A determined young solicitor celebrated turning 27-year-old this week by delivering the Young Lawyers’ Speech at the 2025 Southport & Ormskirk Law Society Annual Dinner sponsored by Datalaw.
Chloe Coverdale, a solicitor at Brown Turner Ross, qualified earlier this year and shared her inspiring story about how she did it – as well as offering some insightful advice for other trainee lawyers and law students.
Chloe was pregnant while studying for her qualifications, and is the proud Mum of son, Henry, who will celebrate his third birthday this December.
She “swapped exams, coursework and lectures for late night feeds, nappy changing and Miss Rachel” before heading back to her studies and qualifying as a solicitor in August.
Chloe proudly declared: “Anything is possible if you put your mind to it” as she praised mentors including Sam Bushell, Gill Dowling and Sorelle Evans for their support.
Chloe lives in Burscough and studied at Runshaw College before attending Lancaster University where she obtained her Bachelor of Law.
Southport & Ormskirk Law Society Toastmaster Michael Braham shared how Chloe’s legal career “started at the very bottom, working her way up, initially as a receptionist at Cook & Talbot, having applied for work experience, before becoming a conveyancing assistant.
“Her career took off when she became a trainee solicitor at Brown Turner Ross where she is held in high regard, both by her peers, and also by her clients.
“She has recently been described as being ‘a fantastic part of Brown Turner Ross’ private client team’.
“We can’t wait to see all the great work she will do in the future”.
Chloe said: “I would firstly like to thank Gill Dowling, for asking me to deliver the Young Lawyers’ Speech.
“When I was asked, back in August, I was flattered that Gill considered me a suitable candidate.
“My boss, Sam, Bushell, said that I would be delighted, which of course is true.
“However I instantly knew that the nerves would set in over the next three months, as the date grew closer. And here we now are!
“I qualified as a private solicitor earlier this year at Brown Turner Ross in the private client department.
“The journey to become a qualified solicitor has been rewarding and yet challenging.
“It’s allowed me to develop new skills and grow professionally, and I am so grateful for the opportunities that it continues to bring.
“I would like to say thank you to Sam Bushell for providing me with the opportunity of a training contact and to all of my other colleagues at Brown Turner Ross for their support and guidance along the way.
“The level of responsibility I was entrusted with from an early stage has allowed me to push myself and get to grips with private client work, having never had experience in that area prior to starting my training contract.
“I decided I wanted to pursue a career in law when I studied the subject at A-Level at Runshaw College in 2016.
“The area which initially sparked my interest was criminal law, which subsequently changed to more commercially focused modules throughout university.
“I studied at Lancaster and graduated in 2020 with a First Class Law Degree tailored towards a commercial pathway.
“I continued my studies at the University of Law in Liverpool, graduating with a Distinction in the practise course in 2022.
“Some might say I haven’t taken the most conventional course towards qualifying.
“I completed the final exams on my legal practise course while pregnant with my son, Henry.
“I swapped exams, coursework and lectures for late night feeds, nappy changing and Miss Rachel.
“Henry was born in December 2022 and he is soon to be three years old.
“Going back to work in January 2024 to commence a contract while solo parenting did not come without its challenges, however it has only made me stronger as a person, more resilient and willing to tackle any challenges that life throws my way – including public speaking!
“I only hope that Henry takes this as his own motivation in the future that anything in life is possible and to never give up on your dreams.
“I was in the fortunate position that due to the fact I had previous legal work experience in conveyancing, I was able to reduce the length of my training contact to a year and a half.
“With the qualification date set, my goal throughout my training contract was to gain as much experience as possible.
“To my surprise, due to having found equity in trust law a fairly dry topic at university, I really enjoyed private client work.
“I knew from an early stage in my training contract that this was an area I would like to qualify in.
“Initially I began taking will instruction, which allowed me to have plenty of client contact, and meet with people, which in turn grew my confidence.
“One of my favourite areas is being able to help people, based on their own individual circumstances, particularly those who are vulnerable or elderly and don’t necessarily have a big family support network around them, and being able to tailor my work to suit their specific needs.
“Work is varied and interesting and I have subsequently grown my caseload, dealing with probate, trust and lasting power of attorney matters.
“I could not have asked for a better mentor and I would like to thank Sorelle Evers for all the guidance she has provided me throughout.
“We always get the job done when we need to, but that is not to say we haven’t had our fair amount of laughs along the way, to make the day go a bit quicker, and of course a daily Wordle with a brew.
“My training contract flew by and before I knew it, the date of qualification was within reach.
“I would like to say I completed my training diary as I went along, however, as I am sure others among us may relate, I was frantically going through my time recordings to complete this in amongst the weeks leading up to August.
“My training was signed off and I did not know how to expect to feel when I saw my certificate.
“On the morning of qualifying I was off work and the email came through with my certificate attached saying I complied with the BSRA rules, and I was admitted as a solicitor to the Senior Court.
“I read the email and I was quite shocked at how underwhelmed I was for this moment that I had built up in my head for so many years.
“There were no tears however I did smile and thought ‘well done’ to myself before I continued with my usual day.
“My Mum went above and beyond as usual and balloons and cake when she finished work that evening and then we went for a family meal which made it feel more real.
“The obligatory LinkedIn post was updated and I still didn’t process that I had qualified.
“In the forthcoming weeks I kept having to remember to not put the word ‘trainee’ when certifying documents.
“If you can take anything from my speech, or if you are currently a trainee, firstly – start your training diary now, and learn from my mistakes.
“Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
“And you can balance your personal life as well as being successful with your career in law.
“It is also important to reset and have that time to yourself in order to perform the best you possibly can in your role.”
The 2025 Southport & Ormskirk Law Society Annual Dinner sponsored by Datalaw took place at Hillside Golf Club in Southport.
The society has been operating for 103 years and continues to go from strength to strength.
The annual dinner was hosted by Southport & Ormskirk Law Society President Gerard Horton, Partner at Leigh Day, and was organised by his wife, Kirsty Thomas-Horton, the Head of Business Development at Fletchers Group.
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