Louise Igoe

I joined Lodders as a trainee in 2003 and have only ever worked here. I am Lodders born and bred!

I qualified as a solicitor in 2005 and am now a partner in the private client department specialising in wills, probate and estate planning. I act for a broad range of clients assisting them with the succession of their estates which can include farming estates and also family businesses. I have experience in dealing with complex probate matters involving high value probates and negotiating with HMRC in estates involving claims for agricultural and business property relief.

I am also the newly appointed partner in charge of IT and am working to improve our IT systems across the firm with a view to making us more accessible to our clients.

I am a full member of STEP (Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners) and a member of the STEP Birmingham branch committee; I sit on the main committee and also the technical committee.

What do you most enjoy about your job?

Working with a variety of clients and assisting them when making what can be difficult decisions about planning for the future.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

Work! I am really enjoying my new role as equity partner as it gives me the opportunity to get involved in running the business alongside my fee earning role as a solicitor. It keeps me pretty busy!

Any interesting qualifications?

I cannot say that I have any unusual qualifications. I studied Law and Criminology at Cardiff University and graduated with First Class Honours. Criminology was interesting to study although I decided early on that life as a criminal lawyer wasn’t for me! When I decided that I wanted to be a solicitor, I obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice and to further my knowledge in my field, completed the STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) Diploma after qualifying as a solicitor.

Any interesting personal achievements?

I ran an 11k trail run in Keswick which was challenging! Aside from that, I am proud to have become the youngest ever partner at Lodders and to have progressed to equity partner status at such an early stage of my career.