Maria C

Profile:

I am an associate in the commercial litigation department at Stephenson Harwood.  My decision to study law in the UK came as a shock to my family; as a female growing up in the Middle East, I made the decision to leave my family at 18 to live abroad and study law (an area which my family had no experience in). On arriving, I had to quickly adapt to my surrounding environment by learning as much of the cultural norms and language, whilst still growing and finding a place for my own identity.

When it came to applying for jobs, I was fortunate to have good friends at university who could read my applications and I attended as many presentations to pick up tips from firms on the training contract process. However, as an immigrant, I had no connections in or to the industry (or any professionals!). In retrospect, it would have been very helpful to have someone from inside the profession be able to guide me and give me tips.  As such, I would encourage anyone to get in touch if they need that “inside” assistance.   I completely admire the work being done by Aspiring Solicitors (and collaborative law firms) to ensure that the legal industry is more diverse and inclusive and, more importantly, to prove to those individuals that we are all eager for them to enter the profession.

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