Hear from Wilson Browne Solicitors‘ David Farmer about his journey as a late-starter in law, his role as a Partner and why he thinks employer support is so important.
Describe your journey through education
My journey through education was not the traditional route. I did my A-Levels when I was 18, but then I went into work straight away and worked in the finance industry for ten years. I then went back to university when I was in my early thirties and did my law degree and then went on to do my LPC course. So I was a late qualifier into the law and I didn’t qualify as a solicitor until I was in my late thirties.
What is it like to study online?
In terms of online training, I found it to be a real benefit for me when I was studying the law. Initially, I had a young family, so it meant that when I was taking part in online training, I could do it to be flexible for my needs. So I could do it when I wanted to do it and where I wanted to do it.
How did you prioritise studying when it came to work and family?
I think it’s really important to set aside the time to do the studying and to let everybody else know that you’re going to be studying. For me and my family, it was a case of locking myself away and saying, ‘I’m going to have 2 hours for myself. I’m doing online training, you know, please leave me alone. Don’t disturb me’. And you set aside that time because otherwise, if you don’t, you’ll find you get distracted and all the things take priority over the studying and you’ll never get it done.
What are your top tips for staying motivated?
I think the best tip I could give somebody to motivate themselves is remember the reason why you’re doing the study. Remember that feeling you get when you finish your course and you’ve got extra knowledge that you didn’t have before. If you can focus in on that when you’re starting a course or halfway through it, I think that will give you enough motivation to carry you through and to really enhance your knowledge in a particular area.
Why would you encourage others to do online training?
I think the main thing to help people with online learning is the sheer flexibility that online learning gives you. You can do online learning anywhere. You don’t need to drive anywhere. You can just get on with it when you want. You’ve got the ability and the data to do it. So for me, the main thing about online learning is giving you the flexibility to do your training as and when you want to do it and complete it.
What are your top tips for getting ahead in a legal career?
I think the most important tip I’d give somebody to get ahead in their legal career is to make sure you keep up to date with current events. There’s lots of case law that happens every single week, so I would recommend subscribing to podcasts, blogs and trying to find as much information as you can about the developments in case law.
What benefits does Wilson Browne Solicitors receive from supporting training?
In terms of supporting people in the firm with ongoing training, I think it provides real benefits to us here because it enables us to develop the next generation of partners, people coming through in the business, and enables them to grow in confidence or to increase their knowledge of the law, and then to apply that into the business.
Interested in an online course? Find out more about online learning and some of our legal courses by downloading our Course Comparison Guide.
