“I would like to be seen as an ally rather than a role model”

Akil Hunte.

1. What do you most admire about the law?

Law is Unique:

Law is particularly important for me as it interlinks with society. There are lots of different subjects out there that fail to connect with people. Still, with law, everyone is aware of what law is as it strongly embodies the social and economic structure of communities and countries. How a country governs itself is designed by law. Therefore, there is a lot of accessibility in understanding and supporting people who don’t get information that they need through law.

2. What motivated you to start your platform/ What issues did you look to resolve when starting it?

The Issue: Imposter Syndrome:

Studying law in a non-Russell group university and coming from the black community, the false perception of a student who comes from such a background is that the odds of securing a training contract in a law firm is challenging, if not impossible. On top of that, the competition to secure a training contract at any city law firm is very competitive. This leads to aspiring solicitors who share a similar background to have imposter syndrome when they start researching for training contracts and meeting other aspiring solicitors and lawyers.

My Resolve: The New Black Society:

I felt that the media has negatively portrayed the black community and society often associated black with death and funerals. These false ideas surrounding my community and the word black felt limiting, and for that reason, I founded ‘The New Black Society’ at my University. What started as an idea transcended into a movement. At the end of my second year, we had a bigger team, a stronger determination amongst our members to defeat inspire students to succeed against adversity, and our contributions to the society led us to be awarded the best new society in Nottingham Trent Union.

Activity on LinkedIn:

I first started using LinkedIn in my second year, reading law at Nottingham Trent University. I wanted to use a platform to communicate the challenges I was facing and my ambitions with like-minded people. I wanted to take this opportunity to uplift people through their own challenging situations by sharing my stories and motivational posts regarding my life. The mindset to overcome challenges came to me when I was rejected from an interview for a vacation scheme in 2017, and at that time, I realised that I was confident that I could move up in my law career as a rejection only brings strength. By using LinkedIn, I aim to defeat the my imposter syndrome by regularly posting the chapters of my life.

3. Can you describe your platform in 3 words?

The three words that I would use to describe my platform are the following:

Motivational:

I aim to make my posts encouraging aspiring solicitors to push themselves and to do better. The sky is the limit! Everyone, no matter what phase they are in life, will always have space to improve on.

Eye Opening:

From the posts I make on all social media platforms, the one aspect that all of my content has in common is authenticity. I always try to give an honest insight into the drawbacks of the current society, the social changes, poverty, and how it affects those that come from that background.

Empowering:

My goal is to help my connections equip themselves with the tools to take on their goals head-on and not think that their powers have been taken off from them. I believe that all these aspects combined can defeat imposter syndrome, a very common problem preventing most aspiring solicitors from applying to law firms that they would like to work for.

4. What do you aim to achieve by the end of 2020?

I want to change what I like to achieve! First, I want to do the best in my LPC. Second, I would like to be more involved in public speaking, going to companies and universities, and speaking with staff and aspiring solicitors. I want to share my journey with them and raise awareness of the legal process for people from parts of society where lawyers are not commonly associated with. Lastly, I would like to prepare more content on training contracts to give aspiring solicitors better insight into the application process.

5. What are your long-term goals for this platform?

Long term goals in a career-wise sense, I could be a partner in my firm or a senior legal counsel at an international company. Who knows? For me, I don’t necessarily have long-term goals, but I have planned steps to succeed in the long term, such as doing well on my training contract. I like to focus more on the perception of the kind of person I want to become and the characteristics I want to have in the future!

6. Where can I find out more about your platform?

The main place to find me is through connecting with me on LinkedIn. I also have a Snapchat account where I write motivational rap lyrics about how I think and feel about certain situations I've faced or perceived in my life. I have recently been using Instagram to post about events I'm involved in and to help answer the most prevalent questions for aspiring solicitors.

7. What is the best law-related show/movie that you have watched?

Most films don’t capture the reality of law for the purposes of being entertaining to the audience. The film that I enjoyed watching for entertainment was the Lincoln Lawyer. Starring Matthew McConaughey, who is a criminal defence attorney, uncovering a murderous plot against his own client. (A must-watch)!

8. What area of practice would you like to specialise in, and why?

At present, I think practicing in real estate would be interesting. This is because I love the idea of property transactions, the due diligence that is involved and also undertaking tasks regarding land registry to complete a property transaction. I’m also interested in intellectual property, as I’ve had experience and studied the module before, but I’m keeping my options open.

9. What is the best thing that has happened in your journey so far?

My favourite memory so far, although more sentimental to me, is having my family and friends watching me graduate and giving a graduation speech to the rest of the cohort. When I first came to study law in the University, I saw a few people succeeding well but not that many and so I was very happy and proud to share the successes I had with my family and cohort!

Some of the experiences I had which got me to where I am today.