I was unsure of my career path when I left school, however I had an interest in law and with that as a starting point I undertook the CILEx Legal Secretarial Qualification. Upon completion of the course I secured my first job with Howells LLP. Over the years I have worked at several large law firms as a legal secretary, firstly with Nabarro (now CMS), Halliwells and then Flint Bishop. At Flint Bishop I was based in the Litigation Department and during quiet periods I would assist the Residential Property Team, which is where my interest in property law first developed. I particularly enjoyed the fact that each transaction varied, came with a new set of people and personalities and each property had its own characteristics. This in itself could trigger a whole range of queries and issues. When I secured my position in the Commercial Property Team at Freeths in 2013, I experienced the commercial aspect of property, which I enjoyed and after a year of dealing with commercial and residential I decided this was the area of law I enjoyed. I researched the CLC Licensed Conveyancer Course and decided this was the route to take in order to achieve a successful career in property law. I approached Freeths with my ambitions and they agreed to sponsor me to study the CLC course.

I began the CLC course in 2014 whilst working in a more fee earner/lawyer capacity, dealing predominantly with residential conveyancing. At the beginning of 2017 I got married and although I found a lot of my spare time was occupied in arranging my wedding I continued to work full time and study. In 2019 I went on maternity leave and was determined to return to work qualified. I was thrilled and proud when I managed to achieve this, as qualifying had taken longer than I had initially planned. The course was all by distance learning, at your own pace. This obviously worked well for me and I was very fortunate that Freeths gave me their full support, allowing study leave and paid leave for exams. I studied whenever I had a spare moment, during my lunchbreak, evenings and over the weekend. It was also beneficial to be studying and working at the same time as I could apply what I had learnt from the course to my job and vice-versa. The study really assisted with both aspects. If you have a passion for property law, you have an eye for detail and strong customer service skills then this is a great career option. You will also need to work efficiently under pressure as the volume of work can be very demanding, whilst maintaining the right balance of patience and enthusiasm.

I am now aiming to build up the Residential Conveyancing Team in the Sheffield Office. I work over 3.5 days a week and I am very proud that I am a Property Lawyer. I have the flexibility to work around other commitments which allows me to fulfil the responsibilities and challenges that come with this role. This is why I was keen to be a case study to show people that you can be successful in achieving a qualification and career in the property profession whilst maintaining a work/life balance.