Lauren Wurzal

What are you doing now?

 I work as an Apprentice Legal Executive in the Corporate Team of a top Yorkshire law firm, Gordons LLP, in Leeds. I am due to qualify as a Lawyer in 2022, following the completion of my part-time studies through CILEx. 

During my time working I have gained some invaluable experience and have also balanced this alongside completing my degree level exams. Choosing this route instead of university has meant that I will have five years work experience by the time I am qualified, be in no debt from my studies and have built strong relationships with my colleagues and the clients of the firm.

The type of work I do is mainly transactional, assisting with acquisitions and sales of businesses. Before I started my job I knew that I had the most interest in company related law, so starting in the Corporate team was definitely the perfect area of law to be specialising in.

The most rewarding part of my job is putting hours of hard work into a big transaction for a client, to see it complete, and to know that I assisted with it. As I have now been in the team for over three years my involvement has massively increased and I’m trusted to do more complex work and usually deal directly with clients myself.

What advice would you give to your 17-year-old self?

Don’t give up! All your hard work will pay off and the hours of studying will be worth it. It might seem like a slog at the time, but to look back in a few years to see what you have achieved is the greatest reward!

What are you most proud of?

Although I am proud of getting good grades in my A Levels and all my law exams so far, I am most proud of how my confidence has grown over the last three years. 

I struggled with this during school, so to see how far I have come and what I have achieved by putting myself out there is something I’m very proud of.