How I Became a Finance Manager in a Law Firm in England

Charlotte May is a guest writer for the ILFM, a Finance Manager at Nalders Solicitors and an ILFM Award Winner with her Fellowship studies.

My name is Charlotte May and I live and work in Cornwall.

I work for one of the largest law firms in Cornwall with 7 offices throughout the county. Nalders has been going since around 1783 and I am proud of Nalders' history and the part the firm has played in the shaping of Cornwall and the West Country. 

Post A-Level Decisions

On completion of my A-levels in 2007 and with my decision to not go to University, I looked around for an apprentice accounts role. Within a couple of months, I managed to find and secure a role with Nalders in July 2007 as an apprentice accounts clerk. I was an addition to their growing team becoming the fifth member of the department. I successfully completed my AAT apprentice in 2010. Whilst doing my apprenticeship, I worked through the ranks at Nalders and was promoted to Accounts Manager in 2012 at the age of 23.

Learning Legal Accounting

Accounts in the legal sector is very specialised and although I had my AAT qualification and 5 years of experience in the department, I believed it would be beneficial to find an organisation in the legal sector which could provide me with guidance and support. It was then I came across the Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM). Whilst researching the ILFM through their website I instantly knew that if I wanted to further my career it would be imperative for me to become a member of the ILFM.

Studies in Legal Practice Management with the ILFM

I noticed that they offered a Legal and Practice Management Qualification. The practice management aspect particularly appealed to me as this would enable me to broaden my knowledge of a law firm as a whole rather than just the financial aspect, which all my qualifications and experience at the time related to.

The Journey with the ILFM Membership

I became a member of the ILFM in 2013, completed the Diploma in 2014 and the Associate Level in 2016. The final level of the ILFM qualification is fellowship status. Fellowship is the ILFM’s highest qualification, designed to test a candidate’s knowledge and ability to research and analyse a chosen subject within the legal profession. To achieve this, a 10,000-15,000-word thesis is to be written and a 30-minute presentation to be delivered to the board on an approved chosen subject. I chose the subject “profitability”. I was confident with my chosen subject but, delivering this in a thesis and a presentation to the board was definitely out of my comfort zone! I was determined to complete this and with a lot of hard work, I completed the Fellowship in 2017.

Award Winner with ILFM Fellowship

Receiving an award from the ILFM at the Middle Temple Hall at the Law Society in London for my Fellowship status in 2018 was incredibly rewarding to, say the least. 

I found the course so helpful that I even went back and did an additional ILFM Associate Course in Tax for the legal profession in 2021. This wasn’t available in 2016 when I originally completed the associate level. I knew that if it was like the other associate papers, it would be well worth completing!

With the help of the ILFM and the partners at Nalders, who have always been incredibly supportive of my personal development within the firm, I was promoted to Finance Manager in 2021. I am currently the deputy COFA and responsible for managing the firm's finance team, preparing and maintaining management reports such as cashflows and budgets, overseeing credit control and payroll and assisting with any other financial management information required by the partners.

Since 2021, I have completed an Advanced Certificate in Money Laundering Qualification with the ICA with the intent of becoming the firm’s money laundering compliance officer (MLCO) as well as currently overseeing the Operations Department within the firm.  

All ILFM Qualification Courses can be found HERE

Charlotte kindly wrote this editorial as part of a case study for ILFM legal finance career pathway progression