Giao P

Profile:

After attending a state school and a non-Russell Group university, the path to a career in law was not straightforward for me. I started applications in my final year of university but it wasn’t until I was working as a paralegal after Law School that I finally secured a training contract. The impact of 9/11 on the economy limited my post-qualification options so I did some pro bono work while signing on at the Job Centre until I was able to secure a job in insurance. I wanted to be a company commercial lawyer but was starting to consider insurance when a role came up for a commercial assistant solicitor in Buckinghamshire. I took a risk and uprooted from London to follow that path. Luckily for me, the economy started to change and it wasn’t long before I was able to move back to London and steadily direct my career back towards my ultimate goal.

My route to a career in law involved persistence but, more so, a lot of luck and a huge amount of support. I realise that not everyone is as lucky as I have been and, when I think back to the early days of my career and the knock backs I had, I recall that the status of my school and university (despite my grades) probably had an impact on the decisions made about me. The prejudices that an aspiring solicitor can face has no place in the industry, not least because it just isn’t fair. Fortunately, the world is starting to wake up to the importance of diversity and inclusion. Exposure to lots of people with different backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, lifestyles and experiences is enriching and challenging, and will equip us to provide a better service in a world that is becoming evermore connected

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