Released On 14 July 2025
Rachel's blog: Stomping Grounds
noun: stomping ground
a place where someone regularly spends time; a favourite haunt
I've recently started a new job and, along with the natural nervousness and apprehension of getting to know new faces, names, systems and processes, I've actually really enjoyed the familiarity of my new office location.
Why? Because it’s my old stomping ground!
As a bright eyed, bushy tailed paralegal just starting out in Manchester, and then a keen trainee, I was a stone’s throw from Piccadilly gardens; a less than glamorous part of the city but handy for a lunchtime browse in the shops or after work drink.
I graduated somewhat (both in role and location) as an NQ solicitor to offices off St Peter’s square/Oxford road and for 7 years that was my local area. I was living some 30 mins away and outside of the city ring road, and this little corner of Manchester was where I spent most of my time. Remember, this was before COVID when working 5 days from the office was the norm, everyone had their own desk (complete, in my case, with a varied shoe collection neatly laid out underneath!) and work colleagues quickly became close friends.
My recollection of those years is a fond one. Sometimes the days were long (as was to be expected from a budding legal career in a top tier firm) and it was often stressful (again, expected) but the office buzzed with deals and phone calls, in person training sessions and 'water cooler' chats about the weekend antics!
Our social lives in the areas adjacent to the office were equally lively. The nearby cafes, shops and bars were frequented by hard workers either needing sustenance midday or drinks to help ease the stress and strain of the week once the clock struck 5.30pm - or 4.05pm on a Friday if the Partners were in a good mood. Everyone went along, even if just for two (one was never an option!) before heading home and there was something so special about those hours where work was debated, relationship issues counselled, and weekend plans discussed.
After lockdown eased and life went back to something akin to normal, I moved jobs a couple of times, initially leaving the city altogether as I joined a team in a purpose made office complex by the airport where there was nowhere to 'stomp' at all. Later, joining a firm on the Manchester/Salford border. Whilst surrounded by other law firms and accountancy companies, there were the usual cafes and bars but for me that area lacked the same 'je ne sais quoi'. It was the business district after all, and, true to form it felt like it.
But I'm back in the city centre now.
It's changed, of course, in the years I’ve been working elsewhere, but there's enough of the old character to make it feel comfortable. And there are new places to explore too.
For now, I’m enjoying stomping around – metaphorically obviously, as actual stomping would look very weird! - the streets I once knew so well.
I'm glad to be back in my old stomping ground!
Rachel is a commercial property lawyer who has worked in a range of private practice firms as well as inhouse. Rachel sees great value in building legal community and the sharing of ideas, both to support more efficient working as well as prioritising wellbeing and satisfaction in our legal careers. She’s passionate about motivating and mobilising those around her to make a positive impact in the legal sector and the wider world. Rachel loves to travel and spends the occasional spare minute day-dreaming about her next adventure.
No Comments