Additional resources mentioned in this episode
AllAboutLaw – Legal Work Experience
While you’re studying, it’s important to balance academics with practical work experience to boost your employability. This resource shares guidance on how to find placements, build experience in a way that fits your schedule, and explore different routes into the profession.

Explore the resources:

• Legal Work Experience Ideas

• Hunting for Legal Work Experience

• Law Gap Year

Learn more at:⁠https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/thelawyerfiles

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Vanessa Wilson shares her journey from property management into real estate disputes law, offering a practical and refreshing perspective on landlord and tenant issues, non-traditional routes into law, and the mindset needed to thrive in a demanding profession in this must listen episode of The Lawyer Files.

In this episode, I sit down with Vanessa Wilson, a real estate disputes lawyer whose background in property management and running her own property services business gives her a unique, real-world understanding of the issues that sit behind legal disputes. She now brings that insight into practice, approaching disputes with clarity, care, and a strong focus on the client experience.

Vanessa reflects on her academic journey and the transition into law, highlighting how practical industry experience can become a real strength in legal practice. We explore what it’s like to build confidence as a newly qualified lawyer, how she manages pressure, and why communication and empathy are just as important as technical legal knowledge in contentious matters.

Alongside her legal career, Vanessa is also an accredited empowerment coach and NLP practitioner, and she shares how mindset work supports her professional development, client communication, and resilience when navigating complex and emotionally charged disputes.

We talk about
✅ Vanessa’s route into law and what shaped her decision to pursue a legal career
✅ How property management experience translates into stronger legal advice
✅ What real estate disputes work is actually like day to day
✅ Landlord and tenant issues, and the human impact behind contentious matters
✅ Building confidence and resilience as an early career solicitor
✅ Mindset, empowerment coaching, and how NLP tools support performance under pressure
✅ Advice for aspiring solicitors taking a non-traditional path into the profession

Whether you’re interested in real estate disputes, property law, or navigating a non-linear legal journey, Vanessa’s story offers practical insight, encouragement, and a reminder that there is no single “right” way to build a career in law.

Follow The Lawyer Files on Instagram, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music.
Subscribe at TheLawyerFiles.com for written interviews, legal career guidance, and behind the scenes insights from the next generation of legal professionals.

Guest Information:
Vanessa Wilson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-wilson-516930113/

Contact and Enquiries:
Email ⁠contact@thelawyerfiles.com⁠
LinkedIn ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/denice-o

Additional resources mentioned in this episode

AllAboutLaw, the UK’s leading platform for aspiring solicitors. AllAboutLaw runs a series of virtual law career events, including their Virtual Law Fair and skill building workshops designed specifically for future lawyers. These live sessions give you the opportunity to connect with law firms, hear directly from recruiters, and gain practical insights that can strengthen your applications and interview performance.

Learn more at
https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/thelawyerfiles

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Dual qualified disputes lawyer Femi Adeluola shares his journey practising law across Nigeria and England and Wales, offering a grounded and insightful look into litigation, arbitration, and international legal careers in this must listen episode of The Lawyer Files.

In this episode, I sit down with Femi, a disputes lawyer licensed in both Nigeria and England and Wales, and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK. His experience spans courtroom advocacy within a fused legal profession in Nigeria, as well as in house legal work in London, where he advises on disputes, risk, and commercial decision making.

Femi’s legal journey began in Nigeria, where acting as both solicitor and barrister gave him early exposure to every stage of the dispute process, from client engagement and case preparation to courtroom advocacy. After qualifying in England and Wales, he brought that experience into a new legal system, developing a dispute resolution approach focused on efficiency, cultural awareness, and resolving matters out of court wherever possible.

We also explore the realities of transitioning from private practice to an in house role, including the shift from being an external adviser to becoming a legal and business partner within an organisation. Femi reflects on the importance of maintaining independence and objectivity while supporting commercial goals, and how this balance shapes professional judgment.

We talk about

✅ Practising within a fused legal system and how early courtroom exposure shapes advocacy
✅ The challenges and opportunities of dual qualification across jurisdictions
✅ Moving from courtroom advocacy to in house legal work in the UK
✅ Why resolving disputes out of court is often the most effective outcome for clients
✅ The role of arbitration and alternative dispute resolution in modern legal practice
✅ Soft skills, adaptability, and cultural awareness in international legal careers
✅ Practical advice for aspiring lawyers interested in cross border work

Whether you are interested in dispute resolution, arbitration, or building an international legal career, Femi’s story offers clarity, realism, and thoughtful guidance for navigating law across borders.

Follow The Lawyer Files on Instagram, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music.

Subscribe at TheLawyerFiles.com for written interviews, legal career guidance, and behind the scenes insights from the next generation of legal professionals.

Guest Information
Femi Adeluola on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/femi-adeluola-aciarb-uk-3a062359/

Contact and Enquiries
Email contact@thelawyerfiles.com
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/denice-o

Additional resources mentioned in this episode:

AllAboutLaw’s Online Application Masterclass

https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/thelawyerfiles

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Emerging cyber lawyer and DAC Beachcroft solicitor Koye Adeyeye shares his journey into cyber incident response, crisis management and fintech driven legal practice in this must listen episode of TheLawyerFiles.

In this episode, I sit down with Koye, a U.K.-qualified solicitor specialising in Cyber Incident Response and Professional Indemnity, and currently a Litigation Counsel Secondee at Lockton. His work places him at the heart of real time cyber crises, guiding organisations through data breaches, forensic investigations and complex regulatory obligations under the UK GDPR.

Koye’s journey began with an early interest in threat intelligence and crisis driven work, before discovering cyber law as a space where legal judgement, technology and commercial awareness collide. From training across multiple practice areas to specialising in cyber, he reflects on how understanding the client beyond the black letter law has been central to his development as a solicitor.

We also discuss how completing the Oxford Fintech Programme at Saïd Business School shaped his understanding of financial systems, digital infrastructure and risk, allowing him to translate complex technical issues into practical, commercially grounded legal advice.

We talk about:

✅ How Koye found his way into cyber incident response and why crisis driven legal work motivates him

✅ What cyber breaches look like behind the scenes and how lawyers support clients in real time

✅ The challenges of GDPR notification decisions and assessing risk to individuals

✅ How fintech innovation is reshaping cyber risk and legal advice

✅ The value of secondments and seeing legal work from the client’s perspective

✅ Advice for aspiring solicitors interested in cybersecurity and technology focused practice areas

Whether you are interested in cyber law, fintech, or understanding how legal advice operates under pressure, Koye’s story offers practical insight, clarity and inspiration for navigating a modern legal career.

Follow TheLawyerFiles on Instagram, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Amazon Music.

Subscribe at TheLawyerFiles.com for written interviews, legal career guidance and behind the scenes insights from the next generation of legal professionals.

Guest Information

Koye Adeyeye on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/koye-adeyeye/

Contact and Enquiries

Email: contact@thelawyerfiles.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denice-o