During my mid-teens, I had discovered two things – I love the law and I’m interested in helping others. I understood earlier than most what I wanted out of my career and thought I knew how to find it. I enjoyed learning and started researching the role of a solicitor and how they can positively impact the lives of others while providing a stable, challenging and lucrative lifestyle – it seemed like a perfect fit.
Jumping ahead, I was studying at King’s College London with the goal of taking the SQE and landing a position at a city firm in hand and then the pandemic hit. Like countless others, the impact had a huge effect on my personal life and professional aspirations. I began to feel stifled holed up in my room, hiding away from the virus while finishing my degree. I looked back to what I love, helping people, and offered my meagre services to my community by becoming a child mentor with The Kids Network, working with a fantastic youth from a disadvantaged background – a move that has shaped my outlook on life and my career more than I thought possible.
I enjoyed volunteering, but it wasn’t putting food on the table or allowing me the means to get out and enjoy the world, post pandemic. I stuck to the plan and began working towards becoming a solicitor. I landed a pupillage with Red Lion Chambers, shadowing Jeremy Benson on a money laundering case in Kingston Crown Court. While shadowing and picking Jeremy’s brain, I began to become disillusioned with traditional legal paths. The market seemed over-saturated and although it provided a piece of what I coveted for my future, a stable, challenging and lucrative career, it was lacking the opportunity to have the positive effect I was searching for.
Thus began the seemingly endless search to find a role that would satisfy both of my career goals, the uncertainty of it all was foreign to me. Many Google searches later brought me to the legal recruitment industry. This was it – a chance to work within the legal sector and bring positivity to those I work with! I got to work researching opportunities with a particular focus on company culture and career progression. Whilst many firms marketed themselves as having a great culture, it was DMJ where I found myself fitting in the most. I knew that DMJ was the good match when, after two minutes of starting a face-to-face interview with my manager, we found ourselves laughing about our shared interest in terrible TV shows. It was this mix of the professional and social that led me to eventually accept an offer to join the firm.
I have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the role since I started at DMJ two months ago. It has been great getting to know all the characters in the office and having everyone offer to help. I am building up expertise in an area of work that I find very rewarding. More importantly, I find that helping people to make the next step in their own careers, which is personally fulfilling for me.
I am glad that I chose to start my career here and I believe that I am in the best position possible to develop my skills going forward, while bringing hope and excitement to those I’m able to place in gainful employment. I feel secure in knowing that both my ambitions can be satisfied with the support, training and opportunities offered at DMJ.
Posted 22/09/2022 By Adam Haider