My career in law started at the County Court in Birmingham so many years ago that my first day coincided with the Civil Procedure Rules first being implemented – May 1999! I guess that gives away my age a little …
I started off as an Admin Officer issuing new claims by the pile and worked my way around the different teams, spending quite a long time in the enforcements team as the Bailiffs Clerk dealing with all Warrants for Possession, setting of eviction dates, applications to suspend evictions and trying to keep 23 bailiffs under control!
Eventually however I became the personal Clerk to the High Court Judge in charge of the Mercantile Court in Birmingham. This gave me invaluable experience of both Court process and Court hearings as I clerked everything from short applications through to multi-national Trials with witnesses giving evidence from America after the 9/11 terrorist attacks via the first use of video link evidence in the Birmingham High Court. The technology at the time was rocky to say the least but those in attendance were fascinated – how the world has moved on since then when video hearings are now the norm, especially post-Covid. I’d like to think I was somewhat of a pioneer but I think I’m probably highly overinflating my involvement!
One of the highlights of my time at Birmingham Civil Justice Centre was being able to Clerk for Mr Justice Neuberger (as he then was) who later went on to become Master of the Rolls and ultimately President of the Supreme Court.
It was during my time at the County Court that I started my studies to become a Legal Executive and, after just over 4 years at the Court, I moved onto my first private practice role. I started out in the regulatory world but very quickly moved into social housing litigation and have never left!
The world of Social Housing never stands still and you never know what each day will bring – there’s never a dull day and this is what keeps me coming back for more. My real passion is helping Social Housing providers find solutions to difficult situations that haven’t been solved despite all the hard work that has gone on before the matter even reaches my desk. It is incredibly rewarding to see a community gain some relief from the anti-social behaviour it has suffered for example or to see a vulnerable tenant obtain the much-needed support from other agencies that was not being provided before legal proceedings were proposed or issued. Our work makes a real difference and is something I’m incredibly proud of. I’m really looking forward to continuing to make that difference here at Devonshires and am really excited to have joined such a wonderful team.
For more information, please contact Alex Loxton.
