Oli Haley built his legal career in conveyancing after studying law at university and discovering a profession that combined logical problem-solving, client interaction and opportunities for progression.
He first entered the legal profession after completing his law degree, when he stumbled across his first conveyancing position. From the beginning, law appealed to him because of its professional reputation and structured way of thinking.
“I’ve always thought of it as quite a prestigious profession, and I liked the fact that it was quite logical…when you have a problem, you have to work through that methodically. You have to put that into simple terms and present it to someone as a solution. I think it’s both quite satisfying and quite rewarding.”
Oli now works closely with clients who are buying and selling residential property, managing transactions and guiding people through the conveyancing process. The variety of the role is something he particularly enjoys:
After completing his law degree, Oli decided to continue developing his professional qualifications through the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) pathway. Thanks to his previous legal qualifications, he was able to benefit from multiple exemptions.
“Because of my law degree, I was exempt from the Level 4, so I went straight in at the Level 6 Diploma in Conveyancing Law and Practice. Because I’d done my LPC within so many years, I was also exempt from three modules.”
For Oli, flexibility was one of the most important factors when choosing how to study alongside full-time work: “It was very flexible, so it allowed me to study in my own time – I could do as little or as much as I wanted, and when you work full time that is really helpful.”
Oli first joined Swiitch/Shoosmiths in 2015 and quickly recognised the opportunities available within the organisation. He could see that the firm offered long-term career opportunities thanks to the supportive, nurturing environment the firm fostered.
“There were offices all over the country and they have since opened more. I wanted to work at a big firm. I wanted to work somewhere where there was going to be opportunities to do all different sorts of work, and there would also be opportunities to progress.”
Thanks to the talent development priorities at Swiitch, Oli was able to take on his CLC qualifications with full support from his firm.
Alongside career progression opportunities, Oli believes the people around him make a significant difference: “The people make it such a nice place to work, and I think this is probably one of the most common things that you hear from others that work at Swiitch.”
There’s lots of room for progression and development, and it’s all supported by and underpinned by the people around me.
Oli describes his experience with Law Training Centre as overwhelmingly positive. He highlights that the support from tutors played a vital role throughout his studies, and that the materials were comprehensive and easy to use.
“My experience with Law Training Centre was nothing but positive, and nothing ever felt like too much trouble…to have the supportive tutors was really, really nice.”
One of the aspects Oli valued most was the quality of tutor feedback. Positive reinforcement helped rebuild his confidence when returning to study, and encouraging feedback motivated him to continue progressing. “I found them really supportive, really encouraging, and never had to wait long for them to get back to me.”
“I could see where I was at the beginning and then how far I’d come months later, just purely from using the self-test tool or watching some of the online lectures or reading a couple of chapters in the handbook.”
Overall, Oli speaks positively about his decision to study with Law Training Centre: “I don’t have a bad word to say. I’m really happy I did it through Law Training Centre.”
Completing the qualification has had a significant impact on Oli professionally and personally, he tells us, “It’s made me more confident to push and challenge myself professionally…and also the real sense of pride still feels quite surreal. It’s something I’m just hugely proud of.”
“If your intention is to specialise in conveyancing, what better way to do that than become a Licensed Conveyancer? I knew my future was conveyancing…this qualification was probably the best thing that I’ve done in terms of achieving that.”
