Seven years of hard work has come to fruition for a Carlisle trainee solicitor, as she prepares to qualify.

Lauren Goad, 27, has been with Wragg Mark Bell in the city for over three years now, first spending 12 months as a paralegal and then the past two years as a trainee.

However, on April 3 she will finally finish her training and officially be fully-qualified, completing a childhood dream.

“I wanted to be a solicitor from a very young age,” Lauren explained. “I couldn’t tell you where the interest came from.

“I’ve always lived in Carlisle, but went to Northumbria University in Newcastle where I did an integrated Masters degree, which included my LPC.”

The route to a career in law wasn’t straightforward however, as Lauren was one of tens of thousands of students who graduated during covid when employment was uncertain.

She took a retail job to tide her over, before eventually securing her first ever law job interview at Wragg Mark Bell to be a paralegal.

After her initial year as a paralegal, Lauren has since been working as a trainee solicitor within the Private Law and Family Client team and says she is finally fulfilling her dream job.

“I just like helping people,” she said. “When I was younger I used to teach gymnastics and dancing and was always around children and that made me want to help people, especially those with issues within families.

“My days are always different and I’m surrounded by a variety of clients, because I do two areas of law. Both are about helping people at the worst times. It’s a very rewarding job in that sense.

“Whether that is dealing with an estate after someone has passed away, or doing a divorce, I enjoy helpiing somebody in what can be an awful time.”

Lauren has been supported throughout her training by private client solicitor Keith White, as well as having the backing of managing director Nick Kennon from her very first role as a paralegal.

She also praised the additional support and encouragement of Rebecca Ferris, who joined the company as operations manager. 

Nick Kennon said: “I am really pleased to be celebrating Lauren’s qualification. She has worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and thoroughly deserves it.

“Lauren is an integral part of our team, bringing enthusiasm and dedication to everything that she does.

“We look forward to many more successful years with her following her qualification.”

In addition to her day-to-day tasks, some people might recognise Lauren from TikTok as she and Keith are the faces behind many of Wragg Mark Bell’s video content.

She explained: “We are pushing out quite a lot of information about wills, which has helped raise awareness of having a will at a younger age – especially as soon as you have any assets or have children and you’re not married.

“I’ve just bought my first house and I’ve made sure I’ve got my will in place to protect it.

“It’s also about reaching out to a different audience on TikTok. We get quite a lot of engagement on the platform itself, and I feel like it’s just another avenue we’ve explored to get the message out there that a will isn’t something you do when you’re old.”

One of the most popular TikTok videos was actually made by Keith to answer the question of whether you can divorce your partner without them knowing. It has so far been viewed 18,500 times.

Reflecting on her career to date and the future, Lauren said: “I feel a big sense of relief – seven years is a long time working towards something, so it’s nice to know that I can now confidently move forward as a fully qualified solicitor.

“I’m really looking forward to the future.”