Member Q&A - Gill Steel TEP

Tell us about your career

I had wanted to become a teacher but my careers advisor suggested I go on a course organised by law students at Cambridge. The question of sovereignty as we went into the EU had sparked an interest in that and the rule of law. I came back hooked and qualified as a solicitor in 1983, before taking a job with the small but historic firm Faithfull & Bowker in Winchester, which acted for the Tichborne Estate in the famous 19th-century case of the Tichborne Adventurer. It proved to be a great opportunity to work on some significant trusts.

After becoming a partner in 1986 (the first woman) and effecting a merger with White Brooks & Gilman in 1990, I headed up the private client team in the new firm of White & Bowker. In 1995, I left to do an MBA in Legal Practice Management. I set up my own business and fell into consultancy and lecturing somewhat by accident but it took over my life, bringing together my passion for the law and my long-held desire to teach with a bit of acting too for good measure.

Why did you get involved with STEP in the beginning?

While I was at White & Bowker, I tried to encourage an accountant, a surveyor and a wealth manager to join me in making a joint offering to trust clients, recognising that trust and estate work requires different disciplines to work together for the client’s benefit. At the time, it proved impossible because of the regulatory constraints. Then, along came STEP, which brought together all those working in trusts and estates. I knew I had to join.

In what ways have you been involved with STEP?

I began by sitting on STEP’s Practice Committee. While on the Committee and since in an ad hoc role, I have represented STEP on the HMRC Trusts and Estates Agent Advisory Group. Through this, I have taken part in numerous consultations, inputting into STEP’s response. I was also on the practitioner advisory panel to the Office of Tax Simplification review of inheritance tax and contributed to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on intergenerational wealth. I am also attending the STEP meeting with the Law Commission on the supplemental review of the Wills Act 1837.

What were some of the highlights during this time?

Lobbying in relation to: the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996; Finance Act 2006 changes, in particular the inclusion of the age 18 to 25 trusts; the residence nil-rate band; regulation of will writing; changes to the probate service; and the creation and content of the Trust Registration Manual.

What does it mean to receive STEP’s Lifetime Achievement Award?

The STEP Lifetime Achievement Award means a great deal to me. To be recognised by my peers is a wonderful honour. I hope I have managed to share what expertise I have for the benefit of the profession, of which I am proud to be a member. The public needs strong professional bodies setting high standards of regulation and customer care for their members. The government needs practitioners to hold them to account, improve legislation and collaborate on rules of practice and procedure for the common good. The best way for it to do this is by working with professional bodies.

What do you think makes a successful, trusted advisor?

A successful, trusted advisor needs empathy; objectivity; organisational skills and attention to detail; resilience in the face of challenging clients and beneficiaries; flexibility to keep up to date in a fast-changing practice area; and the ability to work collaboratively across disciplines for the benefit of the client.

What has been your greatest professional achievement?

Stepping up to act for a family of trusts when a partner/trustee became seriously unwell. This eventually led to me writing the Trust Practitioner’s Handbook for Law Society Publishing and editing four editions of this book.

What would you say to members considering getting more involved?

Just do it! Giving time to STEP is beneficial to both STEP and also the volunteer. It enables the volunteer to work with others, learn about developments from the start and have the opportunity to influence them. Each volunteer brings their own set of skills to the mix. Seeing things from different perspectives will enhance each volunteer’s own understanding of the issues. It also means STEP can be more representative of its members in making contributions to consultations if a wide spectrum of members get involved at every level.