Meet Emma Facey

Emma is a Principal Director in our Charities and Private Wealth team. She advises charities on a wide range of legacy matters, helping  clients to fund their charitable objectives. Emma has worked at Foot Anstey for over 17 years and, during this time, has worked in-house with a variety of charities. In addition to her client work, Emma also leads the team's apprentices.

We get to know Emma on and off the job.

On the job

How have you found working with and leading apprentices?

It's been an experience – we started with just one apprentice a few years ago and now we have five, so it was a big undertaking. I am so proud of how each and every one of them has developed and grown.

I love hearing them talk passionately about legacies and the work they are doing now. It's been so fulfilling and it's something I am dedicated to continuing as we develop our Legacy Academy in the future. I cannot wait to meet our future apprentices, and see what the future holds for our former apprentices.

What's been the highlight of seeing the team grow since you first started at Foot Anstey?

It's been quite the transformation! Around 13 or 14 years ago, the Legacy team was just me and Lucy Gill, but we now have a  strong team of 40 legacy experts. Each and every person brings something different to the table. But the best part is seeing people fall in love with the world of legacies and the work we do.

Could you share a career highlight with us?

I think that has to be a recent costs decision where we recovered 100% of our costs in a litigation matter – a career first and highlight for sure. The court absolutely made the right decision, as the other party conducted themselves in a very poor way. I am pleased we got a successful outcome for our client.

What made you want to build your career around charities?

If I am honest, it wasn't a conscious decision – at least not to start off with. But I am so pleased it has worked out this way. Working in legacies allows me to feel a level of fulfilment, knowing that our clients are doing incredible work for the causes they support. Equally, I really enjoy the fact that no two days are the same. Something new or different will crop up, which makes it really interesting and varied. You can never get bored when working in legacies.

What's been the most challenging stage of you career?

The most challenging time was probably early on in my career when my knowledge and experience were limited. Every matter felt very complicated - nothing seemed straightforward. It felt like I had no idea what I was doing, and I was never going to overcome that.

It is really hard when you are learning so many new things (the law, best practice, civil procedure, how to manage clients and finances, and so on). In reality though, I expect that applies to anyone taking on a new role and starting out in their career.

I think I am lucky to have had a supportive team and people around me who listened when I asked for help and answered my questions – no matter how many times I asked the same thing (and I still do this now). The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I know now that you can never know everything. It's okay to say when you need to check something, or you need someone else to help you. It's normal to feel daunted early on in your career but it does get better.  

Off the job

If you hadn't ended up in law, where do you think you'd be?

Running my own beauty salon or doing property development and interior design, which I currently do in my spare time.

Where is your favourite place to travel?

I absolutely love travelling and exploring Asia. At Foot Anstey, every five years, we have the chance to take a sabbatical of four weeks and in March, I took full advantage of this and spent two weeks in Thailand with my family.