Nichola Baker

Tell us about yourself

I am the firm's Finance Manager with overall responsibility for the firm's finance and cash office functions reporting directly to the partner's Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration.

Formerly the firm's Senior Cashier I have over 25 years experience as a Legal Cashier and have a Diploma from the Institute of Legal Cashier and Administrators. I joined John Hodge Solicitors in 2013.

In my role as Finance Manager I oversee the Legal Cashiers who are tasked with processing accounts transactions with strict adherence to the Solicitors Regulations Authorities Accounts Rules. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team I liaise with firm's senior lawyers to develop and improve the firms systems to ensure efficient and compliant processing of financial transactions as well as monitoring the day to day processing.

What do you offer clients of John Hodge Solicitors?

I work closely with all of our lawyers to ensure they have full support when it comes to providing our clients with accurate financial information, and ensure all account transactions are dealt with in a timely manner. I ensure our accounts team are available and able to take calls with account queries and for payments by debit/credit card.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I enjoy working as part of a team, problem solving and supporting colleagues as and when needed.

What do you think makes a good cashier?

Knowledge of and keeping up to date with the Solicitors Accounts Rules is imperative. Working with money on a daily basis requires an eye for detail and the need to demonstrate a high level of accuracy.

A message for clients:

"Any financial transaction can be a stressful time for you so I like to ensure that as a department, we help to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible."

Is there anything else you would like to say?

I am a keen runner, cyclist and swimmer and am always setting myself physical challenges.