I trained at Baker McKenzie before moving to Kirkland as an associate. While at Baker McKenzie I was a member of the firm’s steering ethnicity steering committee.

I grew up in a single-parent household, with an ethnic minority immigrant mother. So I am very aware of how difficult it can be to feel like you belong somewhere – whether that is school, university or the workplace.

As someone who is now in a position of (relative) power – I feel that giving mentorship and opportunity is a core part of the role I now play in society.

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Aspiring Solicitors were instrumental to getting my foot in the door in the City. Their open days with partner law firms and their application workshops equipped me with the tools I needed to improve my applications and become a strong candidate for interview.

As a first-generation immigrant from Somalia who attended a state school in London, I am the first generation of my family to attend university. Growing up, I didn’t know a single lawyer or anyone that worked in the City, which is common for people from working-class backgrounds.

Providing access to diverse talent is important to me as, throughout my life, I’ve known people who were incredibly talented but didn’t have the network, opportunity or support to nurture their growth and career ambitions.

From a commercial perspective, diversity is important as there is a giant pool of incredible untapped talent that would make an invaluable contribution to the Legal sector.

I have been lucky enough to face numerous setbacks, rejections and obstacles. I say lucky because failure has taught me where I needed to develop and has blessed me with the knowledge to prevent others from making the same errors.

As an AS Mentor, I am keen to help improve social mobility and diversity within the legal profession, and I am happy to provide application, CV and interview support to AS mentees who are navigating the competitive, and often confusing, graduate market. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about working at TLT or generally about pursuing a career in commercial law.

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Diversity and inclusion is important to me – not everyone has the benefit of a network to learn from and this makes it really challenging for a legal career to be accessible for aspiring solicitors who come from an under-represented background. By being a mentor, I hope to contribute in some way to opening up the field to a wider group of talented individuals.

I am happy to be contacted on LinkedIn or by email, and happy to set-up calls.

I greatly benefitted from taking part in the Commercial Awareness Competition and AS Aspire, as well as attending various events over the years.

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When preparing for applications and considering firms, I found AS and these pages helpful. I reached out to several solicitors who I recognised as having similar a similar background to me who were generous with their time. No matter your background, seeing people you can relate to within the profession gives you confidence that you can also achieve. The contacts I made through these pages, despite not previously having any legal network, inspired me to apply and I would now hope to give back and help others.

I would welcome emails with any questions people have or feel free to add me on Linkedin.

Apart from using these profile pages, I also took part in an AS mentoring scheme with Bank of America Merril Lynch and Mayer Brown. This was fantastic at building my confidence, preparing me for interviews, and understanding the profession.

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I am state school educated and the first in my family to attend higher education. My parents are from low-income backgrounds so I can appreciate the additional difficulties that come with having poor quality teaching and a lack of role models. I am also neurodivergent, so I am incredibly passionate about reducing the stigma that is commonly associated with neurodiversity in the legal profession. If you are an aspiring solicitor, I would be delighted to support your endeavours and to help you use your background to your advantage.

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As a Career Changer as well as being the first in my immediate family to practice law, my journey to securing a training contract was challenging at times. Platforms such as Aspiring Solicitor proved to be invaluable along the way.

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I nonetheless enjoyed teaching in secondary schools of all different kinds, where I learned a lot about people, relationship building, adaptability and organising myself. I continued volunteering at my local Citizens Advice, as my background had taught me that the impossible is around us all the time, so one day, a legal career might become a possibility for me. Often the doors we think are closed just need a little push at the right time.

When my children left home, I decided it was now or never. In my early 40s I returned to university. I worked full time as a courier, and ran a business online while I studied. I wasn’t afraid of hard work, but I needed help to direct my energy where it’d be most effective. Aspiring Solicitors’ support was invaluable in showing me how to research and evaluate different firms to know which ones really ‘walk the walk’ in terms of diversity, building my confidence to aim for the top.

Since starting my TC at Withers, I’ve often found that elements of my unique background turned out to have taught me many soft skills such as how to & work smart cope under pressure, establish good relations and healthy boundaries, all of which complements the academic and practical skills I’ve picked up through my life experience and studies.

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I have a background in Biochemistry and did a law conversion after my undergrad. I believe it is very important for everyone to be invested in diversity and inclusion as bringing people from various different backgrounds and experiences together helps us all expand the way we think and come up with better work for our clients. I am very grateful for all the opportunities I have had that made me get to Covington and if I can play even just a small part in helping someone achieve their objectives as well, I will be very happy.

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