In honour of International Women’s Day, we’re sharing the success stories of the women of Wilkin Chapman and celebrating their achievements.
Currently, 10 out of 13 trainee solicitors in the firm are female. We sat down with our colleagues at the starting line of their career, to get their insights of the legal industry as an up-and-coming female solicitor.
Sophie Emms is currently working in our dispute resolution department, learning all aspects of civil litigation. Before graduating with an LLB Law Degree from the University of York, law wasn’t a subject that had even crossed her mind when applying for university.
“Looking back, it was definitely the right decision to make,” says Sophie. “Each day has its challenges, but there's always something new and exciting to get stuck in to.”
Sophie was drawn to Wilkin Chapman due to the many different practice areas on offer, allowing her to try out different specialisms and find the right fit. She began her training contact in 2022 and was quickly made to feel like part of the team.
“Very early on I got a sense of the friendly culture of Wilkin Chapman, and I knew it would be a supportive and welcoming environment to undertake my training”.
Creating a supportive working environment is something that these future solicitors are eager to emulate in their careers moving forward. “Our trainee cohort are also really close,” Sophie enthuses, “we eat lunch together most days, and have catch ups in our group chat.” The group regularly celebrate each other’s wins at work, going out for lunch or to the pub after office hours, “but it’s just as important to celebrate overcoming challenges, as I definitely learn more from them!”
For those students looking towards studying law that are not sure whether the legal industry has a place for them, Sophie had the following advice:
“Go for it! 52% of lawyers in England and Wales are women - which is pretty amazing considering that just over 100 years ago women were first allowed to become solicitors. Now, being a woman has nothing to do with it. If you like a challenge, work hard, and are passionate about helping people, law might just be the career for you.”
Caitlin Bellamy attended the University of Nottingham, obtaining a first-class BA Law degree before going on to complete the Legal Practice Course.
“I’ve always enjoyed solving problems, and a career in law allows me to do this on a daily basis.”
The firm’s reputation was a big selling point when she was looking for a training contract. In fact, Caitlin considered Wilkin Chapman to be the “best in the region”. “I thought that training here would enable me to become the best solicitor I can be in the future.”
Alongside the senior solicitors she learns from, Caitlin has found kinship in her fellow female trainees. “I’ve formed good friendships with the other trainees in my year. It’s nice to have people to talk to who understand exactly what you’re experiencing because they’re having the same experiences too,” she remarks.
Caitlin enjoys her work in the family law department, a team mostly populated by women. “It is quite known that historically, law has been a very male-dominated career path. Now, it does not matter who you are but rather the skills and determination you have to have a successful career in law”.
Hannah Gamble didn’t have the most obvious route into law. Having studied criminology at university, she joined Wilkin Chapman in 2014. “The plan was only to stay for a short time while I decided what I wanted to do. As I enjoyed working at the firm so much, I decided to stay and complete the Graduate Diploma in Law to convert my criminology degree to a law one,” she reminisces.
Keen to progress her career, Hannah completed the Legal Practice Course in 2021 and commenced her training contract with the firm in the same year. She currently works in the Wills, estates, tax, and trusts department. “My colleagues in the Grimsby probate team are fantastic. We always support each other and help each other where we can,” she praises.
International Women’s Day places emphasis on creating a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination - something which Hannah believes is heavily embedded in the firm’s culture. “There is a good mix of men and women in the workplace. We all get on well and there is no division between the sexes or between people’s positions and backgrounds.”
“If you go into law with an open mind and determination to do well, you can achieve anything you want to!”
