LLB (Hons) Law, 2004; LLM Legal Practice Course, 2005
Mark Fenning has gone from Law graduate at the University of Central Lancashire to a Senior Associate at Stephensons Solicitors LLP in just seven years; and in 2016 Mark was appointed a Partner.
“After I graduated from UCLan in LLB (Hons) Law I went to Lancashire Law School to do a LLM Legal Practice Course, graduating in 2005. I then got a job at Stephensons Solicitors as graduate paralegal and have effectively worked my way up the ranks since then,” Mark said.
To go from a paralegal to senior associate in less than seven years is considered quite a rapid rise through the ranks, and Mark believes his time at University was a massive help in setting himself up for this rise, where he gained an appreciation that legal theory needs to be applied in the context of running a business if a budding legal graduate desires to have success within a law firm. Mark states: “Knowing ‘business law’ is one thing; but knowing the ‘business of law’ is crucial to success within private practice.”
However, as is the case with many graduates, it is the student lifestyle in Preston that Mark remembers the most, with many memories revolving around his time on the Rugby team.
“There's certainly memories of the long hours in the library in and amongst all the old law books but the best memories are actually of the lifelong friends that I made and the camaraderie with the sports teams and essentially just the grounding in life that it gave me,” Mark said.
Mark’s advice to current and prospective students is to make sure you work hard whilst also making the most of the student lifestyle.
22 June 2020