Louis Geary-Smith

Louis is an associate in our employment team. He talks about his route into law, living with dyslexia, and making the move out of London.

Life before the law

Faced with the impossible question of what to pursue as a career, I finished university and entered the world of marketing communications.

My interest in people and big ideas, fostered by a degree in psychology and philosophy, led me to work in video content and product development, branding, PR and strategy at various London-based agencies. I was drawn in by the creative image of it all, the opportunity to work on a variety of brands and the fact that, even if it wasn’t the right path in the long run, I’d pick up a lot of skills along the way.

A change of direction

At university I had been diagnosed with dyslexia, which was a relief as it helped to explain a sense I’d had in school that written tasks were disproportionately taxing for me compared to other tasks and compared to peers around me. It also unlocked a wide variety of support to help me develop new compensatory strategies and build on techniques that I had already developed without realising their significance. At the same time, the diagnosis contributed to a feeling that I would never suit a legal career, as I questioned how someone with a reading and writing-related impairment could progress in a high-pressure career where the written word has such a central role.

By keeping in touch with friends who became lawyers, I eventually realised that although deadlines are often tight, the main value added by lawyers is in understanding a client’s needs and giving advice that's helpful and correct. This realisation gave me confidence that attention to detail could be prized above haste.

Although the law is full of uncertainty, there is also a logic and rigour that I found more attractive than the more flexible, creative world of communications. This isn’t to say either setting is better than the other – both involve creativity and problem-solving – there are simply different types of creativity involved. The more I learned, the more I came to see being a solicitor as being an ideal personal fit.

Joining Mills & Reeve

I applied for Mills & Reeve partly because of some great advice from a friend already working there. Rather than aimlessly applying for shiny and familiar-sounding firms in London, she recommended researching practice areas and looking at firms that actually offered the areas I was most interested in. She also observed that as I was someone who enjoyed making evening plans during the week, I should find somewhere where an appetite for high standards was accompanied by respect for life outside of work.

Several applications and assessments later, I was offered a place on the Mills & Reeve vacation scheme in Norwich. My partner and I were both very keen on Norwich’s historic, cultural and independent atmosphere, and we had become increasingly disenchanted with London’s expense, size and greyness. After an amazing two weeks rotating through four teams at Mills & Reeve, I was fortunate enough to be offered a training contract, and my partner and I decided to move house when I started my contract.

Making the move...

In 2020, Covid struck and it seemed every Londoner was starting to think they might be better off living elsewhere. Perks of moving during that hot summer included the abundance of amazing beaches just an hour’s drive away. It was also a pleasant novelty to live in a lovely area that was also just a 10-minute cycle from the office and the centre of town.

With Covid restrictions truly behind us, I've enjoyed coming into the office every day, where I've built relationships and learned from casual conversations with colleagues. Remote working has been a useful option when circumstances require it though, and everyone is kitted out with the equipment they need to do that. The firm has a strong culture of being accommodating to everyone’s working needs.

The Ability network

When I joined the firm, there were three staff support networks in place, which focused on colleagues who are disabled or have long-term health conditions (Ability), LGBTQIA+ (Spectrum) and from minority racial/ethnic/cultural backgrounds (REACH) respectively, and allies. I joined all three, attending meetings and assisting with projects where I could.

Over time, I developed a particular interest in improving uptake and provision of reasonable adjustments for disabled colleagues, recognising the beneficial impact that various changes to my own working environment had had on me. This led to me surveying staff and bringing about an internal relabelling of reasonable adjustments as “workplace adjustments”. I also helped to produce an internal “menu” of workplace adjustments, all to lower the barrier to entry.

Since then, more networks have been created, although since qualifying I’ve had to be more selective with my commitments, so I’ve focused on Ability, becoming co-chair and coordinating many more initiatives. It’s been a great way to get to know and collaborate with people around the firm and develop skills in organisational change, alongside my regular legal work.

My top tips to deciding on a career in law

Overall I’m very glad I made the move, and particularly grateful to have made it after some thorough reflection on what I wanted from my career. The legal sector is alluring for lots of reasons, but the qualification process can be expensive and take a long time so I'd give it careful thought before committing! It’s daunting, but I always suggest to aspiring lawyers that they investigate plenty of other careers too. Either you’ll find something else that’s a better fit for you, or you will develop better answers to questions about why you want a job in law – it’s a win-win provided you do it properly and don’t just seek to justify your first instincts, as I was once tempted to do!

I’m always happy to talk to anyone considering a career in law, particularly those with any concerns about disclosing a disability or specific learning difficulty. Please feel free to get in touch.

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