In her own words: Kristy Underwood

In every issue, we hear from a CILEX member about how they started out and their career journey. Kristy Underwood tells her story

Kristy Underwood was not looking for a legal career but after leaving college she joined a local firm of solicitors in Portsmouth, where she began representing clients in court aged 19.

She is presently the only CILEX Lawyer who holds practice rights both as a CILEX Litigator and Advocate in civil and family proceedings. She is also a qualified mediator and was recently appointed as a director and head of family at Elaine Parkes Solicitors in Kent and East Sussex.

“After finishing my GCSEs I knew I wanted to work in a business environment but had no plans beyond that. I began studying for a business administration NVQ 3 and had my first taste of working in the legal sector after my college arranged a placement for me at Blake Morgan during my first year.

When I left college in the early 90s, there were few employment opportunities – the country was in a recession and jobs were hard to come by. I was offered a role as a trainee legal executive at a firm in Portsmouth. I had no idea what the job would entail but I accepted it and was enrolled on the CILEX course by the firm on my first day.

To say I was thrown in at the deep end is an understatement. At 19 and with very little training, I was representing people at court, both with and without counsel, dealing with primarily civil and family matters. I went to court every week, working things out myself as I went along, gaining experience and building a good reputation.

It was a difficult time given I was on a very low salary and was living by myself. To pay the bills, I worked full-time at the firm whilst retaining my college job at the Co-op working three evenings a week and on Saturdays. In addition, I was studying through CILEX, initially at college and then through correspondence.

Focus on family

After a couple of years, I spoke to the human resources manager from my time at Blake Morgan and secured a job as a senior administrator in the financial planning and investment department, and then its sister department, private client. Whilst this was interesting, I missed the court work and so left after two years and specialised in family law from then on.

“I spent much of my childhood in family law proceedings relating to my parents, including waiting in solicitors’ offices and outside a courtroom” 

I had always been interested in family law as I spent much of my childhood in family law proceedings relating to my parents, including waiting in solicitors’ offices and outside a courtroom. I appreciate how important it is to help couples resolve relationship breakdowns amicably. Whilst advising people during such a difficult period of their lives can be challenging, it is also incredibly rewarding. I enjoy problem solving and do my utmost to avoid matters proceeding to a final hearing. I have been a member of Resolution for over 20 years.

I had started the CILEX course in 1993 but did not become a Fellow until 2003 due to the minimum age of admission at that time. In 2008, I was one of the first six to qualify as a Chartered Legal Executive Advocate in family proceedings under the relaunched scheme.

In February 2022, I was admitted as a CILEX Litigator & Advocate in family proceedings. At the time of admission, I was the only Chartered Legal Executive with both the family and civil certificates. It means I now have independent practising rights, have the same advocacy rights as a solicitor and can work unsupervised, which has been important in progressing my career.

Management and mediation

I remained with my employer until 2012 (nearly 14 years) and took an 18-month career break to spend time with my daughter, who was then three years old. Once she started school, I returned to work, joining a firm in Waterlooville in Hampshire as head of family and litigation. After subsequently relocating to the West Sussex/Surrey border, I started working at a local firm, leaving there in late 2021 as a partner, having been responsible for a branch office.

During this time, I qualified as a family mediator (through Resolution) and as a civil and commercial mediator and a workplace mediator (through the ADR Group). I am currently working towards becoming an accredited family mediator. I also hold family law accreditation through the Law Society and was also admitted as a chartered fellow of the Chartered Managers Institute last year after completing a Level 7 diploma in strategic management and leadership.

This year, I took on a new role as director and head of family at Elaine Parkes Solicitors in Tunbridge Wells, which is a specialist family law firm. I also work as a consultant for our sister firm, The Law Firm Group, to maintain my experience in the areas of law undertaken by that firm.

The CILEX route into a legal career has worked well for me – I was very young when I first started undertaking advocacy without counsel and was able to learn on the job and gain a great deal of experience before many solicitor counterparts would have even finished university. When I started you could not become a partner, a director or a judge and it was virtually unheard of for a Chartered Legal Executive to head up a department as I currently do.

Since then, the gap between solicitors and Chartered Legal Executives has closed so much that it is almost non-existent, particularly with the opportunity of becoming a Chartered Legal Executive Advocate and as a CILEX Litigator & Advocate.