My Legal Life

I always wanted to be a lawyer but took an indirect route. As a pink-haired teen, I was more interested in music and politics than studying. I left Lincolnshire for a London squat and had a wonderful time. I worked as a dresser in the West End; was a PA to Vanessa Redgrave; and even sold shirts door-to-door in the City.

At 21 I decided to get back to my books. By day, I sold ad space for the Evening Standard; by night, I attended lectures at Birkbeck and King’s College London. After the LPC, most students were off to practise corporate law. That didn’t interest me. I wanted to do something I saw as more meaningful.

A week’s work experience at Tottenham Hotspur’s legal department led to employment by a local crime firm as a probationary police station rep. My first call-out saw me locked in a cell with a huge naked burglar who had refused the paper suit. I could hear the desk sergeants guffawing as I, red-faced, tried to focus on giving my legal advice.

Read the full article on the Law Gazette website.

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