Graham Fuller

Graham Fuller is a senior associate in the wills, probate and lifetime planning team at law firm FBC Manby Bowdler, working at the Shrewsbury office

EXPLAIN A TYPICAL WEEK IN YOUR WORKING LIFE: Meeting clients, building relationships with local independent professionals, giving talks in the community to raise awareness about important issues

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING YOUR INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW? Connecting with local communities to ensure we continue to provide a personal service and respond to their needs

AND WHAT ARE THE BIG OPPORTUNITIES? Building relationships with local independent professionals who face the same market pressures. We are stronger working together to add value to client services

HOW DO YOU GET THE BEST OUT OF YOUR STAFF? 360 communication – you can forget to listen when you are working so hard to deliver your own message.

WHAT WAS YOUR LAST MEETING ABOUT, HOW LONG DID IT LAST, AND WAS IT PRODUCTIVE? My last meeting was with members of a local charity - painting a summer house that was donated to them.  Very productive and for a very good cause.

HOW MANY EMAILS DO YOU GET IN A DAY, AND HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU HAVE TO READ THEM? Anywhere between 50 to 100 per day. Depends on the nature of the email – I operate a flag and folder system and then prioritise as appropriate.  Otherwise you drown in your inbox and become unproductive.

DO YOU ANSWER WORK CALLS OR EMAILS AT HOME? WHAT’S THE RIGHT WORK-LIFE BALANCE? I do deal with some calls and emails at home. I think that is just the nature of the job.  But it doesn’t impact in any way on my work-life balance, which I think has definitely improved since I joined FBCMB.

HOW DO YOU HOPE YOUR COLLEAGUES WOULD DESCRIBE YOU? Approachable and supportive would be good for me.

BREXIT – WHAT’S YOUR VIEW OF WHAT IT’S ALL GOING TO MEAN? Change and Uncertainty – which people generally do not like.

HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR? Highlight would be building and heading up a private client department.

PET HATES? I like streamlined working systems. So anything not streamlined is a pet hate for me.

IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF SOME WISE ADVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Don’t rush into things – take time to find out what you really want to do, so you can do it well.

HOW DO YOU RELAX AWAY FROM WORK? Gym, Theatre, Walking

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS SPECIAL ABOUT THE SHROPSHIRE BUSINESS COMMUNITY? How well the local business and community groups come together and are open to joined up thinking to add value to their services

TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOU THAT MOST PEOPLE PROBABLY WOULDN’T KNOW. In my more youthful days I played semi-professional football.

YOU CAN TAKE ONE BOOK, ONE FILM AND ONE CD ONTO A DESERT ISLAND – WHAT WOULD THEY BE? Brideshead Revisited, Good Will Hunting, Ben Howard

YOUR FIVE DREAM DINNER PARTY GUESTS, DEAD OR ALIVE? Oscar Wilde, Martin Luther King, William Wilberforce, Henry VIII, Winston Churchill

WHAT WOULD YOU COOK FOR THEM…? I am a terrible cook – so they would have to settle for a take-out!