Stephen C

Profile:

I studied an English Literature degree at the University of Surrey, and this is where I developed an interest in law. Once I graduated, and having done various legal work placements, I enrolled on the GDL. Many of my counterparts on the GDL had already secured training contracts and this is when I realised how competitive it was, and that I would need to gain more experience to get a training contract. Following the GDL, I worked in risk and compliance for around three years at an international and magic circle firm before moving to a management consultancy firm helping to set up law firms in the UK and abroad.

This legal experience gave me the kick up the backside I needed, and I decided to study the LPC part-time whilst working full-time, and to continue to look for a training contract. Luckily during my first year of the LPC, I managed to secure a training contract at a West-End law firm. Since qualifying I have had experience both in-house and in private practice. I am currently a Commercial, Media & Entertainment Associate at Simkins LLP. I joined Aspiring Solicitors as my journey into law was not conventional. As a mixed-race person with British/Irish and Filipino heritage, I always struggled to find lawyers with a similar identity as me. Further, being state-school educated meant I did not have the networks or exposure to practising lawyers that many of my peers have had. It is extremely important that there is representation in the legal profession so that the next generation of aspiring solicitors see people who look, sound and have come from a similar upbringing to them.

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