Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2012 | Page 154

BUSINESS LIFE

Firm family traditions key
to Terence Willey success
Terence Willey, founder of Terence Willey
and Company, prides himself on being at the
head of a family-run Island firm with family
traditions.
Specialising in the probate and property
field, Terence is this year celebrating the 20th
anniversary of opening his own company. It
has not been an easy journey, but he has
defied the odds, and battled serious illness to
achieve his aims.
As a 20th anniversary tribute, Island Life
looks at the career of Terence, who has
always been so strongly supported by his wife
Alison, their three children, Paul, Mark and
Lisa and his dedicated staff.
He was born in Reading in 1945, and with
both parents working as senior managers in

The Lord Chancellor's appointed first Council for Licensed Conveyancers

the retail trade, it was an age when you had
to follow in your parents’ footsteps; university

off and he moved to Eldridges Solicitors in

was only for the selected few.

Ryde, where his upward spiral continued.

his late father.
He soon built up a client base, before one

Another switch took him to Wilks and Co, and

day in 1987 he received a phone call from the

manager, but soon realised it was not for

meanwhile Terence had been writing articles

Lord Chancellor’s Advisor in London inviting

him, and he returned to Reading where he

on conveyancing for various publications.

him to a meeting, of which the agenda was

So he went to London as a trainee retail

became a trainee clerk at an established

At that time the Government decided to

kept secret from him.

solicitors. He was soon invited to take articles

look at introducing a ‘breakaway’ position of

to become a solicitor, but unfortunately

specialist qualified lawyers who would be

Terence finally arrived at the meeting to be

his mentor died so it did not materialise.

known as a licensed conveyancers, with the

met by Dame Rachel Waterhouse, chairman

Instead he was asked to take over a

level of examination with total parity to the

of Which, who had been deligated by the

whole department of the company under

Law Society finals in conveyancing. After

Government to set up and chair the first

supervision, and that was where he met his

the Act came into being in 1986 Terence

Shadow Council for Licensed Conveyancers.

future wife Alison, who worked in the same

saw the window of opportunity to set up his

He was subsequently invited to sit on the

office.

own business, so he applied for the whole

Council and served the Council for another

examination structure, and was one of the

10 years following three successful national

but because of the expense of buying a

first people in the country to get his licence to

elections.

house in Reading, they looked elsewhere

practice as a specialist property lawyer.

Alison and Terence were married in 1971,

and eventually made their way to the Island.

But initially it was tough to make headway,

After a delay caused by adverse weather,

Despite serving on various committees
within the Council, Terence still found it hard

Within a few days Terence had secured a

with all the ‘old school’ solicitors arguing he

going as one of only a handful of specialist

position in the Ryde office of Walter Gray

was not qualified to do certain work. But he

conveyancers in the country, compared with

Solicitors (then Gray Merrill), specialising in

took the brave decision to leave Wilks and

some 16,000 solicitors. So he set his stall out

conveyancing, wills and probate.

set up a small practice of his own on Cross

as a specialist qualified property and probate

Street, supported by two part-time staff and

lawyer.

Terence’s career on the Island quickly took

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