Having studied law in Albania, mentee Florida is faced with the challenge of learning a whole new legal system. Emily is an associate at Milbank LLP. She joined the mentoring programme to support someone else, whilst learning and developing in her own right.
In this blog post, both women reflect on their expectations of the programme, their relationship to the legal profession, and the things they have learned from one another…
Why did you originally decide to study law?
FLORIDA – I decided because I had a passion for it and had read some books about law which sounded interesting. I had a passion, I did some internet searching and spoke with family members and friends and heard about their experience with that and how it works, so I decided to study law. I wanted to help myself and other people.
EMILY – I studied law because I was interested in a job that would allow me to keep learning. I liked that it would involve a lot of education as I felt that could always be useful for me to have, it also felt like it had a clear trajectory, which I found really helpful when I was younger to understand the process.
What is it like to learn about a new legal system?
F - I didn’t know a lot about the English legal system initially… When I first read some of the books that Emily gave me, I thought English law was going to be difficult, but actually it is similar in some ways. [Still], it is quite difficult, you need to start from the beginning, even when you have some information, it is still a different country. You don’t have the same confidence you have in your home, it’s different. You speak a different language. To study law and to learn about law is difficult without the language. It’s not like everyday usage.
E – It’s been really interesting to get to see the similarities between law in England and in Albania. [Florida] clearly has an ease with the legal world that translates. [Although] I’ve noticed that legal jargon, for example, can be really difficult to understand… It really does show how difficult the system is, even when you have the context of growing up with the language. It’s a huge credit to those who can become dual qualified!
Why did you both decide to join the Mentoring Programme?
F - I decided to join because it sounded interesting for me to know more information about what I want for the future. For example, for job and study prospects, more information about how I can convert my university degree that I finished in my country. For me it was interesting to learn more about that.
E – I decided to join because I really liked the ethos of Routes; that the programme was to learn from each other, rather than a top down approach. This made me feel that I could be a mentor as I felt like I had something to give, but that I also wasn’t an expert and wanted to learn myself.
What are you learning from each other?
E – I feel like I am learning so much from Florida. I think she is such an incredible example of someone who is dealing with a lot from motherhood, learning what life is like in a new country, language courses and on top of this handling her legal status, and she does it all with such a positive attitude. She is always so incredibly kind to speak with and is so warm and funny. I think that it’s an excellent reminder that you can be resilient and kind.
I feel like it’s taught me to take time to reflect, rather than surging ahead with next ideas. I’ve realised that I’m a very solutions focused person, which can work well sometimes but can also mean adding a lot of unnecessary pressure other times. It’s allowed me to take a step back and to recognise that we don’t need to achieve everything all at once.
F – It was interesting to hear about how some of Emily’s experiences were similar to me. I learned a lot from Emily. First of all, I’ve learned to be more confident with my English speaking and that I have improved. Second of all, I’ve learned more about CVs and job applications. Also, I’ve learned about different types of job opportunities and steps. Emily has also sent me legal textbooks so that has allowed me to learn a lot myself.
I was surprised by what I could learn from the programme, after the first session I realised what the sessions would look like and what we could do in the future. I think Emily and I work really well together, we cover many things in our sessions. Like thinking about CVs, as well as spending time getting to know each other. It’s a pleasure getting to know Emily.
Florida and Emily took part in the Routes Mentoring Programme together between October 2021 - February 2022. For more information about becoming a mentor like Emily click here. And if you would like to be mentored, like Florida, click here.
