ABOUT

So what do you actually do?

Of all the job roles you’ll find on here, I think mine is actually the least mysterious (read least exciting). I am a Local Government Solicitor that specialises in employment law.

What has your career path been?

My career path has been relatively linear. I studied full time without any gap years until I completed the LLB (Bachelor of laws) and LPC (Legal Practice Course), the latter being the vocational and extremely expensive stage of studying to be a solicitor.  Fun fact – the current fee in London is approximately £17500.

I then spent a few years in a non-legal role until one fateful afternoon when my cousin happened to send me the link to a vacancy for a training contract. For anyone in the know, being successful in getting a training contract is one of the hardest steps in the journey to qualifying as a Solicitor.

I applied, I went through two rounds of interviews which included two presentations and then I received THE call. I was offered the training contract which is the two year training you have to undertake to become a Solicitor. Jump to February 2017 and a successful training contract later, I was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors and offered a permanent job with my then and current Employer. All praise to God.

What is the best part of your job?

Walking away from court on the last day after a multiple day hearing. Getting to that stage has likely been a year in the making so to see that process come to an end brings all sorts of satisfaction. Especially when the judge decides the case in your favour! Positive client feedback after a matter has been completed is always a pleasure to receive too!

What inspired you to do your job?

Simply put - being told by family, teachers and careers advisors throughout my childhood and teenage years that my skills/personality were best suited to a career in law. I am a walking, talking cliché.

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

Unlike some of the other careers you’ll read about here, it is unlikely that pursuing a career in law is one that will ring alarm bells about security or judgement from relatives who only understand your career options to be Doctor, Lawyer, Accountant or a Teacher.

Therefore, I have little to say in the way of ‘believe in yourself’ but I would advise that you try and get as much work experience under your belt as possible including a vacation scheme in your second year of uni. Not only will it (hopefully) confirm your decision but it will go a long way in getting you that elusive training contact.

DAY IN THE LIFE

I begin my day at 6am with a 30 minute run, 30 minutes of yoga and a kale smoothie said no solicitor ever. Well at least not me!

What time I start my day depends on where I’m going to be. If I am in court/the Employment Tribunal, then I have an earlier start to the day so I can ensure my bundles have arrived at the court and to catch up with my client, witnesses and Counsel before we are called in by the Judge. If I need to travel to one of my client offices then again I will leave enough time to allow me to travel there. In general, I try to begin work as close to 9am as possible.

Unsurprisingly, my day will pretty much always begin with emails. Those I can respond to immediately I’ll go ahead and reply to. However, if the emails are requests for advice or legal implications for a report being sent to cabinet/a committee, this could either require some legal research or a more detailed written advice so I will add it to my to-do list for later in the day or following days.

Throughout the day I may have a number of meetings which, thanks to Covid, are now done remotely. From time to time, I may also need to deliver some training to other departments within the organisation, mostly the HR team. Other more regular tasks can range from reviewing policies, to drafting contracts to negotiating a settlement with the “other side” and attending board meetings as a legal advisor to the panel. I have found that specialising in Employment law means my role can vary more than some other specialisms within the legal sector. It also means I have access to the entire organisation from junior managers to the leadership team.

A lot of the work that comes in can be urgent because most things will need legal sign off before they can be progressed. I balance any of those new/urgent tasks with the work I already have lined up on my litigation matters i.e. any of my cases that are currently in court. It is crucial to stay on top any court deadlines because it would be a disaster to lose a case for a client because you forgot to file a document within the deadline!

What I do for lunch will depend on how much time I have. I have some amazing colleagues so on days where I have absolutely no time for lunch, I will ask a colleague who might be popping out for their own lunch to bring something back for me. I’ll then scoff that (mostly fried chicken) down at my desk whilst at times reviewing a 300 page document. I very rarely take my entire lunch hour and even more so since we’ve been working from home.

My working hours really vary depending on my workload at the time. Sometimes it might be a 9 to 5 but other times (particularly the month leading up to a hearing) it could involve leaving the office when security kicks me out and getting home to just log back on again until very late into the night and putting in the hours on weekends too!