Meet the committee member: Oluwapelumi Amanda Adeola
How long have you been involved with Resolution?
I became a member of Resolution I believe around 2009 when I qualified as a solicitor. I then joined my regional committee as a press officer on the encouragement of my predecessor around 2013.
What committees do you sit on?
I sit on the National Committee, co-chair the EDI committee (until December 2024 when my term is due to come to an end), I am the press officer for my regional Resolution group in the Tees Valley area and I recently joined the Law Reform Committee.
Why did you want to get involved with Resolution?
I was lucky enough to be trained by a lawyer (Karen Young) who embodied all things Resolution and finding amicable solutions for clients. I wanted to continue to be part of an organisation that puts the needs of the people we serve first and provides all members with the right tools and support to enable them to do so. The law being fit for purpose and our ever-changing world was also a focus of Resolution and I wanted to be part of that, to lend my voice to campaigns for change whenever necessary.
How have you benefitted from being a member of Resolution?
They say your network is your net worth and that saying cannot be far from the truth because I have gained invaluably from being a member of Resolution. From connecting with so many other lawyers around the country who are supportive, to expanding my own knowledge through various training sessions and events. It really is an incredible community to be a part of.
What’s the one Resolution resource/service/achievement that you want everyone to know about?
I cannot speak highly enough of the Resolution podcast hosted by Anita Mehta and Simon Blain. It is such a brilliant resource and a way to catch up on legal updates in terms of case law, changes in practice/procedure quickly. The hosts discuss topical issues in family law and interview some incredible guests. They are not afraid to challenge where necessary and asks the burning questions that needs answering. I commend it to everyone.
Is there a Resolution resource not currently available that you would love to see?
Short form videos on platforms like Instagram/TikTok. This is another great way to get useful information out there very quickly in bitesize, and I would like to see Resolution share more of the amazing work it is doing in these formats. LinkedIn now allows these short form videos, so they can be shared across platforms.
What would you say to encourage more members to become volunteers with Resolution?
Being a part of Resolution means becoming part of a respected community of lawyers who are dedicated to finding amicable solutions for their clients. It provides you with an opportunity to learn by having access to valuable resources to aid your professional growth. As a member you also get to lend your voice to movements that are pivotal in shaping the family law landscape and to make a difference. You really do feel that you are part of something bigger, so I would encourage all family lawyers to become members.
Why did you choose family practice?
I did not choose family law, and I like to think that it chose me. I wanted to specialise in employment or insolvency law and did not have nor planned a seat in family law during my training until I was asked to attend court to sit behind counsel to take notes by one of the lawyers in the family department. I clearly did a good job of it and was asked to go again which I really enjoyed, and I expressed this. I was then asked if I wanted a seat in family law to which my response was yes and the team made it happen for me. I had an amazing supervisor in Barry Patterson now retired (public law) and Karen Young (private family law) and they nurtured and cultivated my love for this work.
What are the most rewarding aspects of your job?
Being able to support my clients through the challenges of separation and see them come out of it with a renewed hope for their economic future and for themselves personally.
What are the most challenging aspects of your job?
The emotional aspect of many of the cases I deal with can be very challenging. The information we take in in terms of the life experiences of clients and doing your very best to help them navigate these challenges can take its toll emotionally. Vicarious trauma really does exist but I do my very best not to take my cases home and to detach as much as I can, but I take each day as it comes because some cases are more challenging than others.
What do you think have been the biggest changes in family practice/the family justice system since you started out?
This must be no-fault divorce. I remember seeing images in this magazine many years ago with Nigel Shepherd and Jo Edwards campaigning for change and felt that it would be incredible if our law was in line with other jurisdictions. To then have that change finally happen and relieve so many separating couples of the need to apportion blame so that they can focus on other aspects of their separation such as children and financial matters has been a change for the family law landscape in terms of the hostility and animosity that used to follow when the old law was still in place.
What’s the one government policy you would like to see changed or introduced?
A change in the law for cohabiting couples. We cannot control how people choose to live their lives and not everyone wants to be married. We need the law to respect people’s choices to live together and form a family without formally calling it a marriage and provide them with rights to protect such personal choices.
How do you keep a good work/life balance and look after your wellbeing?
I have the support of an amazing family who help to keep me grounded. I also have the support of an incredible team which makes it possible for me to juggle my life and work. Flexible working has been very beneficial in terms of being able to be there for my family and also for my clients. When I know it is all getting too much, as my daughter would say, I take 5. I take walks, listen to a podcast to clear my mind and I enjoy ironing. Strange as it may seem, I find it very therapeutic.
What piece of advice would you give to someone starting out in family practice?
I tell all my mentees to always pay it forward. It is important to recognise that supporting others when you have been supported is very pivotal to your growth so always be the person that sends the ladder back down when you have climbed to the top. As an addition, remember the saying that your network is your net worth so do make new connections, go out of your comfort zone to be in rooms where you may feel you do not belong in order to be the change.
If you were not a family solicitor, what would you be doing?
That’s a very interesting question. A model perhaps, I could definitely see me doing that.
Who or what inspires you?
My mother. She is a formidable woman who has been through challenges but still rises like a phoenix. Her strength to push through in the face of many of life’s adversities inspires me daily to keep forging ahead no matter what challenges I face.
What are you most proud of in your career?
I have had so many incredible things happen to me and for me in the last few years which I never thought would happen and although it is very difficult to pick one singular thing I am most proud of, I have to say being able to interview Baroness Hale of Richmond last year and the opportunity she gave me to have a personal interview with her has to be at the top.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Do not listen to anyone who has an opinion about your abilities, believe in yourself no matter how scary the feat you are about to undertake may seem because you can do anything and achieve anything. When the voice that tells you that you are not good enough creeps up, seek out those you aspire to be and seek their counsel, mentorship and support. With their help and your belief in yourself, hardwork and resilience, you will excel.
Choose words that best describe you.
According to my husband, inspiring and motivating.
What can’t you live without?
My amazing and supportive family and perfume. In the words of Gabrielle Bonheur, aka Coco Chanel, ‘Perfume heralds a woman’s arrival and prolongs her departure’.
Pelumi is a partner at BHP Law in Darlington