My Route into Law
Wednesday 5th April 2023
Sometimes, the route into law isn’t always a straightforward path. James Harrison, a trainee solicitor who joined us in September, talks about his adventure into a career as a lawyer.
I have always wanted to be a lawyer. I’d like to say that’s because I believe in rules, justice and fairness for all. However, it’s more likely because of LA Law, Ally McBeal and Tom Cruise’s iconic court scene with Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men”!
For various reasons, pursuing law straight out of school would not be for me. Instead, I dabbled in a whole host of things from working in a wine shop to handling complaints for a big London estate agency; from sailing around the world for four years on cruise ships to handling client accounts at a marketing agency.
My first step towards a career in law
2013 was my “Damascus” moment. Desperately unhappy, and newly married (not connected…!), something had to change. I asked my wife if I could quit my job and study law, and she said yes and that was that. I applied and got accepted to the University of Cape Town to start a general degree in January 2014 – I was 32!
Having smashed it in the first year, I got accepted onto the Law track from second year and was finally on my way to completing a Law degree (studying Law in South Africa is slightly different than in the U.K.). Even with a new baby(!) in tow, I was up for the challenge. However, I decided that we needed to move to the U.K. instead. So I researched what was required to become a solicitor in the U.K., completed my undergraduate degree (Law and Politics) in Cape Town, and started my GDL in Leeds in January 2018.
Securing a training contract
Applying for training contracts was not a new concept, you have to do the same thing in South Africa, and a top firm that shoots from the hip meant that Gordons was the obvious choice of the firm for me, but I felt being 37 might be an obstacle. I quickly discovered the only person concerned about my age, was me and that was affecting how I came across in applications.
After two failed attempts with Gordons, I needed to relax, enjoy the process and show the recruitment team who I really was. On my third attempt I didn’t write what I thought they wanted, I wrote what was authentically me. It seems obvious now, but businesses hire personalities and the best way to show your personality is to be unabashedly authentic in everything you do. Clearly, this worked and I was delighted that I got an offer from the firm in 2020.
It has been a journey and I have loved every minute of it. If you too are taking a less traditional route into the law I have two pearls of wisdom (1) be authentically you and (2) relax, you’re every bit as good as the next candidate, but the firm will only find that out if you remember to be yourself.
