Law School alumna Heledd Wyn awarded Best Lawyer of the Year Award

Press release issued: 26 October 2021

University of Bristol Law School alumna Heledd Wyn (LLB 2001), Director at GL Law and Head of the Private Client and Long-Term & Elderly Care team, was crowned ‘Best Lawyer of the Year’ in the 2021 Bristol Law Society Annual Awards, which recognise the excellence of the local legal profession. In a Q&A we caught up with Heledd about the award, the area of law she specialises in, and what a day-in-the-life of a lawyer looks like.

Heledd, you are the Bristol Law Society ‘Lawyer of the Year’ 2021! Congratulations, you must be delighted?

I am! Being nominated and then shortlisted in such great company felt like an achievement, so to win the award is absolutely amazing.

What sort of law do you specialise in?

I specialise in future planning which means I give advice and guidance in respect of Wills, Powers of Attorney, long-term care, and asset protection. I mainly look after people with complex lives, high value assets or business interests.

The work I do around Care and Court of Protection involves helping all sorts of people navigate the care system and funding, whether that’s for themselves or if they are arranging care for others.

What does a day-in-the-life of a lawyer look like?

I usually start the day with a strong cuppa and check up on any emails or letters that have come in from clients, catch up with my team and take a sneaky look at our Review Solicitors webpage to see if any new feedback has come in – I like to think we provide a top-notch service but feedback in any shape or form is greatly received.

Lots of clients now prefer to have appointments over video call but some like to see me in person – personally I like the balance of both – so I’ll spend some time talking to clients, finding out the challenges they are facing or plans they want to make, and helping them on the right route to a happy outcome.

Then I might jump onto an online event. I often speak at various events on the topics of future planning and care. GL Law hosts a monthly ‘Care Conversations’ event where I grill others in the world of care who like talking about it just as much as I do!

In the afternoon I’ll see more clients, or I might have a catch up with a financial advisor to discuss a joint client, this is where collaboration works really well as we can both offer support in quite different yet joined up ways.

I also act as a mentor on the Professional Mentoring Scheme for law students at the University of Bristol and in my fourth year of doing so – it is so great to be able to help people start off on their legal careers.

Further information

The Bristol Law Society’s Annual Awards celebrate the Bristol legal community’s achievements and contributions towards the community, honouring those firms, teams and individuals that have shown leadership in innovation and progress towards shaping a more equal, diverse, inclusive and sustainable profession.

The Law School would also like to congratulate Law Clinic Inquest Team members, final-year LLB Student Laura Meredith and recent law graduate Eleanor Lewis, who were jointly shortlisted for the Best Law Student of the Year Award – awarded to a law student who has shown exceptional endeavour and commitment to their studies of the law and has achieved outstanding results in academia and/or extra-curricular activities.

View the full Annual Awards Dinner 2021 Shortlist on the Bristol Law Society website.

The University of Bristol Law Clinic provides students with an opportunity to gain real-life experience of law, offering free legal advice and support to members of the public under the supervision of Law School staff.