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From paralegal to lawyer by Jess Soley
Posted on: 29th February 2024
I joined One Legal in August 2020 after working as a paralegal in the private sector. I undertook my undergraduate degree (Law LLB) in Worcester through Staffordshire University, whilst working as a barmaid in a local pub. I then went straight into my masters, undertaking the Legal Practice Course and LLM Master of Laws.
I hadn’t always known that I wanted a career in law – at first, I wanted to be an architect and quickly found out that I needed more than a basic understanding of maths (I am more of a words person)! This evolved into an interest in law (from an interest in construction, property and technical drawing) following work experience at my local council.
I undertook the LPC and LLM full-time whilst working part-time at a firm of solicitors – to say I like a challenge is an understatement, and I wouldn’t recommend this approach unless you really want to test the boundaries of your organisational and time management skills!
During this time, I did apply for training contracts and received rejections – in hindsight, I don’t believe I had enough experience, but at the time it was a blow to my confidence. Looking back, this was a great learning opportunity as it meant that I was able to really develop my skills in one role and understand the legal sector better before eventually qualifying.
Then during the first Covid-19 lockdown I was unemployed. So, I spent a few months sitting in the glorious sunshine (in my back garden), reading and job hunting. I came across a paralegal role at One Legal and remembered how much I enjoyed my work experience at my local council, so decided to apply. I was really interested to see the difference from the private and public sector and wanted to do work which felt like it had an impact on the community.
In my job hunt I was looking for a role which I could really develop in and progress – starting off as a paralegal at One Legal really helped this as it meant that I was able to understand and get to grips constitutions implications on commercial matters and how a local authority operates. I think it is important for individuals in our sector to realise that undertaking administrative work does help with knowledge and career development – not only are you seeing lawyers’ work (and helping them with research and legal work), but also understanding compliance and the background of legal files, for example, why certain processes and procedures are necessary.
I have since seen how much of an experience it has been. I’m currently a lawyer, after qualifying earlier this year with the SRA and I took a slightly unconventional route to qualification…
As I had already done my law degree, LPC and LLM, I was most of the way there, I just needed that practical experience and a route to qualification. In one of my 1-1’s my supervisor discussed qualification options and asked me to prepare a table of options – you’ll be surprised how many routes to qualification there are, especially with the new SQE route.
Following this, we prepared a training contract which was bespoke to my training needs and I then started with CILEx. As I had done so much, I applied for a number of exemptions with CILEx and started working on my qualifying employment application.
Qualifying employment was the next step following applications for exemptions in the requirement for studies (as you would usually need to undertake exams in levels equivalent to undergraduate, masters and so on). The application is intended to show that your role meets the requirement for the amount of legal work undertaken in a typical week and is submitted with an employer reference – it was interesting completing this as it allowed me to reflect on the nature and varied work I undertake (and nice to see what my supervisor thought of my work!)
Once this was accepted, I then started working on the worked-based learning application which is pretty much a training diary but tailored so that you demonstrate each of the CILEx competencies. My advice to anyone looking at this route would be to make a note of each competency early on (but within 2 years of application) as it will make life so much easier when you come to filling in each element of the portfolio.
I took the scenic route to qualification but achieved it and it felt all the more rewarding.
Working on my qualification with One Legal was great as everything was so easy and straightforward, and I truly felt like I had the support of my team (and everyone at One Legal) with frequent nudges to see how I was getting on and lovely supporting statements and references from my supervisors.
