The journey to a training contract can often seem elusive and impossible. There are many things that others seem to know or have insight of, and knowing where to start can be just as daunting.
That’s where Lorraine Chimbga, a future tech lawyer for Clifford Chance’s new IGNITE Training Contract found herself when she first started applying. Originally from Zimbabwe, she studied Law at University College London (UCL) and Information Technology Law at the London School of Economics (LSE).
Unsure of whether a traditional career in the Law was for her, Lorraine worked in FinTech coding financial regulations into software after graduating in 2016. Currently, she works in LegalTech helping to train and manage corporates and law firm clients to use artificial intelligence that provides a risk analysis of their commercial agreements.
As part of The Corporate Law Academy’s Legal Accelerator, Lorraine will be developing and launching a course. She hopes to provide a practical guide to approaching the application process that is not often covered. Through her alternative journey, Lorraine saw the benefits of focusing on mindset, resilience, building a personal brand and networking play a part in her successfully securing a training contract in the end.
She hopes to show that there is more to it than just writing the perfect application – it’s also about you as an individual and the unique story that you bring. Yes, you can have a personality in law!
In the meantime, you can follow Lorraine as she shares her tips and advice on all things “Law, Productivity and Personal Development” on her Instagram page @lorrainechimbga (formerly @londonlawstudent) as well as her recently launched newsletter.
She has also been sharing her journey to finding her niche since 2014 at www.lifeofalondonlawstudent.com and her Youtube channel.
Through her platforms, Lorraine hopes to inspire aspiring solicitors to put their best foot forward with practical advice and to provide one view of an unconventional journey and background to becoming a lawyer.
