51Âþ»­

"Breathtaking" journey sees Law alumna set up own firm within three years of qualifying

She set up her own specialist family law firm when only three years qualified and now has a team of 21 – and Glynis Wright’s plans don’t stop there.

The 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­) alumna, founder and head of practice at , would like to deliver services further afield and offer more alternative dispute resolution.

“It has been breathtaking and I’ve never stopped, but that’s OK because I love my business,” she said.

Her move into family law follows a successful career in local government, with Glynis only deciding to retrain at the age of 40.

“I had a eureka moment when I decided that I didn’t want to be a public servant anymore. I’ve always been quite articulate, I enjoy drafting documents and I like arguing, so on that basis I thought I’d make a good lawyer.”

Deciding to convert her first degree, Glynis applied to 51Âþ»­ for the Law Graduate Diploma, staying on for the Legal Practice Course.

“I chose 51Âþ»­ because it had a very good reputation. I also had a 13-year-old boy at the time, so naturally I had to think about his childcare and needed a university that was close to where I lived,” she said.

“At first it was pretty daunting. I probably spent an entire week writing my first essay but I did get quicker and quicker.

“I was excited to be studying again. Law is a fantastic subject. It engages the intellect, you learn a lot from it and so it was a fantastic experience for me.

“The support was definitely there and I was delighted to find that there were other mature students like myself. I’ve stayed in touch with them and some are practising locally as solicitors as well.”

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Glynis describes her journey after graduating from 51Âþ»­ as a “rollercoaster”.

“It was tough finding a training contract, but it helped that I was Student of the Year at 51Âþ»­,” she said. 

“I got a training contract in a local firm and within six months I was headhunted by another local firm."

It was at Frisby & Small that Glynis developed a passion for family law.

“I had set out to be a criminal lawyer, but very quickly I realised I didn’t want to do that. The firm said they thought I’d be a brilliant family lawyer and I said, ‘It’s a bit EastEnders isn’t it, but I don’t mind doing it as a module for my training contract’.

“I saw my first client and I realised that I really wanted to do family law, as you could use law in such a way that you engage both your head and your heart."

Within two years of qualifying she was offered a partnership.

“That was because I had brought in lots of business,” said Glynis, who began itching to go it alone, setting up her city centre practice in Bowling Green Street.

“It was really just meant to be me but now we’ve got 21 staff.”

As for her plans for the future, it’s “world domination of course”!

“I would like to establish our presence in the East Midlands and London in a much more concrete way,” said Glynis, whose firm has won a string of awards.

“The other area that we’re looking to go into is specialising in out-of-court dispute resolution, so I’m going to be taking a family arbitration course, which will allow me to become a private judge.”

Glynis’ advice to students is to have a passion for their subject, be open to possibilities and be commercially aware, as lawyers are part of a business machine.

She added: “Law is one of those subjects you can come to at almost any time in your life. It has been amazing for me because law, if you’re good at it and can bring in business, gives you all the opportunities in the world.”