In episode 3, we speak with Meera Patel who graduated from the King’s LLB and LLM in 2009 and 2010 respectively.  She was the first person in her family to go to university and qualified as a solicitor, aged 24, at Latham & Watkins. Following qualification, Meera took a unique, entrepreneurial approach to her legal career. This includes, in 2015, being one of the first client-facing corporate lawyers at EY and in 2017, co-founding EY’s Brexit strategy unit. In 2018 she moved to Deloitte and led legal Brexit insights.  

Meera is currently a Director at Deloitte advising on corporate restructuring and re-organisational strategy. Her book, Get Into Law, sets out her personal blueprint to empower students who are aspiring solicitors (follow @getintolawbook on Instagram).

Meera is a business strategy advisor, lawyer, author and speaker.  In this wide-ranging interview, we discuss the winning formula for career success, which includes knowing yourself and researching the market.

In episode 2, we speak with Roberta Tondini who graduated from King’s in 2013, where she completed an LLM in International Tax.  She also completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and a Master’s Degree in Business Law from University LIUC of Castellanza - Italy (2006 and 2008), and qualified as an attorney in both Italy and Spain (2012 - 2015).

Roberta began her traineeship at one of the top 5 law firms in Italy (Advant-NCTM in Milan), worked at a number of boutique and international law firms in Italy, the UK (Orrick), and Switzerland (MCE Avocats), for a global wealth manager (UBS AG), as well as for a consulting company (Noveras), where she led the Tax and Legal team. 

Her uncommon career pathway continued, with her decision to turn to her biggest passion and launch her own fashion brand: Studio Tondini, which ethically puts an end to all the career women frustrations on handbags.  

We discuss being challenged in a positive way, the value of networking, and how being open-minded and reflective are essential qualities as a lawyer and an entrepreneur.

In the first episode of Series 5, we talk to Dipti Kumar, a sustainability advocate who is passionate about driving footprint-neutral policies and businesses within macro and micro ecosystems.  Dipti read Law at King's College London (LLB and LLM) and was the top lawyer in International Financial Law at King's. 

She recently took on a new role as the Head of Sustainability at Maxis, the leading converged solutions provider in Malaysia. Over the last 5 years, she served as the CEO of MCII, an NGO that promotes collective synergies across multiple stakeholders as a sustainable method of impactful change within the education landscape. MCII works on improving literacy in Malaysia and influencing policy change through a data driven and community-led approach. 

As an advisor to the late Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family through the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Trust, she advised on sustainability and social impact investment across Commonwealth countries and served on a panel to develop the Queen's Young Leaders programme. She was also a United Nations Youth representative and led the UN Changemakers in Geneva - an inclusive global policy movement.   

We discuss the importance of identifying what motivates you, staying open to and looking for opportunities, and following an 'unconventional' path.

In the final episode of Series 4, we speak with Sarah Tantin who studied on the LLM in Intellectual Property and Information Law at King’s College London, graduating in 2022.  Prior to enrolling on the course, Sarah qualified as a lawyer in France gaining experience both in-house and in law firms, in litigation and commercial law. 

When at King's she specialised in data protection, and in February 2021 she joined Information Governance Services where she is now a consultant advising private and public sector organisations, including within the NHS, on a broad range of data protection and information governance matters. 

We discuss planning for a change in career direction, getting used to being outside of your comfort zone, academic highlights, and gaining new professional and personal perspectives through the King's Legal Clinic and Civic Challenge, and the Association of King's College programme.

In episode 9, we speak with Dr Caroline Silva who is a Lecturer in the discipline of Human Rights at the Institute for the Study for Human Rights and the Department of Political Science at Columbia University. Caroline is interested in Institutions, Human Rights, and Social Justice from the perspectives of International Law & International Relations, Sociology, and related disciplines.  She recently published an article about the Structural Bias of Domestic Courts in Latin America.

Caroline holds a PhD in Political Science from Northwestern University and a PhD in Law from the University of Copenhagen. She also holds an LL.M from King’s College London. 

We discuss following your academic passions, the realities of PhD studies, and pursuing a career in academia.  

In episode 8, we speak with Magdalena Lewoniec  who graduated with a degree in Law and European Legal Studies from King’s in 2021 and completed a year abroad in Barcelona as part of her degree. She is due to study the SQE in September 2023, before starting as a Trainee Solicitor at international law firm Charles Russell Speechlys in August 2024. During her time at King's, Magdalena was an events officer for the Bar and Mooting Society, a member of the King's Women in Law Society and a volunteer at the King's Legal Clinic. She spent the past year working as an intern at the Sutton Trust, a charity which champions social mobility.   

We discuss the benefits of using the services provided by King's Careers & Employability and attending open days and information evenings at law firms.  We also learn how important Instagram can be in your career search!

In this special episode, we are joined by Nick West, Partner and Chief Strategy Officer with overall responsibility for technological transformation within Mishcon de Reya. Nick leads the Technology and Strategy groups as well the Firm's research and development arm, MDR R&D. 

He is also one of the foremost experts in LegalTech and the application of AI to the legal market, having spent the majority of his career working at the forefront of innovation in the legal industry. Formerly Managing Director of Axiom in the UK and Director of LexisNexis's UK Legal Business, Nick's expertise lies in the field of technology, knowledge and new business models in the legal sector. Nick began his career as a competition lawyer at Linklaters and then as a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Co.

We discuss the recent history of law firms in the UK, embracing change and technology, and challenging the status quo.

In this special episode, we are joined by Helen Cooke, CEO and Founder of MyPlus. Helen's vision is to ensure that having a disability or long-term health condition doesn’t prevent anyone from having the career that they want to have.  She provides expert advice and guidance to students enabling them to navigate the challenges that having a disability can bring during the recruitment process and in the workplace.

Helen’s unique approach comes from her expertise in HR and graduate recruitment, having previously worked for Marks & Spencer and Mars, combined with her first-hand experience of living with a disability; Helen is a wheelchair user as a result of a childhood spinal injury.   

We discuss the importance of getting involved in university, owning your narrative, and debate whether individuals should disclose their disability or health condition to potential employers.

In this episode we speak with Michael Pettingale who graduated from King’s with a degree in History in 2015. Michael completed his legal training whilst working in local government and is now working for the Government Legal Department.  Michael is currently in his fourth and final seat of his training contract, working at the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities. 

We explore the differences between training and working as a lawyer for the government vs private practice.  We also discuss developing practical skills from volunteering at Citizens Advice, transferable academic skills, and the experience of studying in London.

To mark World Mental Health Day 2022, we speak with Nick Bloy who studied Chemistry at King's and founded Wellbeing Republic, a wellbeing coaching consultancy that works with many of the UK’s top law firms, as well as other major brands across different industry sectors. Nick combines science with his own experience of working in industry, both as a lawyer and in HR for law firms, and his experience with burnout in 2014.  He is passionate about shifting the conversation from ill-being to well-being and inspiring more people to flourish at work and in life.  Nick works both as a coach and a facilitator helping individuals and teams to optimise their wellbeing and performance by sharing the latest science of human flourishing.

In a wide-ranging interview, we discuss the science of learning, how data and science informs health and wellbeing strategies, current issues within the legal sector and how it's never too early to develop a growth mindset.