Gowling WLG and Hogan Lovells combine forces to help “career break” lawyers return in the Midlands

Are you – or is anyone you know – a qualified lawyer who has taken time out from a career in private practice?  You may be on a career break or perhaps working in a role that is below your potential.  Are you ready to reignite your legal career?

We know that a large number of women leave legal practice somewhere around the mid-point of their careers, before realising their full professional potential – they are ‘lost to the law’.  To date, returning has been problematic, with recruiters reluctant to see beyond a gap on someone’s CV.

Reignite Academy

The Reignite Academy is taking an innovative approach to this problem with a flexible, development-focused scheme that enables qualified lawyers to return to careers in private practice.  Since its inception a year ago, twenty-five lawyers have completed or commenced the programme in London and the South East.

Gowling WLG and Hogan Lovells are joining forces to bring the programme to the West Midlands.

“Finding the best talent for our practice is a constant challenge” David Fennell explained. The Reignite Academy is taking a practical and incredibly thoughtful approach – by providing women with the full support they need to return to work successfully and giving law firms a path to recruit from and integrate this incredible senior talent pool”.

Hogan Lovells’ first experience with the Reignite Programme was in London, where Charlotte Lamb recently joined the Business Restructuring team after five years away from private practice, during which time she helped run a large family business.

“I realised that I actually loved working in private practice and began to miss the challenge and the career opportunities it offered,” Charlotte says, describing her motivation for returning to law.  “The Reignite Academy programme opened doors that might have been closed.  The experience here at Hogan Lovells and the support provided has helped me get my legal career back on track.”

The Academy is open to both women and men and uses a tailored assessment process which looks for potential, acknowledges the full breadth of a candidate’s experience and accepts that breaks should not be career limiting.

Applications are now open for Birmingham, London and Surrey with successful candidates expected to start work in September 2020.   A “Reignite Your Legal Career Workshop” is being held at Gowling WLG on 31st March for anyone interested in finding out more. 

Register here.