Imogen Simmonds (LLB Law with Business, 2024)
Paralegal at Coodes Solicitors, Falmouth
Hello, I’m Imogen – a University of Exeter Cornwall graduate. I’m from Falmouth, studied LLB Law with Business at the Penryn Campus, and since finishing my degree in 2024 I have stayed in Cornwall for a career in law. The lifestyle here is unmatched, and I couldn’t imagine a better place to live, study and work.
In this blog I’ll explain why I chose to study in my hometown (and why it was a great decision for my career), how my course prepared me for the career path I’ve chosen since, and what it’s like to be a young legal professional in the Cornwall.
Your dream degree could be closer than you think…
I know that when you first start thinking about university, choosing a course can be tricky, but I was lucky enough to know that I wanted to study Law with Business from the start. I’ve always wanted a career in law, but felt like having a business element to the course would only be an added bonus: it would give me another career option if I found that working as a legal professional wasn’t actually right for me, or could help accelerate my career into a senior legal firm position – i.e. a position which requires a good understanding of not just the law, but also the business aspects of how a law firm operates.
I applied to a few other unis, but the Penryn Campus was my first choice. This might seem weird because I grew up in Falmouth and lots of students seem to want to get away from their hometown, but I’ve never felt like that. The work-life (or study-life) balance here is just too good! Plus I’m not really a city person anyway. Why would I have moved anywhere else when the exact course I wanted to do was right on my doorstep?
My career
Staying in Cornwall for my career was also an easy decision, just like it was when I was looking at my university options. I really appreciate the balance working here offers. I have friends working as lawyers in London who I almost never hear from because their hours are so long, whereas in the middle of a busy day I can still sit at the beach on my lunchbreak. Even senior members of the firm are rarely in the office past 6pm.
I actually started with Coodes – where I’m now an apprentice solicitor – as a paralegal whilst in my last year of uni. The job was advertised as full-time, but they agreed to let me start on two full days per week while I finished my assignments and exams, and I then went to full-time from the summer.
While working as a paralegal I applied for all the internal apprenticeship scheme places, and I’m now an apprentice solicitor working towards my first set of SQE exams (which are coming up very soon!).
Before joining Coodes, I did some placements in different areas of law, including a day shadowing a licensing lawyer in London, a week with the Cornwall Council legal team and a week working on dispute resolution with Michelmores in Exeter. This was a great way to understand what it’s actually like to work in different fields and made me realise that I wanted to focus on personal injury law, which is what my role is now. I love arguing with insurers, and every day is different – you wouldn’t believe how many ways people injure themselves!!
How my degree has helped me
Studying a law degree at university is great because it makes your pathway to becoming a fully qualified lawyer much shorter. While you can become a lawyer with a degree in any subject via a conversion course, this apprenticeship pathway would take roughly three years, whereas mine should only take me around 18 months.
This does mean that your degree will include quite a lot of compulsory modules, as these are aspects of law that you’ll need to study in order to become qualified later on. However the course at the Penryn Campus is great because it includes a lot of practical learning like mediation events and mock hearings, meaning you actually get to practice the skills you’ll need in a real legal position rather than just learning from a textbook. In all of these you get feedback from real lawyers, judges and legal professionals, which is absolutely invaluable. Since graduating, I’ve even been back to the campus to give current students feedback and advice on personal injury mediation. Joining societies like Law Society and Negotiation Society is another great way to get practical experience. In my first year in particular I did a lot of mooting, which I really enjoyed and definitely helped me later on in my degree.
The business side of my degree was also really hands-on, with projects including creating business plans for real local start-ups, who then gave us feedback on the work. The way the modules were taught felt super connected to the skills and experience I could imagine needing for a successful career after graduating.
Because the Penryn Campus is smaller than a lot of other university campuses, you get amazing support from your lecturers. The small seminar groups and class sizes mean they have lots of time to answer your questions and make sure you understand what you’re learning, which I don’t think is the case at all other universities.
