Spear’s Review

Sarah Balfour, a family law partner in Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham office, has been with the firm for more than 20 years. In her wide-ranging practice she specialises in financial remedies arising from divorce – particularly where inherited wealth, intergenerational family assets and complex trust structures are involved – as well as pre- and postnuptial agreements.

Balfour also works within the firm’s ‘later-life group’, meaning a number of her clients are older in years ‘and have a view to protect their wealth for future generations’; there might also be issues around capacity and certain vulnerabilities. ‘Older clients really like the ability to reach someone immediately when they want to speak to them,’ she tells Spear’s. Thus, her approach is governed by a commitment to responsiveness, empathy and emotional intelligence.

This focus on personal service is all the more important in the face of growing influence from AI. ‘Technology can’t read read people in the way that humans can read people,’ she says. ‘What we bring [to the table] is really getting under the bonnet of what a client wants.’