My legal life: Cindy Yip, Google

My parents emigrated to England in the 1960s from a rural village in Hong Kong and settled upon a small working class town in Lancashire to open a Chinese takeaway. Opportunities for them were limited in Hong Kong. 

Growing up in the takeaway, I was expected to help as soon as I was old enough at the age of eight. Even after I started studying for a law degree at university, I would take the bus back after my last lecture on Friday to work every weekend at the takeaway. Primary education was not compulsory in Hong Kong until 1971, and my parents needed to work to earn money instead of going to school.

The lack of access to education, combined with being in a country where they did not know the language well (with little spare time to learn), meant they relied heavily on me for many things. When I achieved four As at A-level (studying in-between serving customers and working in the kitchen), a regular came in and excitedly told my mother that my picture was in the local paper.

When I started applying for training contracts, a huge concern was that many of my peers had already completed vacation schemes or had undertaken legal work experience. While I knew that this would significantly increase my chances of being offered an interview or training contract (research by the Law Society concludes the same), applying for a vacation scheme or unpaid internship was not an option as my parents needed me in the takeaway. There was also the matter of funding and being able to support myself. Even the paid vacation schemes offered by large law firms in London would in no way have covered the costs of living in London or basic expenses such as travel and food.

'There has been some progress in the form of legal internship programmes aimed at providing opportunities for those from underrepresented groups, but there is a long way to go'

I only had my Chinese takeaway experience on my CV. I was also too busy working after school and on weekends to pursue any noteworthy interests. Yes, I had impressive academic achievements but then so did most of my peers. I was also worried that I would be judged for working in a takeaway. Should I put it down on my CV? I was applying to top-tier international firms. What would they think? Reflecting on it, I decided I would. Working as hard as I did all those years taught me many skills that I felt would be useful in any professional job: multi-tasking, timekeeping, people skills, communication, teamwork and a strong work ethic to name but a few. Deep down, I also wanted to talk about it in an interview because it was so much a part of my identity and who I was. True, I did not have any legal work experience. Nor had I been able to cultivate any interests that would have currency with potential employers. But I had fought hard to get to university – my siblings and I were the first generation in our family to finish high school and obtain a university degree – and I was absolutely committed to getting into the legal profession.

Unfortunately, most firms did not invite me to interview. I will never know if it was my lack of legal work experience. I had no family or friends who could help review my applications nor a network that could give advice or help me obtain professional work experience. Of the few law firms that did invite me for an interview, the only one where the interviewers felt my takeaway experience was noteworthy enough for them to ask me about was the firm that eventually offered me a training contract.

While this was many years ago, those from lower socio-economic backgrounds still face the same barriers of entry to the legal profession today. Work experience still plays an invaluable role in obtaining training contracts and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds are less likely to have the connections or financial support to obtain such experience. Other barriers include the absence of role models and a lack of guidance, including at home, in terms of what subjects to study or the impact of university choice.

There has been progress in the form of legal internship programmes aimed at providing opportunities for those from underrepresented groups, but there is a long way to go. Much more still needs to be done to drive social mobility and improve diversity and representation in the legal profession. I believe that those of us who are ‘in’ must all play a part in this.