Sarah Jane Lewis has worked in the law ever since she left school at 16. Now, aged 24, she is halfway through the ACLT’s Costs Lawyer Professional Qualification and works for Cardiff-based costs practice, Phoenix Legal Services. 

I left school at 16 and took an apprenticeship role as an administrative assistant in the costs team at law firm Fletchers. I was immediately drawn to the technical points in costs law and the negotiation side of things. I knew early on that I had found the career for me.

After four years I moved to the costs team at Jackson Lees where I was working as a costs draftsperson and dealing with a variety of different cases, however, I needed to find a role a bit closer to my new home in Tenby, Wales and joined Phoenix Legal Services in September 2022, where I largely work from home. 

Phoenix is fully funding my qualification and they are very flexible. I have combined my working pattern so that I do five days into four and devote my non-working day to study, along with some evenings and weekends. It is a part-time course, and I spend between 16-18 hours a week on learning. You do have to be very disciplined to balance the competing demands of work and study, but I am already reaping the benefits. 

The course itself is well organised. We have weekly tutorials and all information relating to the module including reading preparation is regularly uploaded onto the course online platform. The online platform is really user friendly. The weekly tutorials have a range of students on them, with some working in law firms and from all levels of seniority, people like me working in a dedicated costs business and even a solicitor looking to cross qualify. I really enjoy the interactivity of these sessions and the discussions and debates that we have. 

One of the greatest benefits for me is how I have been immediately able to apply the knowledge and skills that I learn on the course into my work, which has given me more confidence in my work and in myself. I can now immediately recognise whether retainers are correct, for example. Even just after the first year on the course, I have noticed a positive change in me and how I present myself. 
Year one has seen us cover contract law and tort law. I’ll embark on the second year soon starting with civil litigation and aim to have completed my qualification by 2026. 

I’m really looking forward to qualifying as, not only will I have the backing of a recognised legal qualification, my knowledge and abilities will enable me to navigate the plethora of technical points of law which will ultimately enable me to save my clients money. 
I always thought that to be a lawyer I would have to go to university, so I am glad to have found a profession and a career where I can earn and learn. I think this will make me a better lawyer. 

I’d love to see more young people joining the Costs Law profession. It is an area of law that I believe should be recognised more as it is a really technical and complicated area that many don’t understand. People face a real financial burden if they decide to take the more traditional route to becoming a solicitor and of course, the competition is fierce, yet there is another way to enjoy a rewarding legal career without saddling yourself with debt. 

Added July 2024