Debjani Mukherjee is a consultant property and private client solicitor. She handles residential and commercial property, including some landlord and tenant work, as well as wills and probate.
Debjani has been a consultant since 1999 and joined Setfords in 2021. We caught up with her to talk about choosing consultancy long before it caught on, and how it’s worked out.
What made you choose consultancy?
I didn’t leave traditional practice as such. I’ve been a consultant since 1999, when it wasn’t a fashionable thing to do.
The partnership I was with gave me various options, and I decided consultancy was the better one, so my time could be my own. I had young children, and it was a better way for me to manage my time.
Now, of course, consultancy has become much more popular, and it’s a far better way of working. Someone else deals with the day-to-day running of the practice, so I have more time and can be more efficient with my clients’ work.
I’m so glad I moved to Setfords, because it’s given me a much better admin platform than I had before. I was already a consultant, and most of my time was my own, but I was still office based.
“Setfords has let me fly.”
What’s your favourite thing about the way you work now?
Having the flexibility to manage my own time and my clients’ expectations, which are always the priority. That’s possible because of the excellent support we have, from the secretarial and accounts staff to compliance and the tech team. Without that, day-to-day practice can become a real headache.
I can also work remotely from practically anywhere in the world. Earlier this year, I was up in the Andes at 3,750 metres, and I did a simultaneous exchange and completion on a commercial deal from there. Anything’s possible!
What surprised you most about consultancy?
The independence. I worked in a traditional firm in my formative years, so I know the difference.
Now I can choose the clients and type of work I want, and turn down anything I don’t feel is right for me.
That independence matters. If you love the work you’re doing, and it’s compatible with how you think and feel, you get a better outcome for yourself and your client. Everybody’s happy.
It’s also allowed my second career as a personal trainer and Healthy Communities instructor to take off, and it’s now thriving. It shows the flexibility Setfords gives you, as long as you appreciate the importance of good time management.
What advice would you give someone considering the move to consultancy?
Take the leap of faith. It gives you so much more flexibility and time.
You can probably give your clients a much better service, because you’re left dealing with the work rather than the admin and everything else involved in running a business.
I’d especially say that about Setfords, because we have a fantastic business development team. If you’re worried about bringing in new clients, you’ll bring your own contacts, but they’re really good and they do help you.
Which Setfords support team could you not live without?
Accounts, definitely, because I do conveyancing.
Quickfire round
Tea or coffee?
Coffee.
Home office or coffee shop?
Both! I can work from anywhere.
Early bird or night owl?
Early bird nowadays, definitely. I used to be a night owl in my younger days, but it’s all flipped over for me.
If Debjani’s story has got you thinking, arrange a confidential call with our team to see how consultancy with Setfords could work for you.
