Here, she explains why she has the CLC to thank for a career she once thought was doomed, and how what started out as an experiment has radically changed the makeup of the Bristol-based firm, where colleagues who qualified via the regulator’s route now outnumber everyone else.

When I first embarked on a career in law, I had no idea there were any other routes available apart from going to university and getting a law degree.

I applied and was accepted to study on a course at UWE Bristol, but once there I quickly realised that university didn’t suit my learning style. I tried but I hated it, and I dropped out after the first year. I remember thinking that was it, a career in law wasn’t an option for me anymore and that I would just have to think of something else to do.

It was the summer after I had left university that I landed a job as an office junior at Cooke Painter, and whilst there I started to research alternative careers in the law.

That’s when I came across CILEX – the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives –
which was not only new to me, but new to the firm where, up until that point, everyone had qualified as a solicitor. I approached the partners and explained that I was thinking of doing it and, fortunately for me, they agreed not only to let me but to pay for it as well.

When I came back to work after having my daughter, I had progressed to become a trainee fee earner, and I decided I wanted to specialise in conveyancing. That’s when I found out about the CLC qualifications, which were tailored to people like me wanting to do just that, and I’ve never looked back.

I qualified in around 18 months, partly due to certain exemptions I had because of my previous studies, but I also loved the combination of online learning and the practical experience you got on the job. I was putting what I was learning immediately into practice and having more experienced colleagues around me to learn from and ask questions was invaluable.

In 2024, I was thrilled to become a director of Cooke Painter and I think the path my career has taken has shaped how I approach the role. I can empathise with junior colleagues because I’ve been there myself and I try to support them as much as I can.

In the 13 years I have been at the firm there has been a significant change in our approach to training and development. The firm was very traditional when I first started in that all fee earners were solicitors, but now the number of CLC-qualified licensed conveyancers outnumbers everyone else.

There are so many benefits that it’s more than worth the money we put into funding colleagues’ studies. For many, it’s opened up a whole new career that they thought wasn’t available to them without a university degree, which in turn has widened the pool of talent in our firm.

At the time I was studying, I had a very young child, and I really valued being able to fit the course around family life whilst also continuing to earn a wage. That’s true for many colleagues who have studied since. We also get people in the mid or even latter stages of their career who think it’s too late to change paths. Often those are the ones who have worked in the industry for the longest and have this fantastic bank of knowledge and experience, but just not the piece of paper to go with it.

At the same time, it’s just as important to think about the next generation; giving opportunities to younger people who may not want or be able to afford to go to university to study law. Investing in their training and development fosters a real feeling of loyalty and people tend to stay at firms for longer. I’m proof of that.

I would 100% recommend the CLC route, so much so that I’d like to do the probate qualification as well. Now I just have to find the time!