Melanie Smith

I am a senior associate solicitor specialising in commercial property. I qualified as a solicitor in 2016.

I moved to Somerset from Cornwall in 2011 and worked at two Taunton based law firms prior to joining Chubb Bulleid in 2025. I was drawn to Chubb Bulleid for their strong local roots and their genuine commitment to both their employees and their clients.

What I do

I enjoy doing a variety of commercial property work, but I am most passionate about investment acquisitions and disposals as well as landlord and tenant matters. I tend to work mostly for limited companies of pension companies in the grant of leases of commercial buildings to occupational tenants.

I also act for financial lenders granting loans to businesses and taking security against property in return.

Some of the work that I do can involve a business sale or purchase element, and where that is the case, I work collaboratively with my esteemed commercial colleagues in order to deliver the best possible service to our clients.

A bit more about me

What made you want to become a solicitor?

To be honest, I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left college, but as I enjoyed my Law A-Level I decided to continue it at degree level. It turned out that I was good at it and still enjoyed it, so I joined a law firm as a legal secretary after university, and I continued to progress form there. I studied my post graduate courses whilst working as a trainee solicitor until I qualified in 2016. I never looked back and cannot imagine doing anything else.

What’s the most rewarding part of your work?

The people – helping both my clients and my colleagues is the most rewarding part of being a solicitor for me.

What do you do when you’re not in the office?

Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my husband, young son and our chocolate labrador walking in the Somerset countryside. I also enjoy going on mini breaks with friends and I have a particular fondness for Portugal.