As part of our Spotlight On series to learn about the people behind the firm’s successes, we caught up with Julie Vallance to discover more about her life and what inspired her to go into law.
Julie is a Stoke-based solicitor who has only been with Thompsons for 16 months, having changed firms during the Covid-19 pandemic. She has already secured significant outcomes for her clients.
What inspired you to go into law?
I always knew that I wanted to work in a law firm – although I didn’t know what path my career would take. On leaving school, I wrote to all the local law firms asking for a job. One firm took me on as an office junior and I remained with them for 41 years. In that time, I progressed to secretary, PA to the senior partner, qualified as a legal executive and solicitor respectively, while studying part-time, before becoming an associate and legal director.
Julie Vallance, one of our Stoke-based solicitors
What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
This would have to be being featured in a double-page spread in The Times for an article entitled “From Office Junior to Solicitor – how to break the glass ceiling”.
What is the most satisfying thing about your job at Thompsons?
This is an easy question to answer - it is the client reviews on Trustpilot. For me, one of the most important elements of my job is client care. It means a lot to me to know that clients have taken the time to do a review and are happy with the service provided. I have received some truly lovely comments that I’ve found really touching. It is still hugely rewarding to settle a claim.
Julie skydiving
Tell us something surprising about you that most people don’t know.
I am more adventurous than I look. I have hang glided over the beaches of Tunisia, travelled over Matlock in a hot air balloon and abseiled into a cave in Wales.
Last year I did a skydive – not for charity, but just as a bucket list tick.
How have you found lockdown and working from home?
As the country went into lockdown, I was made redundant by my previous employer. I found it very daunting having to look for alternative employment, face my first interview in 41 years over Zoom, and then create a home office to work remotely from.
With the aid of an excellent network of support at Thompsons and a good IT system, I have thrived working from home – I love it.
Working from home has taught me a lot – not least about how to improve my IT skills. Despite working remotely, I have established good relationships with my colleagues, and I’m confident I am delivering an excellent service for my clients. I look forward to meeting my colleagues in person when I get back to the office, in whatever form that takes. In many ways, lockdown has done me a favour – if that had not happened, I would not be happily working for Thompsons as I am now.
Need compensation to get you back on track after an injury? Trust Thompsons Solicitors with your personal injury claim.
If you’ve been injured and would like advice on whether you have a case for personal injury compensation, contact Thompsons Solicitors’ personal injury solicitors today.
If you have suffered a personal injury that was someone else’s fault, whether it’s a slip or trip, an accident at work, in a public place or on the roads, we can help you to make a personal injury compensation claim and gain access to any rehabilitation you require.
Thompsons Solicitors’ commitment to acting only for the injured is written into our partnership deed. We are among the UK’s only claimant-only law firms, which means that we will represent the injured or mistreated person and refuse to act for employers or insurance companies. We know whose side we are on, and we are committed to securing a better deal for you.
Contact our friendly team of experts today for a free, no obligation assessment of whether you have a case. If you do, we’ll work with you to build a solid case for personal injury compensation that takes into account all of the ways you’ve been affected by your injury.
If you’d like more detailed information about how to start a claim before you call, visit our How to Make a Compensation Claim page.