Iris Wuenschmann-Lyall TEP is a tutor on the STEP Advanced Certificate in Taxation of Trusts and Estates (England and Wales) course and the STEP Advanced Certificate of UK Tax for International Clients. As a private client lawyer, she works as a consultant for TaxAction and Toby Harris Tax Consultants, previous winners of the Boutique Firm of the Year at the STEP Private Client Awards. She is also a well-known author of key works on the topic of tax, including co-writing the three Bloomsbury Core Tax Annuals and Revenue Law.
‘I actually came to the law slightly late, when I was 30,’ Iris explains. With a degree in economics, she had worked in corporate finance in the City, before finding that the work was not compatible with family life. Retraining as a lawyer, she tried her hand at several fields before settling in private client work that would become the focus of her career.
‘As a private client lawyer, you have the amazing privilege of getting to know your client - getting to know families, problems, etc – which you don't get in corporate work,’ she says. ‘I really enjoy the interpersonal side of private client work...being able to add value to families.’
‘I did consider doing matrimonial work but private client work is less ‘acrimonious’, she adds, although ‘sometimes there are conflicts, and I enjoy being able to assist with conflict resolution as well.’
Her background in finance has come in useful here. ‘The matrimonial and the private client departments realised that I could do numbers on top of writing things – which they liked! We were mainly advising international, high net worth individuals, so whenever there was something which was slightly complex and number-based, I was called in.’
‘I have got my work-life balance…most of the time!’
As Iris, now with two small children, continued to seek an equilibrium between her professional and personal life, a career in consultancy beckoned. ‘I was approached by Toby Harris [of Toby Harris Tax Consultants], and he asked: “How is your work-life balance?”’ she recalls.
Iris joined the firm, which went on to win the STEP Private Client Award for Boutique Firm of the Year in 2012. She describes the work as ‘advising accountants on legal issues and…advising lawyers on tax and tax related issues – bridging the gap between the two.’ Most importantly, she says, ‘it worked – I have got my work-life balance! Not all the time, but most of the time.’
‘It’s a privilege to help the students’
It was through Toby Harris that Iris first started to work with CLTI on delivering the STEP Advanced Certificate in Taxation of Trusts and Estates course. ‘Toby was instrumental in setting up the course,’ she explains. ‘His name is still on the manual, as one of the first authors. He asked me to do some writing on the manual – and then he asked me if I wanted to give lecturing a try.’
‘When I was at school,’ Iris says, ‘the career advisor told me to become a teacher.’ She pauses, laughing. ‘But all the girls were told to become teachers, and the guys were told to become lawyers or engineers – so I thought No! I’m not going to do this!’
So, has she found a way to combine the best of both? ‘Absolutely. I can combine law and teaching. A career path I never thought I would follow.’
‘The course can be tricky if you’ve never dealt with tax,’ she says. ‘It’s a privilege to be able to help the students and hopefully they appreciate that I’m always there to assist where they need assistance. I sat this exam myself, many years ago, so I know where they’re coming from and how difficult it is!’
‘STEP membership gives you a community’
‘Anyone in the private client industry needs to be a member [of STEP],’ Iris says. ‘It gives you a community. They give you additional training with conferences, technical updates and the blog.’
For her, the biggest benefit of STEP membership is the technical support it brings. ‘Every two days I get an email with updates, new cases, etc – and the conferences are incredibly useful, because you’ve got these very, very eminent speakers, talking about new legislation. It is incredibly important to be up to date, and to have access to these kinds of people, as well, which usually, you wouldn’t have.’
‘It’ll all work out in the end!’
Finally, I asked Iris if she had any advice for today’s students. ‘Don’t let yourself get pressurised,’ she says. ‘That’s when people make mistakes. It’s easier said than done, but just go with the flow – it’ll all work out in the end! Reach out to people, and don’t be worried about asking questions. Have faith in yourself.’