Tatiana Haigh successfully qualified and admitted to the ‘Roll of Solicitors’

Tatiana, a key member of our Dispute Resolution Team, has successfully qualified and been admitted to the 'Roll of Solicitors'. A great achievement that only comes with hard work and dedication, especially if you chose the route Tatiana took to get there. We talked to Tatiana about her journey and what made her choose law:

Q: What influenced you to choose a career in law?

A: A few years ago my parents had an issue with a tenant who needed evicting. I decided to assist them with the legal case and found it fascinating reading through caselaw. It was this that sparked my initial interest in law.

Q: What was your greatest challenge on the journey to becoming a qualified Solicitor?

A: It would have to be the route I chose, as it wasn’t the traditional training contract route. I qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive before applying to be admitted as a solicitor, qualifying via the CILEx (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) route. I had to study for the LPC (Legal Practice Course) at weekends at the same time as working full-time, which I would never recommend to anyone! That was by far the most difficult part of my journey – even harder than completing the Bar Practice Training Course.

Q: Other than being admitted to the Roll of Solicitors, what other highlights have there been?

A: I have enjoyed being given my own workload and the responsibility of running my own cases. This is something I would not have been able to do had I qualified via the trainee route. Whilst my journey to qualification has been a long one, I have gained invaluable experience working as a Legal Executive as it provided me with an essential foundation in which to progress my career as a solicitor.

Q: What is the one piece of advice you’d give to someone working towards qualification?

A: Try and get as much experience as you can before becoming qualified, as it is essential. For example, I worked as a paralegal for 4 years and then as a Legal Executive for 2 years before qualifying. Without that invaluable experience, I am not sure I would have had the confidence to be able to deal with the kinds of cases I deal with on a regular basis.

Q: Is there anyone in the field of law that really stands out to you and you follow with interest?

A: When I was studying law, I always found Lord Denning’s judgments most entertaining to read and he was one of the most prolific judges of his day. For example, he ruled that an unmarried partner who contributes to buying or improving the home may claim a share under trust law, which was a significant departure from the way courts viewed unmarried couples previously. 

Q: In these very strange times of lockdown and COVID, how are you going to celebrate?

A: With a very large glass of wine!