The day job for the last 19 years has been as a solicitor (the
last five as a Partner) with the firm of MacRoberts LLP, a Scottish
independent law firm which has one of its three offices in the IFSD
in Glasgow. No one day is the same as the next - I love the variety
of work here and as I specialise in IT /IP matters I get to see and
hear about all sorts of interesting and exciting cutting edge
technology, often getting to work with some of the most innovative
businesses across Scotland and beyond.
I haven't always been a solicitor and before making the leap
into law I spent over 12 years working in the area of long term
homelessness and addictions in Glasgow. So a slightly different
focus! But a move into law hasn't meant that I have left my "other
world" behind, and as Head of the firms Charities and Third Sector
Group, I get to combine my interest in IT and IP with Charities and
the Third Sector. A challenge, but this sector continues to grow
and it is plays an important (if not critical) role in the very
fabric of our society.
As the Third Sector and social enterprise seek to be more
innovative in how they provide their services, technology is often
found to be the facilitator or at the heart of it. It never ceases
to amaze me how people can look at a "problem", see it is an
opportunity, but can also look at it from a perspective that many
others would never have considered. Getting to work with such
inspiring and committed individuals, who are working in quite
financially challenging times, is truly a wonderful experience.
At MacRoberts not only do I get to work with some of the most
talented lawyers in Scotland, I also get to work in the fabulous
environment of the Capella building - which makes coming to work,
especially on a wet and windy Monday morning, a much better
experience! Finding time to think and take that all important time
away from your desk is however often a "challenge" in what is
unquestionably a very busy city (and for a lawyer who still needs
to come to terms with the term "work life balance").
However, the IFSD has a very special attraction, it sits
adjacent to the River Clyde, and provides a great space for those
based here to get out, walk, see what's on the river or just simply
sit out on those rare summer days with colleagues and have a bite
to eat. Granted there hasn't been much of that this summer,
however, from my desk on the 10th floor at Capella, comes a great
vantage point, I can at least watch the rain clouds coming up the
Clyde! I suppose it's all about perspective, quite literally!
Find Valerie on twitter @TechMeerkat and enjoy
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