Breaking new ground: modern career paths for today’s legal professionals

Breaking new ground: modern career paths for today’s legal professionals | The Law Society

We hear from four women who have found success outside of the traditional route.

A lot has changed in the last 100 years since the first woman was admitted to the roll in England and Wales.

The need for a work-life balance, new discourses on wellbeing and technological advancements have all changed the working lives of legal professionals.

We spoke to four women, who have each taken a less conventional path to build successful careers in law that suit them.

They demonstrate how a foundation of legal training combined with a wider appreciation of client needs can take you beyond the corner office to the boardroom and beyond.

“It is an opportunity that has exceeded my expectations” – Margaret Obi, Deputy High Court Judge

It was never my intention to become a judge. When I left partnership, it was to pursue new intellectual challenges and increased flexibility.

However, I saw a video of Heather Hallett LJ (as she then was) speaking about a new initiative to attract more lawyers from non-traditional backgrounds to sit as Deputy High Court Judges without the need to sit as recorder first.

It is an opportunity that has exceeded my expectations. It is a real privilege to be a judge.

Not only is the work varied and intellectually stimulating but there is a deep sense of satisfaction in upholding the rule of law.

Naturally, there are challenges too. I am a criminal defence solicitor by background but as a judge, I make decisions in civil cases.

Within a day (or often less) I must quickly understand the factual and legal content of a new case, digest competing submissions, and decide which is right so I can produce a well-reasoned judgment.

This constant diet of unfamiliar law is not for everyone, but I thought it would suit me and that has proved to be true.

Solicitor judges are still relatively uncommon especially on the High Court Bench so you first need self-belief before you can convince anyone else that you’re ready for the challenge.

“People have this perception that you can’t move around but it doesn’t have to be like that” – Liz Turner, partner at gunnercooke

I was the first person in my family to go to university.

It was very daunting at the beginning but I found myself at a regional office of a global firm and was on the partnership track at 31, but also planning to adopt my daughter.

When I sat down with my manager for our annual review, he told me I needed to up my billable hours by 15% and I couldn’t see how I could balance that with caring for her.

Maybe if I’d had a role model back then who could show me how then I’d have found a way, but instead I needed more flexibility.

I took a post as a lecturer for undergraduate and LPC teaching which was a good way to stay in touch with practice, but the most fulfilling part was seeing students off on the start of their journey.

I then took an opportunity to return to private practice and having stayed up to date it was an easy transition.

I became much better at mentoring junior members of staff and helping to encourage people who might have become pigeonholed or stuck.

However, after the pandemic and time on furlough, I moved again into an in-house role where I can deliver value without needing to justify it in billable hours.

I have never really been one for a conventional career.

People have this perception that you can’t move around and that you are stuck on a path, but it doesn’t have to be like that.

Don’t be afraid to try things out and don’t think it’s just a linear progression.

There’s a lot to be gained from trying different roles.

“Change is hard, but don’t underestimate what you bring to the table” – Neha Lugg, senior legal trainer at Lewis Silkin

I started my career in private practice and qualified into employment law.

I enjoyed the work, but I was fortunate enough to go on secondment during my training contract and found that I loved being able to fit into a business and provide really tailored advice.

I went on to work within in-house legal teams for large multinational organisations.

More than 10 years later I now work as a senior legal trainer delivering training on a wide range of employment law topics to support organisations maintain effective working practices and improve workplace culture.

Sometimes I will be working to support HR professionals and people managers with the more complex parts of their roles like handling difficult conversations or what wellness really looks like.

More recently, I have focused on diversity, equity and inclusion and work with clients to embed more inclusive working practices. It’s a really varied and interesting role.

I’ve also spent time during my career working as a professional support lawyer.

This involved making sure fee earners are never caught out by the latest developments and that the firm’s guidance and precedents were kept updated.

As a student, I only ever knew of the traditional solicitor route to partner but we need to build awareness of the breadth of the legal profession.

I definitely have not taken a conventional career path, but I’ve taken forward what I’ve learned from each role.

What would I say to someone thinking of changing career direction?

Change is hard, but don’t underestimate the skills you’ve learned and what you can bring to the table.

“The SQE route gives people like me options” – Lara Oseni, legal officer and case presenter at General Pharmaceutical Counsel

I remember at college, being told by a law lecturer “it’s not about what you know, it’s about who you know”.

This instantly put me off joining the legal profession, because I was a first-generation university student, and I did not know any professionals.

The introduction of the SQE meant that I could take a different route to enter the legal profession. I can utilise my already vast years of legal experience with the last phase of my legal studies.

Studying and working is not something that is new to me nor to lots of people from ethnically diverse backgrounds. That doesn’t make it any less challenging, but I am determined, because this is something I really want.

I feel as though I am getting closer to attaining the career that I have wanted for so long. I started out as a paralegal, and I am now a legal officer (the equivalent of a legal trainee) in the fitness to practise department of the General Pharmaceutical Council (the GPhC).

I get to improve my advocacy skills by presenting cases on behalf of the GPhC and have been involved in some amazing projects, such as contributing to the development of the Equality Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

I have had moments of imposter syndrome, and doubts from not seeing enough people who look like me in this field, but recently I have been very fortunate to be mentored by some amazing people (mainly women).

The SQE route gives people like me options. We are not all the same and so we need different routes into the profession to accommodate that.

The legal profession needs to ensure that people feel like they belong and that there is space for them. This hasn’t always been the case with traditional routes.

Never give up and never be afraid to find creative ways to challenge how things are done.

SRA wants views on suite of support for in-house solicitors

SRA | SRA wants views on suite of support for in-house solicitors | Solicitors Regulation Authority

We have developed a raft of new resources to support the 34,500 plus solicitors working in-house in England and Wales. And views are now being sought on the guidance and advice before they are formally adopted.

Developed in conjunction with the regulator’s virtual in-house solicitor reference group, the materials build on issues which arose from our 2023 thematic review in working in-house and wider feedback from in-house solicitors over the past 12 months.

The resources include a new document aimed specifically at employers which outlines a solicitor’s professional obligations and the benefits of employing a regulated professional. The resource is also designed to help solicitors establish a mutual understanding of what this means they can – and cannot – do for their employer

Other newly published guidance covers areas such as identifying your client when working in-house, handling internal investigations, and reporting wrong-doing by your employer. Alongside the guidance, we have published a number of case studies illustrating how it can be put into action.

The documents are being published ahead of our second annual in-house solicitors conference, which is being staged next week and will bring together more than 250 in-house practitioners. The materials are also being published on our website, with feedback being invited by 19 April.

Juliet Oliver, General Counsel at the Solicitors Regulation Authority said: ‘As well as ongoing feedback from the those working in the sector, recent high-profile cases such as the Post Office case have really shone a light on the unique challenges and issues which in-house solicitors can encounter.

‘We have been working closely with the in-house community over the past year to consider what support we can offer to address some of these challenges. We believe these resources will provide valuable support and guidance to in-house solicitors across a range of important issues. But to make sure this is the case, we want to take this opportunity to invite those working in the sector to input’

The number of in-house solicitors in England and Wales continues to grow year-on-year and now accounts for more than one-fifth of all practising solicitors and work across more than 6,000 employers.

Our in-house solicitor conference, with expert speakers from across the private, public, and charity sectors, is being staged in London on 14 March. As well as the new guidance, issues to be discussed will include what it means to be an in-house leader, how to maintain and develop professional competence in an in-house setting, and an in-house solicitor’s role in providing environmental, social and governance direction.

Final copies of the new in-house resources will be published later in 2024.