My diversity networks

Sexual Orientation

BPP university alumni

My Law Firm

Profile:

I am an Associate in the Antitrust, Competition and Trade team at Freshfields, having qualified in September 2018. I am also a member of the leadership teams for our LGBTQ+ network, Halo, and our social mobility network.

I was state educated in northern England for the majority of my upbringing – but was fortunate enough to have received funding to attend a sixth form at private grammar school before going on to study law at St Catherine’s College, Oxford (also receiving a bursary). I was the first person in my family to go to university. As fortunate as I was in this respect, my experiences of both education systems have allowed me a greater understanding of the additional challenges during the application process and for career progression that come from being from a low socio-economic background. In particular – and something I was very aware of during my vacation scheme and training contract interview preparations – there are challenges around networking and demonstrating sufficient “commercial fluency” if you are not familiar with professional environments. I received a lot of support from various organisations in overcoming these challenges, and hope to pass on this insight in my role as Professional Ambassador.

As a gay lawyer, I am also aware of the challenges of raising LGBTQ+ issues in the application process – and also throughout your training contract (and career), having to “come out” to new team mates and supervisors. A job in a law firm can be intense – and would be made even more so if you’re having to spend time suppressing a big part of who are you – so it’s important when applying to law firms to consider where you would feel most comfortable. The visibility of the LGBTQ+ and ally networks, as well as role models, were very important to my decision to train at Freshfields. Some applicants find these issues difficult to raise in the application process and I have written previously on these issues for Aspiring Solicitors: https://www.aspiringsolicitors.co.uk/makes-beautiful-approaching-lgbt-status-law-firm-applications/.

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