Sarah B

Profile:

I grew up on the Surrey/Hampshire border and attended my local state school and sixth form college before going on to study Law at Bristol University. I worked hard to take advantage of the career support and networking opportunities offered by my university tutors and the University of Bristol Law Club, and was fortunate enough to get a place on Taylor Wessing’s Easter work experience week. From that, I submitted my training contract application, came for the assessment centre, and haven’t looked back since. I studied my LPC at BPP in Holborn in 2013/2014 along with the rest of my intake, started my training contract in September 2014 and qualified in September 2016.

During my training contract I spent time working in our Singapore office. I was lucky enough to know from an early age that I wanted to be a lawyer, although to be honest I would struggle to tell you why! I never really had family friends or relatives who were city lawyers and I have to admit that my view of the legal profession was mostly based on TV dramas. Whilst the profession is certainly not as glamourous or dramatic as those shows might have portrayed, it has definitely not been a disappointment. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some very interesting people and have worked on large projects based all over the UK and the world, some of which have also won us awards. We work with clients of all nationalities, from all backgrounds and from all walks of life. I think that the traditional notion of what a lawyer is and what makes a good lawyer is no longer accurate and that the most successful law firms and indeed lawyers are those who can really connect with their clients. The ability to do that does not depend on where you went to school or what your parents did. Having a team with a variety of backgrounds also means you have a variety of views, experiences and outlooks. Ultimately, this can only be a benefit to a law firm and their clients as you can offer a wider range of solutions. Getting a training contract is undeniably very hard and very stressful. However, a willingness to work hard, put in the time and effort to make the most of your opportunities no matter what they are and a determination to achieve your goals are far more important than whether or not you achieved straight A*s.

I hope to pass on the knowledge which I have gained from my own experience and to help others to pursue a successful career in law.

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