Abu gains invaluable experience at Quinta Law
Behind Every Kick graduate Abu tells us about his summer work experience in a law firm and why he’s fallen in love with drafting contracts!
Why did you want to do work experience at a legal practice?
Abu: My Auntie is a big inspiration in my life, and she is a lawyer. Everything she's told me about her work is fascinating, so I wanted to gain experience of working in law.
What did you have to do to organise your work experience?
Abu: It was easy. I have a Behind Every Kick mentor (Samia). I told her I wanted to get some work experience. She was so helpful in arranging this for me. The Behind Every Kick team gave me the phone number for Nick at Quinta Law. I called him, and we had a chat and arranged the dates. That was it. Then a few weeks later, I was in their office for my first day.
Did you feel nervous at the start of your placement, and if so, how did you overcome it?
Abu: I'll be honest, I was very nervous. Very, very nervous. I remember being outside the office building and thinking: "where do I go?" But then I gave Nick a call. He came down and got me. He was a lovely chap. Meeting him for the first time felt like speaking to an old friend. My nerves disappeared straight away after that.
What surprised you the most about your work experience?
Abu: I couldn't believe how chill everyone was. I thought the atmosphere would be properly serious and formal. But while the team were all working really hard, there were loads of jokes flying around. It was just a great environment to be in.
What did you learn during your time at Quinta Law?
Abu: My work experience there focused on property law. I knew nothing about that area when I first started. I got to work on contracts and learn about conveyancing — people buying and selling houses. It was absolutely fascinating to understand more about that side of the law.
What parts of the Behind Every Kick programme were you able to use during your work experience?
Abu: Teamwork is a massive one. At Quinta Law, the staff are really cooperative. If anyone needs help, the team will be straight on it. You could see everyone had trust in each other. Trust was a big thing we learned during the Behind Every Kick programme and how important it is to teams achieving their goals.
What did you enjoy most about working there?
Abu: Contracts! Ha ha ha. I don't know why but I just loved making contracts. Reading information and putting it in the contract was something I could do all day.
What did you find the most challenging?
Abu: I'll be honest with you, everything there was so good. I didn't find anything too difficult.
Would you encourage other young people to do work experience?
Abu: If I could talk to other young people like me on the Behind Every Kick programme, I'd tell them to take these sorts of opportunities. In life, you want to grab as many opportunities as you can. I'm 17 now, and I'm not 100% sure what I want to do yet. So it's great to try out different things like law. So far, the opportunities I've had through Behind Every Kick have been incredible. They've helped me so much in gathering information for my future. It's been great.