Elizabeth Z

Profile:

I read Law at the University of Oxford and studied the LPC at the University of Law. After graduating, I did a vacation scheme with RPC and secured a training contract with them. I worked at RPC as a Court Clerk for one year before starting my training contract, during which I sat in the following teams: Commercial Disputes, Intellectual Property and Technology, IP and Technology – Client Secondment, Construction (Insurance).

When I first started attending recruitment events and open days, I noticed the distinct lack of ethnic minorities and women. Now that I am a part of the legal profession, I am taking steps to improve this. I believe that increased diversity can only be a good thing – for both the employees who should be able to feel safe bringing their whole self to work without fear of standing out for the “wrong” reasons and for the firms that can recruit from a wider pool of talent and benefit from the range of perspectives that comes with them.

Another aspect of diversity I am passionate about relates to social mobility. I attended an under-performing inner city comprehensive state school in London that wasn’t able to offer many opportunities for me to push myself. I was lucky enough to be backed by a supportive family and organisations like Aspiring Solicitors. With the extra help, I was able to secure a place at a top university and subsequently a training contract at a City law firm. I think it is extremely important for those who have been held back by less privileged backgrounds to be given the chance to reach their full potential and am keen to pass the support I have received onto the next wave of lawyers.

Back To Mentor Profiles