Case studies: Legal executive: Clare

I was always interested in a career in law. Several members of my family were solicitors and my grandfather was a judge. I was offered a place at university to read law, but delayed the start of the course for two years to gain work experience and began working at a law firm in Milton Keynes as a trainee. I specialised in family law and began a distance learning course through the ILEX Tutorial College.

After two years, I had to decide whether to carry on with the ILEX course or take up the option of going to university. I was now well into the ILEX course and enjoying both the course and my job, so decided not to go down the university route. My family were very supportive. With so many lawyers in the family, they all knew about ILEX and were happy with my decision.  

I qualified as a Fellow of the Institute in 2006 and now work for Adams Moore in Milton Keynes, a firm that specialises exclusively in family law. I head a team of four dealing with children's case and divorce and finance.

I have responsibility for the initial contact with clients and allocating cases as appropriate. Many clients have quite complex needs. Some require advice in relation to their children, their family finances, their safety and their future options. Some require legal aid if they are not able to pay privately.

Our aim is always to get the best results for our clients. Often taking a case to court is not the best route and we work closely with mediation and counselling services to provide an all-round service, as well as offering collaborative law if it is appropriate.

I'm member of the Member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Family Law Panel and qualified as a collaborative lawyer. I was also one of the first legal executives in the country to be able to train as a Legal Executive Advocate in Family Law. This was possibly the toughest course I have ever done but immensely satisfying. I can now offer clients a seamless service taking them all the way from initial instruction through to appearing in court on their behalf, a definite benefit for everyone. It also enabled me to apply to become a member of the Law Society's Children's Panel.

I'm member of the management team here at Adams Moore and I hope to become a partner in the future, something that has only recently become possible for legal executives.

I would definitely recommend the ILEX route. It's probably a lot tougher than a university course. You have to constantly juggle work, family and course requirements and there are always deadlines to meet. I went straight into fee-earning in my first job, which was an added pressure as there were targets to meet at work, but the practical experience you gain through the 'earn and learn' route stands you in good stead when appearing in court and when dealing with other lawyers.

ILEX lawyers are often far more experienced than comparable lawyers straight out of university - something employers appreciate. Legal executives are well respected by other legal professionals I have come into contact with.

Even though I had a place to study law at university I believe that not going to university has not affected my career in any way; I would certainly recommend the ILEX route to a career in law.