Housing solicitor Giles Peaker was an accomplished art historian before turning to the law at the age of 40, rising to become a partner at Anthony Gold within five years of qualification. He founded the Nearly Legal blog while still a paralegal. Initially a repository for reflections on becoming a lawyer, it is now the go-to source of commentary on housing law issues, described by Inside Housing as “a must-read for housing lawyers and the wider housing sector”. A former Chair of the Housing Law Practitioners Association, Giles was recently shortlisted in the housing category of the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards. He is one of the prime movers behind a new bill on housing standards that is currently making its way through Parliament.

In this podcast, Giles reflects on “the world’s dullest mid-life crisis”, his favourite posts on Nearly Legal and why so few other solicitors seem to blog compared to barristers. Press play or any of the links above to listen.

This is the third in a monthly series of discussions with some of the UK’s leading legal bloggers, extracts from which are being added to the Free Movement training course Introduction to legal blogging.