Carving out a successful career in Law

What do you do at Admiral?  

I’m currently an Advocate at Admiral Law. Generally, I attend court hearings which are mostly being conducted remotely via video or telephone, although the Courts are now listing more in person. The hearings range from infant settlement hearings, damages hearings and applications to come off record or applying for a stay of proceedings. I also draft advice for cases involving children and protected parties on the compensation they should expect to recover for the injuries sustained. The Advocacy department as a team provide support to the wider business by delivering training and weekly clinics to assist on live case issues.  

How did you get into your role?  

I remember all my friends choosing which university they wanted to go to when we were studying for our A Levels. I knew it wasn’t for me, I wanted to get experience working and start earning money. I worked in retail for approximately five years and left my role as a supervisor to join a solicitors firm. I had no experience in law but thought I could try and work my way up as I did when I was in retail. Soon after joining the firm’s Client Reception Unit, Admiral Law was created, and I moved to join Admiral Group on 1st May 2013.  

I was in the Client Reception Unit (or New Business Unit as it’s now called) for three months before joining the Case Handling department. The Case Handling department is now set up to have several sub departments which I’ve managed to gain experience in. I started in Ministry of Justice dealing with non-fault personal injury cases and progressed to be an Advanced Case Handler. I then moved to the Fast Track department dealing with liability, uninsured and untraced defendant drivers and claims where low velocity impact was raised, all of which included personal injury. I moved through the department as an Advanced Case Handler, Senior Case Handler and then Team Manager.  

During this time, I applied for funding to obtain legal qualifications. I was successful and Admiral Law funded my Higher Legal Apprenticeship. I obtained a Level 4 Diploma in Personal Injury Litigation in 2016 and decided to carry on my studies to qualify as a Chartered Legal Executive through CILEx.  

At the start of 2019, I wanted to expand my knowledge. I stepped away from my management role and moved to Admiral Law’s litigation department. This gave me so much more experience and I was able to put all the theory I learnt in my studies into practice. After a lot of late nights and lost weekends, I qualified in September 2019!  

Itching to carry on learning and develop my skills, I joined the Advocacy team in August 2021. To be able to gain my Advocacy rights via CILEx, I had to outline my work experience and competence in conducting litigation and advocacy. I also attended an intense course for one week which involved oral and written assessments remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I received my results in February 2022 and was successful. I’m currently waiting on my practising certificate so I can practice as a CILEx Litigator and Chartered Legal Executive Advocate in civil proceedings.  

My qualifications took seven years in total with one break between September 2019 and September 2021. I’m not sure I would’ve been able to do it all without the support I received from my colleagues and full funding for my qualifications, I’m so grateful. 

What’s it like working here?  

When I first joined Admiral Law, I remember my first impression was that everyone was so nice! It was so different to what I was used to when working in retail. I think it’s fair to say that I never wanted to leave any team I was in, but always loved being in any new team I joined.  

There are so many opportunities to progress whether that be through management, technically or in support roles. Admiral is very good at championing people to progress internally regardless of experience. I started with A-Levels and no idea about law, now I am a qualified professional! I couldn’t have done that if people didn’t take a chance on me.  

I know that it’s not just by chance that I’ve been able to progress internally, my brother started working for Admiral after my recommendation and he’s also progressed to a senior role within his department.  

What’s next for you?  

I think my track record shows that I’m not someone who can simply sit still! Having said that, I’m newly qualified in what I do and new to the Advocacy team. I’d like to enhance my skills here for now and then see where the future takes me.  

Find out more about Admiral Law.