Welcome to the seventh blog post for TheLawyerFiles!
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In this edition, we feature Eve Brooks, a trainee solicitor at Freshfields whose journey into the legal profession highlights the value of openness, early experiences, and continuous growth. From working in retail and as a receptionist to studying law at the University of Sheffield, Eve shares how these diverse experiences shaped her confidence, professionalism, and approach to legal practice. She reflects on the importance of saying yes to new opportunities, overcoming imposter syndrome, and seeing the human side of working at a Magic Circle firm. With honesty and perspective, Eve offers thoughtful insights for aspiring lawyers navigating the early stages of their careers — and reminds us that every experience can build the foundations for future success.
Let’s dive in! 🚀
- Your legal journey started early – from your time at The University of Sheffield to now at Freshfields. Looking back, what initially drew you to study law, and has that motivation evolved?
When deciding to study law at university, I had to take a bit of a leap of faith as I had never studied law before and didn’t really know what it involved. I’d always liked problem solving and developing structured arguments at school, so I thought these skills would fit nicely into a law degree. Of course, my other motivation was also watching legally blonde a few too many times!
Since studying law, I have been able to explore just how vast ranging a career in law can be with so many different exit options after university. I still enjoy and am motivated by the problem solving aspect and developing legal arguments and strategy, but my legal career has also opened my eyes to other motivations such as being at the forefront of some really exciting and fast-developing sectors and helping people to grow their business or defend things they’re passionate about.
- You held several roles before entering corporate law – from retail at Pandora to working as a receptionist and in a student union. How have those experiences shaped your people skills or professional perspective as a lawyer?
I think any part time job, no matter what profession, is so important for learning and development. In particular, my work in people-facing jobs increased my confidence massively. A large part of my role as a trainee lawyer is working within the team to help support others, and skills such as communication and harnessing pro-active involvement which I developed in my part-time work are so important for this. Another important skill which transferred across from my previous job as a receptionist, was that I regularly had to consider data protection rules and the handling of confidential information, which has been just as important in my role as a lawyer.
- What’s one misconception about training at a Magic Circle firm that you think needs correcting?
I think something important to remember, which I hadn’t considered that much until starting at the firm, is that all the people you work with are human too. Often I think people hear the term Magic Circle firm and it holds a sort-of intimidating status, and although these firms deserve a great status for doing amazing work, my experience is that everyone has been super friendly and down-to-earth too. It’s not as intimidating and scary on the inside as people can sometimes think.
- If you could go back and give your first-year law student self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Just to say yes to as much as possible! A lot of the opportunities I had throughout university, such as getting involved with Rare Recruitment and other programmes, stemmed from saying yes to other opportunities initially. Especially in the legal community, there are so many great chances to explore all different types of law and career options, and I think it is more than okay to not know what you want to do after university whilst you’re still there. My advice would be to sign up to as many opportunities as possible, and gain as wide a range of experience as you can, as you never know where this is going to take you.
- You mentioned preparing for imposter syndrome before starting your contract. What advice would you give to law students or aspiring trainees dealing with similar feelings?
Imposter syndrome is very common, and from my experience it comes and goes throughout different stages of your career and your life. It’s really important to remember that wherever you’ve come from and however you’ve gotten to the point you’re at today, you are on the right track, and you are deserving and worthy of everything you have. Although it is helpful to push yourself and think about how you can improve and grow throughout your career, it is also just as important to appreciate positive feedback and to provide yourself with positive feedback. It can be overwhelming sometimes to work in a career where you’re surrounded by amazing people doing amazing work every single day, but that shouldn’t affect the way you see yourself at all.
Eve Brooks – https://www.linkedin.com/in/eve-brooks-58a1b4202/
Trainee Solicitor at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Thank you for reading the seventh edition of TheLawyerFiles!
I hope Eve’s journey has given you fresh insight and encouragement—especially if you’re navigating the early stages of your legal career, managing self-doubt, or finding your footing in a competitive environment. Her story is a powerful reminder that confidence, openness to new experiences, and a willingness to grow can lead to lasting success.
🎧 Stay tuned—our podcast episode with Eve is coming soon, where we’ll explore her experiences in greater depth and uncover more lessons from her time at Freshfields. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it!
Until next time—keep learning, keep growing, and keep moving forward with purpose. 🌍⚖️
—Denice Obeng 🙂
Thanks for reading TheLawyerFiles! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
