Hi everyone! My name is Lauren Bowie and I am the creator of Legable. I am a first-class Scots Law LLB (Hons) graduate from the University of Glasgow and am undertaking the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice before commencing my Training Contract with Pinsent Masons.
When I was growing up, I saw the legal profession as one dominated by slick men in designer suits making witty remarks in a court room. Not a young girl from Ayrshire in Scotland who attended a state school which regularly features at the bottom of educational league tables. But, like many others before me from similar backgrounds, I’m entering the legal profession with the hopes of changing the stereotype previously stuck in my mind.
Being the first generation of my family to attend university, coming from a low-income family, and growing up in a SIMD Level 1 area, I was often told that I was naïve for pursuing law as a career. It wasn’t seen as an accessible profession for people from my background, and I regularly heard comments such as: “Law isn’t for people like you” or “people from places like this don’t become lawyers.” Even once I proved those people wrong by excelling in my exams and gaining a place at my first-choice university, I struggled with the transition from school to higher education. I was thrust into an environment where people were from very different backgrounds – a lot of them quite affluent – but they all seemed to be thriving both academically and socially whereas I was not. I began to wonder if I actually deserved to be at this university or whether I really was just naïve.
I felt disheartened, and when I tried to find ways to overcome those feelings, I found it difficult to find information on how to cope with this transition and provide me with guidance on how I could succeed in my legal career. I recognised this gap and decided to create Legable in an attempt to fill it. I want other aspiring lawyers across the UK to access the support and guidance that I did not. For this reason, Legable contains information regarding funding, work experience and career support for aspiring lawyers specifically from less advantaged backgrounds, as well as ways to make a difference and contribute to improving social mobility in the legal profession. I hope Legable acts as one central platform where those from less advantaged backgrounds can find all the information they need to succeed in their career in law.
If you know of a social mobility initiative that isn’t listed on the website or want more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at legableuk@gmail.com!