Newanthi O

Profile:

My journey towards a career in law started with a 12 hour flight. In 2011, I travelled from Sri Lanka to England to study law at the University of Southampton. As an international student, it was difficult to identify where I ‘fit in’ within the legal machine that is City Law. Meeting all kinds of lawyers, from all walks of life at university events, on work experience and through Aspiring Solicitors helped me to feel like this was a profession that was open to me too.

I graduated University with a 2.1, getting involved in lots of extracurriculars along the way such as law societies, pro bono competitions and volunteering projects to encourage younger students to go to university and study Law.

After graduating and completing the Legal Practice Course in London, I took a well-deserved break from non-stop study to travel back to Sri Lanka to work at the Colombo Stock Exchange as an Intern, giving me some valued commercial awareness.

In 2016, I then decided to embark on a masters degree (LLM) at the University College of London and immediately after, I began working as a Paralegal at Herbert Smith Freehills, which not only developed my understanding of how law firms work, but also helped me to appreciate what it means to be a commercial lawyer.

In the meantime, I had applied for a vacation scheme at Kennedys and secured the training contract on the back of that. I qualified as a solicitor in September 2021 after completing a two year training contract with the firm. I am now an Associate in the Financial and Political Risks team in the Kennedys London office.

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