My name is Harley Wright, I am 26 years old. I studied History at University of Reading, I then took a year working in retail and attempting to gain work experience. I then studied MA Law part-time at the University of Law whilst working full-time as a Paralegal in Defendant personal injury.
What is your current role and how long have you been at Kennedys for?
I joined the Kennedys Serious and Catastrophic Injury team in London in March 2023 as a Litigation Assistant. I started the SQE preparation course in February 2024. I have lectures every Monday, and I work for Kennedys Tuesday-Friday.
The team I work for deal mostly with large loss Defendant personal injury claims pleaded in negligence, employers liability and public liability. However, we do also handle fast-track and intermediate track claims. Our clients are primarily Insurers, which is great fun whilst working in the Insurance hub of London!
What inspired you to apply to Kennedys?
I knew from my studies and from my role at my previous firm that I enjoyed Defendant personal injury work, however I wanted to be involved in larger claims and I was interested in working for a firm with international offices. Having come from an international secondary school and multinational family, I appreciate the benefits of working with a diverse group of people.
Kennedys is one of the leading Defendant personal injury firms on the market, and so they were an obvious candidate. They have an impressive client list, a couple of which I had worked with at my previous firm, and so that appealed to me. The firm also has a wide international reach which is continually growing. Kennedys was also one of the first firms to introduce the SQE apprenticeship which to me showed they were not afraid of change and that they were keen to make the market more accessible.
What has been the single most important thing you learnt so far in your job?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. As a junior, you may be given a task you’re not sure about, but you may be too afraid to ask questions for fear of looking silly, or wasting your colleagues time, etc. But as juniors, we are not expected to know everything, and asking is part of development. There are some things you simply don’t learn until you’re on the job, and so there are some things you will not know unless you ask the right questions.
What would a ‘normal’ day look like for someone in your role?
I start my day by checking through my inbox and my task list on the case management system, and I then write a daily to-do list. The tasks themselves vary from day to day, I could be drafting a legal document such as a defence, list of documents, a witness statement, or I could be reviewing proceedings, disclosure etc. I could be working on a case I am assisting on, or a case I am handling.
Kennedys also host a lot of events for business development purposes, such as webinars or networking drinks. This includes ‘next generation’ events which are always so valuable as a junior as it gives you a chance to network with similarly placed junior clients that you will be developing you career alongside.
What do you find most interesting with the sector/industry you’re in?
The nature of our work is really varied and interesting, and I feel as though I am constantly learning. For example, I may have one claim that has occurred on a construction site, and the circumstances mean I have to have an understanding of the construction work itself, the terminology and the machinery used. Another claim may be cross-jurisdictional, meaning I am working with and learning from colleagues in different jurisdictions. No two cases are the same, and incident circumstances often require you have knowledge beyond the law.
What is the company culture like?
In my year of being here, I have found Kennedys lawyers to be friendly, willing to help, and extremely knowledgeable. As a junior, I feel as though I can approach anyone with a question; I have even emailed colleagues from different offices! I have also found Kennedys are really good for encouraging personal development; there are a lot of training initiatives throughout the year and promotion opportunities.
How important is diversity to you and what is Kennedys doing in this space at the moment?
Diversity has always been important to me. Kennedys has a variety of initiatives and networks who work together to help improve and maintain diversity, equality and inclusion within the firm. These initiatives and networks often extend beyond the firm to include clients.
Finally, any tips for anyone who’d like to applying to Kennedys?
It is really important to know who Kennedys are, what Kennedys do, why Kennedys appeal to you and why you would be a good fit for the firm. I think work experience helps massively with the ‘why law’ question, but I appreciate finding work experience is increasingly difficult. I struggled massively with this, but took part in as many virtual programmes as possible, for example Bright Network run virtual vacation schemes and law fairs. Also, if you work part-time, get in touch with their legal counsel, anything that helps show initiative and an eagerness to get your foot in the door; this helped me massively.