An insight into being a CLAO Head of Office - Angela Graham

Angela Graham, Inverness CLAO's Head of Office, talks about the experiences and challenges her role offers

After working in the recoveries department of a large commercial firm dealing with professional negligence and mortgage repossessions, I joined the CLAO Highland and Islands solicitor team in Inverness in 2013, becoming Head of that office in 2019.

It was a huge move for me and my family at the time, but the focus of the Civil Legal Assistance Office really appealed to me. I have felt the benefits professionally and appreciate having a job that allows me to achieve my career goals. Having a good work life balance and being able to manage my family time is important to me as well and within 20 minutes of finishing work, I am able to enjoy the best of what the Highlands has to offer, whether that is stunning beaches or mountains that go on for days.

I enjoy being able to make a difference, sometimes a significant one, to my clients and their families.

The Inverness office deals with a variety of case work, including housing cases, child protection and mental health work. Being able to play a part in things getting better, for clients facing difficult times in their lives, is a rewarding job. It is challenging and really interesting work - no two cases are ever going to be the same. Our office has been involved in some ground - breaking case work, such as an order in a recent permanence case for contact between a child and birth mother to take place via a private group in Facebook; the first of its kind in Scotland.

Another rewarding part of the job is working closely with advice and support agencies. We are able to support them in a variety of ways, including by providing second tier advice to help them in relation to cases that they are dealing with, training and specialist legal representation in cases where that will have the most impact. Having such good links with these organisations also helps us to find the right support, for clients who would benefit from services other than our own.

When I joined CLAO, I did so as an experienced solicitor. I was at the stage of my career when I was looking to build upon that experience and challenge myself in new areas. As well as dealing with complex casework, I was able to develop my managerial skills through helping the then Head of Inverness office to mentor and support less experienced staff and advising on processes and policies which were all part of developing CLAO and building upon its success.

When the previous Head of Office retired in 2019, having had the benefit of being able to take on those additional tasks, I felt ready to take on that role, when it became available. I enjoy having the additional responsibilities, alongside managing my own caseload, which allow me to have a direct input in how the service is run and help develop the vision for its future.