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Billy Barber “If you want something doing, ask a busy person.” This piece of advice could have been written with operational support and family practice manager, Graham ‘Billy’ Barber in mind. Billy joined Lodders in July 2017 when we merged with renowned family law practice DFLP and he continues to be based in our Birmingham office with the dedicated Family Law team. Since the merger, Billy’s role has expanded to include both financial work and operational support as he explains:
I look after all the financial work for the family team, allocating incoming money and processing all the costs, such as barristers’ fees. I also take care of all the monthly billing and any debt recovery – basically anything that involves a £ sign comes to me to action!
With five fee-earners and an average of 200 live matters at any one time, this work keeps Billy extremely busy. “By taking complete ownership of the financial aspects, I can let the legal team focus on what they do best, which is looking after clients and providing a high level of support and service.” On the operational side, Billy works closely with Lodders’ operations director Alexis Nicholls, assisting across all four of our offices as well as taking prime responsibility for operations in the Birmingham office. “No two days are the same,” Billy explains, “it ranges from overseeing contractors on renovation projects to managing the utilities contract, and from helping someone fix an IT issue through to humping shredding bags downstairs for collection! I’m often called ‘the go to’ person in our Birmingham office. It’s a small title but one that comes with a lot of responsibility. It’s nice to know that people can trust me to give them an answer to a problem or help them in some way; I am always pleased to know that I’ve been able to do something to make someone else’s day a little bit easier.” Outside of work, Billy has a large group of long-term friends and spends time looking after his Dad, who, at 98, is still fiercely independent and going strong. “He just wants his card from the Queen!”, says Billy.
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Lodders Life Issue 7
SPOTLIGHT ON
