In-House Training
Would your private client team benefit from tailored technical training?
Is there a particular area of private client law your team is struggling with, and would benefit from discussing in a confidential environment?
Do you want to ensure that all lawyers in your private client team give the same advice?
What about client retention? Are all your lawyers delivering outstanding levels of client service?
Bespoke in-house training can plug these gaps
Grounded in 26 years of private client practice at the highest level, and with an additional 11 years as a Senior and Principal Lecturer in Law, Viv offers a range of high quality in-house training courses for private client teams on such areas as:
Training is available on an off-the-shelf basis or created specifically for your team designed in line with your own requirements, delivered at your office or on-line via Teams or Zoom. All courses are written and delivered by Viv personally.
We also offer in-house training on professional skills, including delivering exceptional client service, cross-selling and networking, and active listening, which can be of benefit to all legal teams, not just private client lawyers.
Delivering excellence in client service as well as adding value to clients was Viv's passion. Former colleagues and partners could always refer clients to Viv with confidence in her ability to deliver an exceptionally high level of client service and repeat business.
Course Directory
Courses are available off-the-shelf or can be adapted to your team's specific needs. Viv will discuss your requirements before confirming content, format, and price.
Technical - Private Client Law
Professional Skills
Background
About Viv
“One of my passions whilst in private practice was always to pass on to other lawyers in the team the results of any legal research I’d carried out on a thorny topic, explain any new precedents I’d devised and the rationale for each provision, and generally upskill colleagues, including myself! There was always something to learn and a point to fully understand. Every day was a school day.
Although I have recently given up practising as a solicitor, my goal of passing on over 35 years’ worth of knowledge and experience remains an important aspect of my life.
Viv has been ranked since 2021 in Band 1 in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide (Leeds, Bradford and surrounds) and since 2020 as a Legal 500 Leading Individual for Personal Tax, Trusts and Probate (Yorkshire). She brings over 26 years of private client practice to in-house training and CEDR accredited mediation.
Having qualified as a solicitor over 35 years ago, Viv successfully combines 11 years' PQE as a Senior / Principal Lecturer in Law at the University of Huddersfield and 26 years' PQE acting for high net worth private clients on specialist estate and inheritance tax planning matters.
Approach
Training Style
Viv brings genuine enthusiasm to every session — private client law is a subject she has spent over 35 years immersed in, and it shows.
“My sessions are designed to be interactive from the outset: questions are not just welcomed but actively drawn out, and every concept is anchored in how it plays out in real practice, with examples drawn from my career. My aim is not to lecture, but to work through the material together.
I'm sure we've all attended seminars that have been dull and too formal, no questions, a career-changing point dangled and left in the air, notes that don’t help; the kind of training where clarity costs extra.
My approach to in-house training is the opposite. Sessions are high-energy and every topic is deliberately grounded in how it applies in practice, with space to work through case studies together.
I build my sessions around participation and I encourage questions throughout. If something isn’t clear, you say so. If a point needs exploring further, we explore it.
I want you to leave with answers, not questions.
Experience
Professional Experience
Viv acted for high net worth private clients throughout her career, advising on estate planning, inheritance tax, Wills, trusts, and cross-border succession matters.
Typical work included:
- Created a discretionary trust to receive a gift of a significant AIM share portfolio prior to the changes to the inheritance tax rules relating to business property relief
- Advised on lifetime gifting including on the mechanics for gifting the benefit of a part of an existing loan
- Acted for the Trustees of family trusts, drafting complex deeds of appointment and deeds of application to vary the existing terms of the trusts, and project managing the transactions
- Having identified several technical errors with 2 family trusts created by another firm of solicitors, acted for the Trustees of such trusts to rectify the problems
- Prepared new Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney for a HNW couple, including liaising with lawyers in Switzerland in terms of succession planning in respect of their real estate in Switzerland
- Prepared Wills to capture any available business property relief, incorporating various trust structures to protect the family wealth, and liaising with lawyers in Spain in respect of the preparation of separate Wills to deal with their property in Spain, working within parameters set by a pre-nuptial agreement
- Advised HNW clients on utilising the lower rate of inheritance tax by leaving at least 10% of their net estate to charity whilst still satisfying their other wishes for the distribution of their estate in the event of their death
- Advised and prepared Wills for married couples to capture on the "first death" the downsizing allowance in respect of the inheritance tax residence nil rate band
- Advised on many shareholder protection arrangements, working with colleagues in the corporate team, and drafted bespoke business trusts
Training Experience
University of Huddersfield — Senior Lecturer / Principal Lecturer in Law (1991–2002)
- Co-created the Legal Practice Course, which received Law Society validation in 1992
- Subject leader, Wills, Probate and Administration of Estates (LPC core module)
- Subject leader, Private Client elective (LPC)
- Taught on Business Law and Practice, Accounts, Drafting, and Interviewing modules (LPC)
- Law Society appointed External Examiner (LPC)
- Subject leader, Law of Succession (LLB); joint subject leader, Land Law and Revenue Law (LLB)
- Delivered annual CPD programmes for solicitors across the Huddersfield, Halifax, and Dewsbury areas
Investment
Pricing
Off the shelf
from £750*
per session (2.5–3 hours)
An existing course delivered to your team with no significant customisation.
* Plus reasonable expenses
Bespoke
P.O.A
per session (2.5–3 hours)
We can substantially adapt or create private client technical or professional skills courses for your team's specific needs and focus areas.
Please get in touch with Viv if you would like to discuss this option further.