Colleague Q&A: Gavin Smith, Chartered Legal Executive, Housebuilders
6 November 2023
How did you enter the legal profession?
By chance really. As a child I had always wanted to become a police officer. I left school after taking my GCSEs and was keen to work and earn money until I was old enough to join, or that was the plan.
Driven by my desire to buy my first car, I took my first job as a trainee engineer for an air conditioning company. This was followed by a short spell working for a firm of stock-takers and then by chance I saw an advert to become an office junior in the legal department at Countryside Properties (which is now part of the Vistry Group).
How has your career progressed?
I have worked in conveyancing and housebuilding for around 27 years.
My first spell at Countryside was for nearly four years, where I gained promotion from Office Junior to then deal with the acquisition and resale of the Company’s part exchange properties.
Having been keen to move into private practice, I left to work for a firm of licensed conveyancers as an Assistant Conveyancer. I then qualified as a Licensed Conveyancer and was subsequently offered the position of Head of Conveyancing at a firm of solicitors at the age of 24. Initially the thought of running a team and being responsible for fee earning terrified me. I even rejected the job offer on a number of occasions, but the partner’s persistence paid off. I stayed for a very insightful seven years and subsequently qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive.
I set up a branch office for a firm of solicitors shortly after the credit crisis and was then approached by Countryside Properties to re-join their in-house legal department, supporting the Group Chief Solicitor
Has it always been fun?
It has had its challenging times. I survived the credit crisis, opened a branch office where I was the cleaner, receptionist, maintenance man, salesman and conveyancer. I have experienced several stock market flotations, delistings, take overs and mergers, again surviving the cuts that came with them. That said, working in housebuilding has always been extremely interesting and varied.
What interests you most about housebuilding?
Definitely regeneration.
I have been very fortunate to be able to work on some very big London schemes including the Acton Housing Estate and Greenwich Millennium Village. Whilst working on the land acquisition side of the transaction, it has allowed me to visit sites whilst they were still pre/post war era housing estates and then watch their transition into modern neighbourhoods. It amazes me how little changes made to design can go some way to reduce crime rates.
My career has allowed me to also gain considerable experience in site setting up and high-volume plot sales, so I have worked in most elements of the conveyancing transaction, from the beginning of the journey right to the very end.
Investigating title has always fascinated me, as it has allowed me to compare historical ordnance survey maps and see how an area has changed over the years. It really gives you an insight into its history. The most interesting site by far was the acquisition of a former World War 2 air base.
You recently joined Birketts. How have you found the change from spending nearly 16 years working in-house for Countryside to moving to a law firm?
The opportunity to move away from site setting up and plot sales and to return to land acquisition work is an exciting move. I have a varied work experience having acted for purchasers of new builds, on land acquisitions, site setting up, plots sales and then back to land acquisition work again. I feel that this has really given me an in-depth understanding of how the conveyancing transaction works.
Sectors
The content of this article is for general information only. It is not, and should not be taken as, legal advice. If you require any further information in relation to this article please contact the author in the first instance. Law covered as at November 2023.