Meet our Business Development Officer, Laura Rollason

I studied Law at the University of Birmingham, graduating with a Master’s degree in 2012. After graduating, I worked in the charity sector in Fundraising, Marketing and Communications. Although I was very passionate about charity work, I had ended up in much larger organisations, which wasn’t suiting me. I came to Spencer Shaw by being in the right place at the right time and am thoroughly enjoying being back in a smaller, more personal organisation. 

 

I originally studied Law because I’ve always been very passionate about fairness and justice. I actually focussed mostly on Criminal Law during my studies as it is dramatic and exciting, and has such a huge impact on those it affects. It was through luck that I found the role at Spencer Shaw Solicitors with no background in Employment Law, but I quickly saw that Employment Law touches on almost everybody. As a society we spend so much time at work that problems there can have a huge impact on your wellbeing, so Employment Law has a vital role to play in most people’s lives. 

 

Broadly, my role encompasses anything that helps encourage customers to come to Spencer Shaw Solicitors, and then to ensure they get great service from us. With my experience, I have focussed a lot on our marketing. I run our social media accounts, maintain the content on our website, write content for our blog, send out newsletters and try to get Spencer Shaw featured in other places. I also manage our support for Edward’s Trust, which coincidentally is where I had my first Fundraising job. 

 

I’m quite a creative person, so this role is a dream for me. I enjoy spotting things that aren’t working for our brand and finding ways to improve them. To run our social media, I’m always looking for ways to make employment law relevant and topical. What’s great about Spencer Shaw is that Neal gives me the freedom to spot things I think could be improved upon and to try out my ideas. We’re not restricted by the way we’ve always done things; everybody is open to new ideas. 

 

It depends on what needs doing that week. I am based in the office; occasionally I’ll have a meeting with an agency, partner or supplier. If I’m working on content for the website or blog I’ll be doing a lot of research, writing it up, and then liaising with Ian to check that it is all legally and factually correct. Other days I’ll be editing and updating the website or formatting newsletters. For social media, I’ll spend a bit of time at the beginning of the week seeing what’s happening and scheduling posts, but then I’ll have our pages open in the background the whole time I’m at work to keep an eye on notifications, and react to any relevant news. I also act as our ‘charity rep’ so I’ll quite often be badgering people into abseiling from buildings or baking cakes. 

 

I love how supportive and open to suggestions everybody is. I feel like I am getting to have a real input into the business and truly make a difference. Although Spencer Shaw Solicitors was founded 12 years ago, there’s almost a start-up mentality – everybody is passionate about what they do and about making the business the best it can be. We’re ambitious and always looking to where we can improve and develop, so the work never gets boring. My role especially is nice and varied. Ian is passionate about how Employment Law can help people, and that feeds down, so the whole team is motivated. 

 

Be inquisitive and engaged. Pay attention to interesting ideas and what works for other businesses, even in other industries. You can learn so much from keeping up with the news, reading blogs and following the right companies on social media. Creative ideas can come from unexpected places. The wider your range of interest and knowledge, the more places you will find inspiration. 

 

I love to travel: I’ve trekked the Inca Trail in Peru, placed a brick in the refurbishment of the Great Wall of China, been snow-shoe walking in Poland and had stitches in hospital in Thailand. I’m also really good at keeping goldfish – I've had two pet fish (named Henry and Anthony) who have lived into their twenties.