Case study
Idara’s Story
Idara had qualified as a solicitor and barrister overseas and had come to the UK over 10 years ago with her family with the intention of practising law immediately. She believed with her transferable skills and considerable experience in many areas of the law that she would be in demand. The reality, sadly, was different.
It was a lot more difficult to secure work and firms would not offer her employment without going through the qualified lawyers transfer scheme process (quite a lengthy undertaking). At a loss as to what to do next, she resourcefully did a master’s degree in management and found work in this sphere. However, her love for the law was always there in the background and, during lockdown, she dug deep and took the difficult decision to requalify as a lawyer to be able to practice in England & Wales.
She had brief success with employment with two firms. This experience did not result in secure employment for the longer term; she was made redundant from one firm and asked to work too far away from home with the other. She started applying for jobs again and sent off hundreds of CVs and applications without success. Idara was beginning to doubt her abilities and was fast losing confidence. This was getting her down and so she contacted The Solicitors’ Charity to see if they would help her with a work placement to enhance her CV and improve her job prospects.
Idara had not fully appreciated what the charity did in terms of providing wellbeing support and, while it could not offer her a work placement, it did support her with funding for a specialist career coaching with Renovo.
“I found the (Renovo) service useful and easy to access. The resources such as the one-to-one training was very practical and useful especially in supporting solicitors like me who may feel vulnerable following redundancy or other situations.”
With tools to re-gear her CV and a motivating coach on hand to guide her through face-to-face interview technique, she started the job search process afresh. This time she was successful in securing three interviews and within six months of starting the process with Renovo, had secured a permanent role as an in-house counsel for a government agency.
“I was at a low point and seriously considering leaving the law. The role I have now is a much better fit for me. It uses my experience as a lawyer and barrister and taps into my knowledge of many different areas of the law. I finally feel this is the place I was meant to be.”
Reflecting on the rollercoaster year she experienced; she advises others in a similar situation to approach The Solicitors’ Charity for help:
“I would highly recommend the service to others as it is very useful and effective support in securing jobs. Thank you!”
