4 January 2024
1. Can you tell us your name and one interesting fact about yourself?
My name is Megan Player and in my spare time, I enjoy doing CrossFit and maintaining an active social life with family and friends.
2. What year did you graduate from Llanishen High School?
I completed my A Levels at Llanishen High School in the Summer of 2019.
3. What subjects did you study or were you particularly interested in while you were with us?
I studied English Literature, History, French and Music to A Level standard. My favourite subjects throughout high school were English Literature and History because I enjoyed using my analytical skills to break down the meaning behind a piece of poetry, prose or a play, or to construct a persuasive argument in history.
4. What are you doing now, and can you tell us how you got to this point?
I’m currently in my second postgraduate role as an employment paralegal at Lewis Silkin LLP, having previously worked as a real estate litigation paralegal at Eversheds Sutherland LLP.
Once I completed my A Levels at LHS, I undertook an LLB Law Degree at the University of Bristol. During my time at university, I developed an interest in employment law because of the direct impact it has on everyday life. My interest led to my decision to write an employment law dissertation, which considered whether the UK’s tripartite employment status is fit for purpose in today’s multifaceted labour economy.
When I graduated in July 2022, I was keen to build my legal work experience because most of my degree was undertaken during the pandemic and work experience was particularly difficult to obtain at this time. In August 2022, I successfully secured my first paralegal role at Eversheds Sutherland LLP as a real estate litigation paralegal.
After seven months at Eversheds Sutherland, I commenced my current role as an employment paralegal at Lewis Silkin LLP. My current role has developed my knowledge and experience in employment law, which is an area in which I’d potentially be looking to qualify as a solicitor.
5. Did you always know this career was something you wanted to pursue? If not, what other career options were you considering?
I had an idea that I may want to pursue a legal career when I was in Sixth Form, which is why I chose to do a Law degree at the University of Bristol. However, I was never 100% sure even throughout my degree and I was open-minded about pursuing other potential career paths. For some time, I considered applying to various retail graduate schemes, as I knew that my law degree would give me lots of transferable skills for this type of career path.
However, I decided that to make an educated decision on whether I wanted to pursue a legal career, I would need to obtain some legal work experience, which is why I applied for my first paralegal role. After building my legal work experience in two international law firms over a year and a half, it confirmed to me that I wanted to pursue a legal career and I now have a Training Contract with Lewis Silkin LLP.
6. Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to your 16-year-old self?
I would tell my 16-year-self not to worry so much about exams or the outcome of them. Yes, it’s important to work hard and prepare as much as you can, but you can only do your best and you shouldn’t focus on the outcome, just the work you need to put in for it.
I became seriously unwell in the middle of my AS exams in Year 12 due to stress and it taught me that one of the most important things that you can do is make sure you are well enough to sit the exams. Becoming too anxious or stressed won’t help you perform any better on the day and it’s not good for your physical health. Make sure that you build in time every day to switch off and relax in between revising. This will help make sure that you don’t burn out.
7. What advice would you give to students today thinking about their future?
Degrees are expensive, so take your time to pick the right university course. Think about the potential careers that you may like to pursue in the future because this can help you decide on the right degree course for you. If there isn’t an obvious degree course which will lead you into the profession you want to be in, think about what skills that profession requires and what university courses could help you develop those skills.
If you don’t want to go down the University route, explore potential apprenticeships in a field in which you’d like to work. Apprenticeships are a great way to build your work experience whilst earning money and they’re becoming increasingly popular as an alternative career route to university.
Commit to something and try your hardest but don’t be afraid to change direction if the route you’ve chosen is no longer working for you. You have to work for a long time, so you must make the right decision and are in a career where you’re happy and fulfilled.
If you’d like more information about our alumni network or would like to get involved, please complete the form on our alumni page and a member of staff will come back to you.