Kris

For anybody thinking about undertaking a professional qualification, I cannot recommend the ACLT Costs Lawyer Qualification highly enough. The course is a route to professional qualification with greater accessibility than some of the traditional methods of legal qualification as a solicitor or barrister.

As the first member of my family to attend university, I left with a degree in Accounting and very little in the way of contacts or knowledge to move into the profession and, in all honesty, I wasn’t passionate about accounting. In 2009, I joined Irwin Mitchell as a Claims Administrator and moved through the ranks to Paralegal before using the transferable skills I had gained to move into costs as a Trainee Draftsman in 2013. In 2014, I became a founding member of Irwin Mitchell’s Costs Budgeting Team whilst undertaking the ACLT Costs Lawyer Qualification utilising Irwin Mitchell’s sponsorship scheme.

Partaking in the course has allowed me to increase the scope of my knowledge of the law and given me the confidence to research case law and legislation and apply the same to my work. Since qualifying in 2017 I have gained two promotions, first to Deputy Team Leader and then to Team Leader. I believe that becoming a qualified lawyer helped me to climb the ladder by virtue of the skills I gained on the course.

Gaining the knowledge, status and role has afforded me the opportunity to impart knowledge onto more junior colleagues. I have also progressed to use my rights of audience in which I have represented clients at Costs Management Budget Hearings.

Added April 2023