When you qualify as a solicitor, the path you take can be as unique as your passion for the law. Today, we’re speaking with Dan Abel, Supervising Solicitor at Cumbria Law Centre and an LLM alumni who qualified in August 2023.
Dan shares his journey into social welfare law, his work advocating for tenants facing eviction, and how he’s making a real impact in his community. If you're considering a legal career that focuses on social justice and legal aid, his insights are invaluable.
Hi Dan! Can you tell us a little about your career to date?
"I qualified in 2023 with the College through the SQE route, so while newer in my capacity as a solicitor, I’ve been working in the legal sphere since 2016. I started working as an advisor at Citizens Advice back then, which I carried on doing full time right through to working on during my LLM and SQE Prep. My work at Citizens Advice counted as my qualifying work experience and has informed the path I’m now on as a solicitor.
I now work in a law centre focusing on legal aid for housing cases, using my legal expertise and previous employment experience. I supervise caseworkers supporting individuals in debt and needing help with their welfare benefits, as well as those facing eviction. I’m also chair of the Cumbrian Junior Lawyers Division."
What does a typical day consist of for you?
“For me all my work focuses around housing and legal aid for those in a housing crisis. We’re a small charity with a legal aid contract for Cumbria. We’ll defend in possession hearings for a tenant or occupier, work on disrepair issues, or try and support an individual at risk of homelessness from beginning to end, contracts through to court work.
I’ll often be on our triage desk, picking up core calls for people facing repossession - I’ll act like an A&E triage for those that need legal advice or support. If it’s a repossession day I might be based at the court advocating for anyone who doesn’t already have legal representation.
Most of my time is focused on the point where things get more complex in a case, like at the court stage, where a traditional caseworker can’t help. I also manage a team of non legal caseworkers, so I’ll support and guide them with their cases, as well as managing the operations of the charity generally.”
What brought you into social welfare law?
“For me, it happened kind of incidentally. I worked at Citizen’s Advice after university, and that always naturally connected with social welfare law. As I was working closely on legal cases before qualifying, when the SQE route came about, I already had my QWE, so I naturally went into qualification quickly in this area. My career has expanded from there, but I still remain in the same area of work, as it’s where my passion lies. I like to be part of making my community a better place to be.”
What advice do you have for someone just starting out in their career?
"The main thing I would say is be really conscious of your time management. Think about how much time you need to get all your work done but also plan time to switch off and take care of yourself. It’s a really challenging phase of life and is full on so you need to take care of yourself. If you’re working alongside that early study phase and your employer has accepted that, make sure to advocate for yourself to get that study time in too. If they’ve agreed to it, they need to honour the time you need.
When it comes to career trajectory in law generally, I’d say to remember it’s a marathon not a sprint! There is a lot of the legal profession that is not the traditional law firm route. Think about charity, local government, in house - they are all valid options alternative to the golden circle and there are so many directions your career can go."
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