In her own words: Claire Parrott

In the latest in our series of interviews with CILEX members, we spoke to Claire Parrott, managing partner of Tuckers North West, about how she started out and her career in criminal law

Growing up, Claire Parrott wanted to be a police detective but studying for A-Levels proved difficult after she left home at 16 and needed a job to support herself.

She found a role working as an office junior at a firm specialising in criminal law. She loved the job from day one and soon began studying with CILEX, attending court and taking on police station work.

Two years ago, she became the first CILEX lawyer at long-established, national criminal defence firm Tuckers Solicitors, to be appointed to a managing partner position. She was also the firm’s first female managing partner. Still passionate about criminal law, she wants more young people to consider a career in this tough but rewarding field.

For as long as I could remember, what I really wanted to do was to join the police force and become a detective. I spent time doing work experience with the police and their advice was that I should get legal qualifications, to help me move up the ranks.

I did pretty well at school and in my GCSEs. My plan was to go to college but a tough upbringing meant that at 16 I had to leave home and move to Leeds to live with some friends. I worked as a cleaner and claimed benefits to support myself, eventually making it to college to study English literature and art.

In the end, however, it was just too difficult to financially support myself fully with a small part-time job and to keep up with my studies – I needed full-time work. By now I was back in Manchester and living on my own, so I gave up college and started temping.

Aged 18, I found an office junior position at a small criminal defence firm run by Keith Dyson. As soon I started working there, I was gripped, I was getting involved in the fight for justice – something I had always been passionate about.

I went from office junior to receptionist to PA and eventually started working on cases. The exposure I got at Keith Dyson was second to none. I went all over the world, including to a prison in Holland where Keith’s client, Curtis Warren, was being held. It was Keith who recommended CILEX to me. I started studying part-time in the evenings about a year into the job.

Making a difference 

After five years, I moved to Tuckers and began working as a magistrates’ court clerk, prepping cases and attending court with solicitors from the firm. I also gained my police station accreditation, which saw me working with clients accused of a huge range of crimes, from shoplifting to terrorism and murder.

I was always incredibly busy and that has never changed. At Tuckers, the work is high volume – at one point, it was said that there were more people in police stations across the country represented by Tuckers than any other firm.

It’s a tough job and the fees for legal aid work have continued to decrease in real terms since my early years in the profession. But I love it as much as the day I started – fighting justice and helping people at one of the worst times in their lives is a vocation, not just a career.

“The age-old question I get asked is, “How can you defend these people?”. But what you learn is that it could be any one of us that ends up in the criminal justice system” 

The age-old question I get asked is, “How can you defend these people?”. But what you learn is that it could be any one of us that ends up in the criminal justice system. I’ve advised on a lot of one-punch manslaughter cases where lives have been changed overnight due to one mistake.

Over the years, I have seen that most criminals are not born that way – most people are a result of their circumstances. That knowledge keeps me going and is why I am so passionate about social mobility. The large majority of the children we see in youth court have had terrible lives – extreme poverty and worse.

In this job, you can make a real difference. I recently represented a man who killed his cousin during a schizophrenic episode. He had been trying to get help for his illness but it was during the pandemic and the system really failed him. I was there with him when he had to watch the CCTV footage of what he had done and that is a moment in my life that I will never forget. The sound he made on seeing the CCTV months later, once he was well enough to view it, was harrowing.

Another of my clients is a heroin addict, a persistent offender as a result of his drug dependency. He was also involved in the trial of a convicted paedophile who had suffered 15 years of abuse at a children’s home. If he had had a better start in life, would he have turned to drugs and crime?

A very recent case involved causing death by driving without due care; a momentary lapse in concentration and two families’ lives were ruined. When people think of criminals, this man would not be what people have in their minds.

Moving up

It took me nine years to become a CILEX Fellow. When I finally passed my exams, I was working full-time, had a one-year-old and had just given birth to my second son. It was hard going – I was paying for it myself and didn’t feel I could ask for study leave. Employers are a lot more flexible these days but you still need to be driven.

Six months after becoming a Fellow, I qualified as an advocate. It was a long time coming as by then I had been working in criminal law for over 10 years. I remember my first day at court in Manchester – one of the busiest in the country. I got through the entire list of nine cases by myself and never looked back. I did my first three-day trial within three months.

It was unusual to have the level of experience I had as a newly qualified lawyer, but that’s the benefit of CILEX – I already had almost a decade of experience when I started on my feet.

In 2020, I was made supervisor of our magistrates’ court solicitors and two years later became managing partner of Tuckers North West, initially covering Manchester and Bury and last year opening new offices in Leeds and Liverpool. I was the first female managing partner at Tuckers and the first CILEX lawyer to take on such a senior position at the firm.

I was so pleased with Tuckers for taking a chance on a CILEX-qualified managing partner. I was up against stiff competition from both barristers and solicitors, some of whom had worked at the firm even longer than I had. I experienced a bit of imposter syndrome as I think many CILEX members do, but I was determined to go for it.

As well as managing four offices, I am also the partner responsible for our national administrative services team. It really helps that I have done pretty much every job in the firm, including on the administrative side. I still do a lot of court work but am trying to scale back to just working with clients who specifically ask for me. I need to focus more on management and the next generation of lawyers as well as getting a better work life balance – something I am always trying to teach my staff to do. It’s not easy and I do love the court work.

The next generation

The biggest issue for me is the lack of people coming into criminal law. The demand isn’t going away and we are trying to represent a growing number of clients with fewer and fewer lawyers.

My firm has made the strategic decision to put a lot of resource into training our own lawyers. Instead of one or two, we will bring in 10 new trainees in one go. The firm didn’t always go out looking for CILEX trainees but that has all changed – we have two CILEX trainees alongside those taking the traditional solicitor route and apprenticeships. I’m responsible (alongside some other remarkable lawyers) for mentoring all new trainees and it’s a rewarding part of the job.

I hope pay and conditions improve. I am an eternal optimist and I think public understanding and support for what we do is increasing – look at the impact of ITV’s recent Post Office drama, people can see how they might be charged for something they didn’t do. There are still lawyers out there passionate about the job.

My next goal is to gain higher rights of audience, now a possibility after many years of fighting. I hope the fact that this is now an option for CILEX advocates will encourage more aspiring criminal lawyers to choose the CILEX route.

Over the last few years CILEX has been increasingly vocal about its alternative route into the profession and law firms are becoming more aware of the skills and experience CILEX members can bring to their businesses.

We are currently undertaking a big recruitment campaign across the country and I am keen to see more CILEX members join us. If you are interested in finding out more, please feel free to contact me directly on parrottc@tuckerssolicitors.com.