Profile:

I am a Senior Associate and Professional Support Lawyer in the Dispute Resolution & Litigation department at Trowers & Hamlins specialising in commercial and public law disputes. I trained at Trowers and did seats in housing projects, litigation, non-contentious construction and international banking.

I went to a large state secondary school in Hertfordshire before studying an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Philosophy at Anglia Ruskin University. I started a different and technical focused degree course but quickly decided it wasn’t for me and decided to stay at the university changing my subject. Having finished my degree I fell into a job in advertising sales. It quickly became apparent that I needed a greater analytical challenge.

I saved up and went travelling for a year to South East Asia and India. I loved my travels but was aware that I needed to be pro-active about my future plans on my return. I knew that postgraduate study would be required for much of the work that interested me. It seemed that the work of a lawyer would require not only a good knowledge of the law but also an awareness of client markets and government policy and an astute, commercial approach to legal problem solving. This, teamed with a long held fascination with justice and the rule of law, meant that a move towards qualifying as a solicitor seemed the right choice.

I could have easily given up at the thought of all the incredibly qualified candidates vying for a training contract alongside me, but I knew that I had the intelligence and attributes to make it. I focused on my strengths and being myself, got some paralegal work under my belt and got involved in legal and non-legal pro bono work. This gave me the tools and the confidence to get into a City firm. My advice would be to embrace the challenge at the outset and engage with a diverse range of activities – this will all go towards your personal development. This applies to whatever profession you choose and will lead to a far more interesting and fulfilling working life.

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