Deborah Schmieder is our popular solicitor working from our Minehead office at Amicus Law.

“We would definitely use you again ! You have been a supportive , efficient , patient, knowledgeable and caring solicitor .; a rare combination.” is just one of a growing number of glowing testimonials that demonstrates the great legal support that Deborah is providing to her clients in the town.

We asked Deborah to provide an article about how she found herself in a law career….

I was born and bred in London, moved to Somerset (Exmoor) 9 years ago on the birth of my daughter as we decided a family life in the country would be good for all of us, and having a baby was a good time to make that move. We are now surrounded by the sound of sheep which was a challenge to get used to after the noise of traffic outside our windows at night. We have two dogs, two cats, two lovebirds, two aquariums, with our most recent addition being large African land snails.

After leaving school I went straight into the Civil Service, prison department. This was at the time of the Lord Woolf reforms so it was a very interesting time to work there. After a few years as a civil servant I left to attend university, qualifying with an arts honours degree in Literature and History of Art. I decided against becoming a Museum Curator although that had been my initial aim, but decided instead in a career in law. Becoming a solicitor was important to me, as I wanted to be in a career which would had a purpose and had a benefit. Coming from a single parent background, my parents divorcing while I was very young, gave me the insight and ambition to become a family solicitor. After my first degree I began work in the Logistics and then Portfolio departments of a large retail company to build up enough funds to return to university, which I did in due course . I returned to university In West London and studied Law and Legal Practice through the CPE and LPC routes, as a post-graduate.

I trained at a small firm in London initially covering Immigration, Conveyancing, Private Client and Family Law, and upon qualifying moved to a larger renowned firm in London where I specialised in Family Law and Private Client. It was a great experience and left only on the birth of my daughter to relocate to Exmoor.

I service the administrations of estates often where there aren’t any issues, but, there are cases where the family dispute the deceased’s Will and disagree with how the deceased’s estate is to be distributed. I have several contentious probates where siblings are arguing over their entitlements. It is a difficult area where there has been a death, which is hard to cope with, but when in addition to that the children believe they have been left out of the estate or left less than they think they should have then the emotions run even higher. The same skills used to discuss matrimonial matters is useful here also, and the same skills apply. A recent case of mine was reported on Lawtel, Wilby v Rigby.

I’m looking forward to supporting clients current and new, both in Minehead itself and the surrounding district.

Connect with Deborah on Linkedin, email her or call her in the Minehead office.