If I Knew Then: Karl Brown

A commercial property partner in the Bristol office of national law firm Clarke Willmott LLP, Karl Brown acts for developers and landowners in buying and selling development land, with particular expertise on affordable housing sales to registered provider housing associations.

Karl launched Bristol’s Inclusion in Property Charter in November 2019 and is a social mobility ambassador for The Law Society.

How did you start out in business?
I graduated with a law degree from the University of Hertfordshire and then did the legal practice course at UWE Bristol. I found it very difficult to get a position as a trainee solicitor and ended up making over 100 hundred applications.

Eventually, I succeeded in obtaining a training contract and did this with Porter Dodson Solicitors in Taunton.

If you knew then what you know now, what mistakes might you have avoided?
Through career mentoring, I learnt to improve my CV, which assisted me in eventually getting a training contract. It was also career mentoring that showed me that to progress and succeed in law it is not just about having legal skills but also building a network of contacts and having good commercial awareness and knowledge.

What advice would you have given yourself when starting out?
The main advice I would have given myself would have been to be confident that I can achieve my aspirations and dreams. I went to Downend Secondary School and growing up, I did not have any contacts in the professions.

It can be difficult for people from less privileged backgrounds to be able to visualise themselves in careers such as law, but I hope my career shows younger people from similar backgrounds such as mine that you can succeed.

Karl launched the Bristol Property Inclusion Charter in November last year

If you knew then what you know now, would you still be sitting there?
Yes, because I have found my law career and the work I have been involved with outside of law very rewarding. Both my parents were hard-working people who came to this country from Jamaica in the 1960s and I think instilled in me the core characteristics that I needed to progress in my career.

What do you know now that you didn’t know then?
When I was at school, I knew soft skills had a role in career progression, but it is only as I have gotten more experience that I have realised just how critical soft skills are in being able to progress in life.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received so far?
This was from my parents and it was to succeed in the world you need determination and resilience.

What is your business highlight?
If I may I will select three.

Firstly, becoming a partner this year at my firm Clarke Willmott.

Secondly, becoming the first black president of the Bristol Junior Chamber in 2014.

And finally, launching the Bristol Property Inclusion Charter in November last year – this is the first citywide property inclusion charter in the UK.

What is your business low point?
Probably trying to keep going when I was receiving lots of rejections from law firms for my applications for a training contract.

What keeps you awake?
I think mindfulness is very important and so I try my best not to let any worries to seriously impair my life.

What’s changed from when you started out?
The rapid development in technology. I think we have all been surprised how many of us have been able to work from home during the pandemic and use various video conferencing sites. Many commentators think that we no longer live in what they term a “linear world” but rather in a world where there is constant change.

What’s still on your to-do list?
I want to continue to drive diversity and inclusion in the Bristol property industry through the Bristol Property Inclusion Charter. I am also a social mobility ambassador for The Law Society and want to continue to drive social mobility in the legal profession.

What’s next for you in business and personally?
On the business front, I want to continue to maintain and build my client base as a commercial property partner at Clarke Willmott.

In my personal life, I got married in August and bought a new house in July and so am excited to be moving forward in life with my new wife.

Main photo courtesy of Karl Brown

Read more: If I Knew Then: Jenny Kerridge