Having started her career as an office junior straight out of school, Gemma Parker quickly progressed to a legal secretary role, working across different areas of law. However, after becoming a mother at a young age, she made the difficult decision to step away from her legal career to focus on raising her children.
“After having two children and still being very young myself, I decided to leave work, and had to leave the law.”
As her children grew older and more independent, Gemma decided the time was right to return to the career she had always loved: “I decided in my late 30s…it was time to go back to work and pursue my career in law,” she says. Back in the profession, she decided to pursue her career in probate law, taking on the CLC route as a direct pathway to achieving her goals. “I wanted to learn quickly, and not have to sit in other seats in order to achieve where I want to get to. So the direct learning works a lot better for me – just study what I need to know in order to become a Probate Practitioner.”
Gemma is now well on her way to qualifying as a Licensed Probate Practitioner, having successfully completed the CLC Level 4 Diploma in Probate Practice, passing all five subjects and becoming a registered Probate Technician.
“I never thought I’d be able to achieve anything like this,” she says. “And now I’m listed on the legal technician directory.”
Currently studying for her Level 6 CLC Diploma with Law Training Centre, Gemma is balancing her studies with full-time work and family life. The flexibility of the course has been key to her success: “It’s so much easier than having to attend a class. I wouldn’t have had time to attend a class – not around full time work and obviously the children. It’s so much easier to do it online because you can do it as and when you want to, and it fits around your personal life and your work commitments.”
Law Training Centre’s online portal, paper course manuals and tutor support helped Gemma manage her learning on her terms. “The online portal is brilliant. It gives you all the studying you need, all broken down into sections of the course that you’re learning. So you really have got everything you need.”
Despite the challenges of returning to study later in life, Gemma has grown in confidence: “I haven’t even qualified yet, and I’ve been offered a great position at work already,” she tells us. “It will certainly open more doors and opportunities, giving me more freedom, and obviously making me financially better off.”
Reflecting on her journey, Gemma highlights how beneficial her studies with Law Training Centre have been in achieving her long-awaited career aspirations that she previously had to put aside. “I would say my experience with Law Training Centre has been amazing. It’s made me realise I can achieve what I want to do, and I’m not too old to do it.”
She adds a heartfelt thank you to the Law Training Centre team: “I just want to thank Dino and Eve, the Founders of Law Training Centre, for giving people like myself the opportunity to achieve our career ambitions – and actually make it possible.”
