Name: Danielle Reece-Greenhalgh Firm: Corker Binning Location: London University: Durham University Undergraduate degree: Law
Danielle’s advice to trainees is to challenge themselves in the way she was challenged during her period of training at Corker Binning: “Every experience should feel slightly new. That’s the beauty and uniqueness of this area of law – no two cases are the same because every client will present a different set of problems, circumstances and personal background. You get to keep learning throughout your career with each new case.” She describes the collaborative nature of the working environment within a smaller specialist firm like Corker Binning, which means that partners, associates, trainees and paralegals often all work together towards the same goal and are able to share information and lessons learnt. In this career, there’s always somebody to bounce ideas off. Soft skills The importance of soft skills for criminal solicitors is not to be underestimated. “You need to have good interaction skills and the ability to not judge people according to what they are alleged to have done,” Danielle explains, listing the ability to listen as another underrated skill. Of course, a capacity for and enjoyment of analysis comes as a prerequisite to the job as well – “Being able to really break down the evidence in a case is at the core of criminal law. You will have different versions of the same event from the client and prosecution, and must analyse the situation, and the advice Every experience should feel slightly new. That’s the beauty and uniqueness of this area of law – no two cases are the same because every client will present a different set of problems, circumstances and personal background”
you provide to your client, based on all the information in your possession.”
Danielle goes on to describe how the ability to unravel a case can sometimes be like detective work, especially when preparing for trial. “Your client can be telling you one thing and the prosecution another,” says Danielle. “At the most basic level my job involves figuring out the best route through with the least damage to the client’s future.” On the ground experience If this sounds like it might be the job for you, Danielle has some pearls of wisdom. “You really need to be sure about your career options and base your choice on actual experiences,” she says. “There’s only so much you can learn from reading a firm’s website or watching a TV drama!” Work experience is a crucial component to making this decision, with Danielle going as far as to say that working as a paralegal or police station representative before training in criminal law should be compulsory. “It helps you to deal with the kind of situations you’ll meet to when qualifying and teaches you to adapt to fast-moving situations.” Danielle also advocates students trying to gain experience at a criminal law firm of any size: “Go down to your local high street firm and see if you can shadow someone who is going to police stations and meeting clients. You’ll never get a substitute for seeing how this job actually works on the ground.” For those who are still not quite sure about whether being a solicitor is the right option for you, there are other avenues you can pursue: “There’s policy work, civil service work, legal journalism or academia,” lists Danielle. “Don’t confine yourself at an early stage. Think about your options, get some work experience and be absolutely sure about what is most important to you in your working life before you embark on this journey.”
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