Lisa Buckridge (LLB 2010)

28Although originally intending to go to university immediately after school, life and health got in the way. I was lucky enough to be taken on in a law firm as a paralegal and never lost sight of my dream of being a solicitor. It was my employer who suggested that I consider The University of Buckingham’s part-time Law degree as this offered the qualification I wanted with exceptionally high quality teaching. She had also done her degree at Buckingham and being the head of a successful department in a large firm in Milton Keynes, I was happy to follow her advice. Whilst the prospect of completing a 4 year degree part-time whilst also holding down a demanding job was daunting, after I met with the Director of the programme to discuss the course I was certain it was the right decision.

The degree was definitely challenging – at times it was difficult to balance the demands of work, home life and the course but the lecturers and support you get are top class and the rewards, both in the qualification and the friendships that are made, are immense. The course is a great mix of home-study, the pre-reading and assignments, and, the most important feature, face-to-face seminars on Wednesday evenings. These seminars are a fantastic opportunity to reinforce what you have learnt and also debate the issues with your fellow students and lecturers.

I am exceptionally proud to have obtained my degree from The University of Buckingham. It has allowed me to qualify as a solicitor and I am currently working in practice with the same employer who originally encouraged me to take the plunge and who now runs Purcell solicitors in Milton Keynes. I also made many great friendships I would not change the way I qualified for anything – doing the degree part-time whilst working allowed me to gain valuable work experience alongside the vital qualification and in the current climate this was invaluable.