Laura
Holland

Laura studied her LLB and LPC at NTU and is the founding Senior Solicitor for North Yorkshire’s first Law Centre. Laura talks about her career, how her course helped her develop skills that she uses today and the importance of making the most of your time at uni.

Why did you choose to study at NTU?

“I had a look around a few universities and NTU was the one that had the best balance between a reputable law course for both undergraduate and postgraduate and a good social element to it.” Laura studied both her LLB and LPC at NTU because the firm where she did her placement year offered her a job to go back as a paralegal at the end of her LPC. “Now that I’m involved with employing people through my organisation and we’re starting to take on placement students from universities local to us, I want to give them a good experience because I recognise the value in having that placement year, it certainly did good things for me.”

Tell me about your work experience since graduating from NTU.

Laura spent some time working in public law, community care and child protection but really enjoyed criminal defence and achieving her police station accreditation. Upon completion of her training contract, Laura decided to work in housing because it offered an opportunity to use the skills she had learnt in other areas of law to provide legal support to ensure her clients’ basic needs of having suitable accommodation were met.

Wanting to relocate, Laura saw an opportunity to become a Senior Solicitor at a Citizens Advice in North Yorkshire and spent a couple of years working with the organisation through a merger and towards becoming part of the Law Centres Network, developing the opportunities for legal advice they could offer. In December 2022, they were officially voted to become part of the Law Centres Network. Now the Senior Solicitor for North Yorkshire Citizens Advice and Law Centre, Laura says “I always thought that I’d become a solicitor, get good outcomes for my clients and be happy with what I’d achieved. I never thought about management or setting something new up, but when I saw an opportunity to help increase access to justice for such a huge community, I thought I’ll go for the interview and see what happens! I’m really glad I took on the challenge because it’s great to be able to say that I was the founding Senior Solicitor of that Law Centre.”

What do you enjoy the most about your current job?

“Changing somebody’s life for the better and knowing I’ve contributed towards that person being in a better place” is one of the things Laura enjoys about her job. Being able to support her ambitious team who are currently doing their LLM and SQE is also extremely rewarding. “It’s important to support the next generation of people coming through.” Laura remembers those who’ve impacted positively on her career development and wants to be that positive impact to someone else.

What’s the most valuable thing you learned during your course that you have used in your career?

The fact that each module was examined with a skill, for example, contract law with report writing, “… meant that when I went into practice it was so easy for me to pick those things up and it made my job so much easier. I knew what a report had to look like, how I needed to sound when I did advocacy, and how to do legal research.”

Where do you see yourself in 10-years-time?

“It would be really nice if I could see the team I work with continue to develop within their own careers, and the Law Centre continue to grow.”

If you had a time machine, what would you go back and tell yourself at uni?

“The stuff you do outside uni is equally important as the stuff you do in uni, and it all helps to develop you as a person and as a potential employee. You’ve got to find your own balance between getting the grades you’re aiming for and enjoying the experience along the way.”