Re-invent yourself

'Life is what happens whilst you are making other plans'. The famous John Lennon remark nearly describes my working life. I chose law as a profession because of a mixture of two influences: Perry Mason (ask your parents) and my all-time greatest hero Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mocking Bird).

Both of these heroes were what Americans call 'trial lawyers', so I suppose a career at the Bar might have been a more obvious choice, but at that time I needed a steady, well-paid job in order to support my father and younger siblings.and the Bar was in those days considered to be a very risky profession.

However, I always thought the whole thing was temporary and that my true calling was to do something that was more socially useful. Being a solicitor in private practice did not fit with my idealistic image of myself. I flirted with working for Amnesty, or for a law centre, but always came back to the fact that at that stage in my life I felt that I had to earn a good income, so I ended up going into private practice and became a commercial litigator.

Eventually my dependants no longer needed my support, but by then I had started to love the life. I always worked in the sorts of firms where you earn a good, but not outrageous, living and where you don't work ridiculous hours; firms where you know everybody and have a great deal of autonomy. I also became involved in management which proved fascinating and added an extra dimension to my working life.

I then had a child, and while she was growing up and needed my support I did not have time to consider any other choices.

So suddenly I found I'd spent 30 years doing a job I always meant to be temporary. I had also brought up a very idealistic daughter, and seeing my life through her eyes reminded me of the person I once was and set me towards finding something else to do for the last few years of my working life.

Finding a new track

I wanted to use my management skills and experience in the voluntary sector as opposed to practicing as a lawyer, as I was a little disillusioned with the litigation game. I felt that I could have more impact in the wider role of manager.

I gave myself plenty of time. I went to numerous agencies, none of which were much help, and I networked away like crazy. Eventually the networking paid off. I found one or two opportunities, and then the perfect role came along '“ a position as chief executive of a small charity called Zacchaeus 2000 Trust. The charity helps the very vulnerable facing claims and court proceedings from statutory authorities for fines and debt. It also trains volunteers to do this work and campaigns for changes in the law and social policy on issues that derive from the work.

Although the founders have been doing the work for a while as volunteers, the charity is relatively new in its formal set up. My job includes running the office, managing the training courses, building systems and records, fundraising, developing a pool of volunteers and partnerships, looking after clients, lobbying and more.

The client work is still case work, but I am not acting as a lawyer (I no longer have a practising certificate) but as a 'Mckenzie friend'. This is a court-recognized non-lawyer assistant for a litigant in person. They are very commonly used in matrimonial proceedings '“ Heather Mills famously had one at her divorce hearing after she sacked her lawyers. Usually there is no legal issue, it is just a question of helping the client navigate the court process and ensure that he or she is fully able to explain his or her circumstances to the court /authorities.

An energetic atmosphere

There are difficult challenges in my new role; I badly miss a supporting infrastructure. We all have to do everything here. When we do have legal issues we have no online legal research facilities so everything takes much longer than I am used to.

On the other hand I have met within the overall voluntary sector the most amazing people: bright, able, hardworking and totally committed to making a difference. Most of them earn a fraction of the sums available within the private sector but are often so much more energetic and interesting, partly because their focus on the world is always outwards.

The main qualifications that I had for this move were management experience and always having done voluntary work alongside my professional life. I had worked as a volunteer in law centres, been a school governor, been a charity trustee, and been politically active. All of these kinds of experiences are very useful for anyone who might want to move into the voluntary sector in a management role.

I have a continuous sense of an infinite amount of work to be done, but a totally unequivocal confidence that what I am doing is worthwhile. I am not quite Atticus Finch but I like to think he would approve.

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