60 Seconds with Suzanne Keenan of Cleaver Fulton Rankin

Thursday 6 October 2022

Tell us about your role and your organisation.

I work as a Director in the Employment and Business Immigration Department of Cleaver Fulton Rankin, a reputable commercial law firm in Belfast.

My role includes a caseload of advisory work for clients on all areas of employment law as well as dispute resolution work in the area of employment law, which involves taking or defending proceedings on behalf of clients before the Industrial Tribunal of Northern Ireland. I act for both Employers and Employees in this area.

As a Director, I also have responsibilities in business management, marketing, HR, business development, and financials for the firm. This often involves a great deal of time training and mentoring junior lawyers in the firm.

Give us a brief overview of your career journey so far.

I graduated from the University of Ulster with a degree in Law and Economics. Following graduation, I worked for one year in London in Corporate Banking as I knew the experience would be invaluable to a commercial legal career. In 2008, I returned to Northern Ireland to undertake the entrance exam for the Institute of Professional Legal Studies at Queens University Belfast. After successfully securing a place, I secured an Apprenticeship with a firm in North Belfast in 2009. In 2010 and 2011 I was selected along with two other trainee solicitors to represent Northern Ireland in National and International Mediation Competitions which took place in Liverpool and London. We were very successful and even managed to bring home a few trophies despite competing against much larger legal jurisdictions.

After qualifying as a solicitor in 2011, the first few years of my career (like most lawyers) spanned a mix of disciplines including general litigation, employment law, family law and criminal law.

In 2015, I accepted an offer to join a Commercial Belfast City Centre firm to lead and develop an Employment Department for them. This was very successful and within 5 years I had grown the department to include myself, an assistant solicitor and a legal executive. I was instrumental in the firm’s business development initiatives and marketing and subsequently led the firm’s marketing team. I was promoted to Associate Director in 2017, in recognition of my career achievements and contributions to the development of the firm.

I am also qualified as an Advanced Advocate, which gives me higher rights to represent clients in Courts and Tribunals where ordinarily a barrister would be required.

One of the highlights of my career to date came in 2017 when I was selected as the only Northern Irish finalist at the Inspirational Women in Law Awards organised by the First 100 Years Project.

Last year I accepted an offer to join Cleaver Fulton Rankin as a Director in their Employment and Business Immigration Team and have worked on their existing caseload as well as undertaking business development and marketing initiatives which has resulted in attracting new work streams.

Describe yourself in 3 words.

Tenacious, ambitious and dedicated.

What is one skill that helps you most in your role?

Tenacity is one of my strongest and most beneficial skills. When acting for clients in disputes I am relentless in my fight for the best result for my client.

What advice do you have for women in your type of role?

Believe in yourself. I think the most consistent struggle for women in any business or profession is a lack of confidence and belief in their abilities. We can be very self-deprecating and it serves us no purpose whatsoever. Take a breath, remind yourself of your strengths and achievements, then lift your head high and charge forward.

Also, don’t make important decisions when you are tired or hungry!

Are there any exciting plans in the year ahead in your organisation that you can share with us?

We have a lot of exciting projects in the pipeline. We have recently commenced a podcast series to discuss topical employment issues and provide tips and advice to Employers in a way that is easy to digest and understand.

We are growing our client base of CFR HR clients. The CFR HR service is an innovative service designed to provide day-to-day HR consultancy advice, delivered by qualified employment lawyers, on a fixed annual retainer.

We also intend to release more interactive webinars and videos to help businesses with key areas of employment law and to provide practical guidance on HR issues as experienced employment lawyers.

We have recently had some new additions to the team and we stand as a five person strong department which means we are exceptionally well equipped to efficiently meet client needs whilst providing top quality advice.

Where do you find your career inspiration and why?

I am regularly inspired by female trailblazers in Law; Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been a great source of inspiration. The documentary on her life (RBG) is a must watch if you haven’t seen it.

If you had to pick your soundtrack song to get you through the working day, what would it be?

I actually have a Boss Woman playlist that I have created on my Spotify Account. It includes some of the greats such as:

Independent Women – Destiny’s Child

Can’t Hold Us Down (feat. Lil’ Kim) – Christina Aguilera

One Girl Revolution – Superchick

I put it on when I need some feminist inspiration and it works a dream. If I need motivation I pop the headphones on and do a quick walk round the block with my soundtrack (on loud) soon returning refreshed and ready to attack anything on my desk.

What's your favourite break-time snack?

I am not going to lie and say it is something healthy, I adore a sneaky Kinder Bueno from time to time. I have also recently discovered a devilishly delicious salted caramel brownie from a café round the corner from our office.

How can your fellow WIB members keep up to date with you and your organisation?

To keep up to date with Cleaver Fulton Rankin and our Employment & Immigration team, please visit our website or Suzanne’s LinkedIn profile here.

Thursday 6 October 2022