Take the plunge

My parents raised me with the core values of taking responsibility for my actions and that we all have a responsibility to make the world a better place, even if in a small way. Training to be a solicitor was originally my way of trying to help people.

I trained at Booth & Co in 1998, a large commercial firm in Leeds. The firm, now amalgamated with Addleshaw Goddard, had a strong private client and family team, and I absolutely loved it there.

Bright lights, big city

On qualification, I moved to Eversheds in Newcastle, my home town, and worked in the firm's private client department. However, the bright lights of London kept calling me, and when Eversheds announced the culling of its private client teams across the firm, I packed my bags and moved to London. I joined a niche firm, Penningtons, and initially found it hard to adjust to working in such a small practice. But my London and international clientele was very attractive, and the work I started to get was out of this world in terms of experience.

As I was getting more senior and the pressures increased, my enjoyment started to ebb. The question of why I was doing what I was doing became the voice in my head that just would not go away. And there was still the question of making the world a better place.

The charity bug

I had originally stumbled across working with charities at Eversheds, taking on an element of goodwill projects for senior partners and I enjoyed the work immensely. Once in London, I built up my own contacts and pro bono work but unfortunately this was not encouraged. I also wanted to look into the options of not working a full five-day week so I could pursue other interests I had been harbouring. I originally wondered if a change of employers would suffice, but once I assessed why I was unhappy, I realised that my days in private practice had come to an end.

I started to look around at my alternative options such as PSL and in-house roles, having chats with people and doing my research. It was in this period that I saw Mencap's advertisement for a lawyer to work with them. I called up my now boss for a chat about what they were looking for. She encouraged me to apply, and I have not looked back since.

This will sound glib but I know that every day I am doing my bit to make the world a better place. Mencap is the UK's largest learning disability charity, supporting those affected and helping their parents and carers.

We campaign for equal rights and to prevent bullying, we provide essential services to people with a learning disability and their carers, we offer a free advice helpline where I provide legal advice '“ and so much more.

As one of their lawyers, I am involved in every aspect of the charity's work, from governance issues to looking over contracts for our events and advising parents about applying to the Court of Protection for a decision to be made in their child's best interests.

I also work with some of the brightest and humblest of people I have ever met, all of whom have some form of learning disability and they love every day that they come to work at Mencap because they love their jobs.

Though I had worked with vulnerable clients when I was in practice, I have had my eyes seriously opened to a whole new world since joining Mencap.

The spectrum of learning disability is very wide and the prejudices that a person with a learning disability faces every day are so very wide, ranging from not being allowed to open a bank account because they cannot sign their name, to having your baby taken away because it is assumed you are not able to cope.

True calling

I have no regrets about the path my career has taken to get me where I am today. Without my time in commercial practice, my time in the regions and in London, I never would have met the people I have met and had the experiences that have made me into the lawyer I am today.

And working at Mencap, I feel that I am finally achieving my true potential of helping people every day, even if in a small way.

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