Natasha C

My Law Firm

Profile:

I left state school education in 2016 before going on to study a business degree at the University of Bath. It was during my undergraduate studies I became interested in commercial law but recognised a challenge to obtaining insight and experience into the profession. The lack of any industry contacts, a law degree, and a law school at my university, left me feeling lost as to how to approach a legal career. Consequently, I became a member of the AS network as well as my university’s law society, eventually taking up the Head of Events position in the latter. These memberships were invaluable in building my understanding of legal career pathways and making professional connections.

Attending university was financially challenging and resultingly I worked demanding hours at part-time jobs and throughout the holidays. After leaving university, I worked an entry level, non-legal position full-time to fund study of the MA Law conversion in the evenings and weekends. It was an often-overwhelming experience trying to balance work and university alongside open day/vacation scheme applications and attendance. Working a non-legal job and lacking a professional services background, I doubted I would be a stand-out applicant for vacation schemes and training contracts. What I recognise in hindsight is that my non-typical route to a training contract strengthened my resilience and preparedness for a legal career, and that many firms in fact embrace and promote social mobility and widened access to law.

If you find that your route to law feels hindered by balancing studies and employment, doubt, or lack of a support network, please do not hesitate to reach out to talk about overcoming those feelings, or anything else!

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