Rosie Watterson | Herbert Smith Freehills

It is easy for me to envision a world where I did not get offered a training contract.

I’m from a non-law background. I’m one of the first members of my family to go to university. I have a Northern accent. An upper-limb deficiency. I was state-school educated and have poor A Levels.

And for years, I had absolutely no idea how to write a good application.

However, I was very fortunate. I found a career mentor who invested a lot of time in me, and I was guided through the application process by Aspiring Solicitors. Without these two influences, I doubt whether I’d be a future trainee at Herbert Smith Freehills.

This realisation is what motivated me to create Apply.Shine.Win. It is a blog that aims to provide practical and encouraging advice to students applying for training contracts. It covers everything from making applications through to performing well at vacation schemes, with some interviews, examples and anecdotes thrown in for good measure.

My hope is that by making this information available to everybody, students from underrepresented groups will feel more confident during the recruitment process and find it easier to access the legal profession.