Louis Harman – LLB (Hons) Law, 2014
14 March 2023
Written by: amgillard
After graduating from the University of Lincoln in 2014 with a 2:1 in Law, I went straight into practice as a paralegal at a local law firm – Chattertons Solicitors and Wealth Management. I quickly found myself at a crossroads: do I train to be a solicitor or barrister? Fortunately my firm offered me a […]
After graduating from the University of Lincoln in 2014 with a 2:1 in Law, I went straight into practice as a paralegal at a local law firm – Chattertons Solicitors and Wealth Management. I quickly found myself at a crossroads: do I train to be a solicitor or barrister? Fortunately my firm offered me a training contract just over a year later and that led to me undertaking my training alongside completing the Legal Practice Course (‘LPC’), the Professional Skills Course (‘PSC’), and the Higher Rights of Audience exam contemporaneously over an 18 month period. It was a challenging 2 years, to say the least.
During my training journey, I assisted the firm with developing its immigration law department. That developed into a specialism for me, and so when I qualified as a solicitor advocate in September 2017, I found myself in a head of department position despite being newly qualified. Another challenge, but one I think I rose to, as the immigration department maintained a ‘Legal 500’ Tier 1 status as a top quality service provider for each year I was there.
I honed my skills greatly while in private practice, learning about the commercial realities of being in a law firm environment, developing a reputation as a subject specialist and, more importantly, building a caseload that allowed me to get into the courts and tribunals as much as possible to put my advocacy qualifications to the test. That was what drove me to pursue a legal career in the first place, building upon my many hours spent taking part in competitive advocacy competitions while with the Lincoln Law School.
As my skillset grew, and I began to identify my strengths more keenly, I decided to step away from practice in 2019 to re-join the University of Lincoln as a lecturer. Alongside this, I do consultancy work with In-House (PBS) Ltd — providing an eclectic range of advice to local businesses and charities — and I have several external volunteer roles within education and international business that compliment my current role and my subject specialisms (immigration, employment and civil litigation).
I truly feel that I have the best of both worlds in my current position. I am loving being back at the university, working with a fantastic team, re-engaging with law at an academic level, and helping future lawyers hone their craft and make their big decisions as to ‘what next?’ Yet, at the same time, I am still keeping up my practical
skills, working fluidly with clients in an environment that is more akin to being their in–house legal adviser. I’m immensely grateful for the opportunities afforded to me during my time at the University of Lincoln, and I’m glad to be able to pay back some of that, in the city that is definitely now my home.