My advice to current and future students
Getting a job in law can sometimes look like a dark art, but I promise you it’s not. These are my top tips, including for any of you who’d like to specifically stay and work in Cornwall after you graduate:
- Work experience is your best friend
As I explained before, doing placements and shadowing really helped me understand what areas of law I enjoyed working in and which I didn’t. Not only did this make me more confident in my career path, but it also really helped me in applications and interviews: in my Coodes interview, when they asked me why I wanted the job, I could clearly explain the different areas of law I had experience in and what appealed to me about a role in personal injury. Employers don’t want to hear “I’ve wanted to be a property lawyer since I was six,” they want to hear the logical reasons you want the job with evidence to back it up.
That being said, you have to be prepared to work a bit to get this work experience. Before getting my Michelmores placement I think I probably applied to twenty other law firms with no success. I definitely recommend researching which firms offer placements and vacation schemes before you start applying, as some don’t have the necessary contracts in place to take on students in this way. LinkedIn and Handshake are a great place to start. After this, it’s a case of sending out cover letters and your CV. My degree included really useful seminars on how to write a good CV, plus the University’s Career Zone can also help you with this.
On the topic of work experience…
- Don’t underestimate the benefit of studying close to home
Studying at the Penryn Campus meant I could live at home, which was perfect for me. I definitely didn’t miss out on any of the social side of university, but didn’t need to go through three years of living in shared accommodation (which I don’t think I would have enjoyed!). Quite a lot of other students on my course were also from Cornwall, so I didn’t feel like an outlier for living at home.
Although student accommodation costs are lower in Cornwall than in some bigger cities, living at home is obviously a huge financial help. If you choose to do the same, you could translate this into a big career advantage: rather than stressing about money and picking up a typical student job – like bar or cafe work – to help cover your living costs, you might be able to use the time around your degree to get volunteering work or placements during term time. These are generally unpaid but will look great on your CV and help you get ahead after graduation.
I volunteered at the Citizens Advice Bureau, and would recommend looking into this plus local legal clinics. Access to justice is something almost all law firms are concerned with, so I think any volunteer work you can do to show that you’re willing to help the community with the law and access to justice will really help your job applications stand out.
- Go to every networking event you can
Just go to as many as you can because you will make so many connections. Even though it’s a bit scary at first to walk into a room full people you don’t know from big firms or in senior positions, it will pay off – it will set you so far ahead of everyone else and open so many doors for your career.
The University’s career fairs are a great place to start – there are always a couple of law firms who you can chat to. Also check the Junior Lawyers Division and local young professionals groups for events (I know there are at least two or three of these groups in Cornwall now).
If you do want to stay and work in Cornwall, making connections and a good name for yourself is maybe even more important than it would be if you wanted to work in Bristol or London or another big city because it’s a smaller community. See this as an opportunity rather than something to be worried about! If you’re willing to put yourself out there, doors will open for you. For example, I met a couple of current students while representing Coodes at a University networking event last year who mentioned they wanted to stay in Cornwall for their career. They then came along to a Coodes event, got on really well with everyone, and are now in an excellent position to apply for jobs with the firm. They definitely wouldn’t be in this position if they hadn’t decided to go to that first University event!
My advice for law firms looking to employ the best graduates
Having been through the recruitment process myself and watched friends do the same, I think the best piece of advice I could give to law firms in Cornwall (and beyond) looking to employ the best graduates is to make the process as un-daunting as possible.
For lots of students and recent graduates, attending an interview might be their first time ever walking into a law firm, which can be a super unfamiliar environment. Putting on open days and events, like those run by universities, could be a great way to give potential applicants an insight into your firm in a less intimidating setting. You can also then be confident that anyone who’s invested the time to attend such an event is serious about a career at your firm.
Likewise, at interviews, creating a friendly environment where interview candidates feel at ease will help bring out their truest answers, which will help you and your team confidently determine the best fit for the role.
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Whether you’re thinking about studying at the Penryn Campus, are already a student, have just graduated, or are working at a law firm, I hope you found the advice and insight in this blog useful. I’m really glad that I chose to stay in Cornwall to study and work, and I hope this encourages you to think about doing the same!