customer service and the ability to nurture client relationships. They could have been talking about Sharon.
After 30 years in banking, Sharon was looking for a new challenge – but one that played to her strengths and the type of work she most enjoys. The role of Barrister Intermediary for a new legal service at a progressive local accountancy firm sounded just what she was looking for.
Sharon started her career behind the counter in what was then TSB Bank at the age of 16. Her friendly nature and ability to build good customer relationships soon saw her move up to the position of Personal Banking Advisor. Over the course of three decades at the bank, she held a number of key, customer-focused roles including Privilege Manager, Premier Manager to private banking clients, branch manager and customer relationship manager. Sharon dealt with both private individuals and businesses, from all walks of life, in a range of circumstances – experience which will stand her in good stead in her new role.
“In many ways, the role of Barrister Intermediary is very similar to what I did before,” explains Sharon. “When I worked for the bank, I often had to support clients during difficult periods of their lives. There is a lot of crossover with aspects of the legal services I will be providing, such as powers of attorney and probate.”
“A key aspect of the role is getting to know our clients, to understand their needs and to provide the right advice and support to meet those needs. And to be consistent. Clients of RfM Legal Services won’t have their legal matters passed to different people; they will always be able to deal directly with me.”
Qualified and registered as a Barrister Intermediary
Whilst the nature of the role is a perfect fit for Sharon’s skills and experience, she has had to undergo intensive training to gather the required legal knowledge and become qualified to practice.
“The training to become a Barrister Intermediary is delivered by practising barristers and is quite intensive. In fact, I believe that the legacy planning training course I took is equivalent to what you would learn about the subject in a year at degree level,” said Sharon.
“After 30 years in banking, it’s really motivating to discover another profession that suits my skills and personality just as well.”
We would like to congratulate Sharon on achieving outstanding scores in all her exams and becoming a qualified Barrister Intermediary registered with the Legal Services Guild.
If you need advice or support with a business or personal legal matter, please contact Sharon directly by email to srigden@rfmlegal.co.uk or by telephone on 01772 431233.