My legal life: Lorraine Green, Miles & Partners

The seed was planted for a career in the law by a family member. I was only eight at the time and it became my ambition. I was told by numerous teachers and careers advisers that it was a very competitive field and that provided the motivation. When I undertook my initial legal training in the 1990s, I was given a wide assortment of cases and found that I enjoyed and did well in the areas of crime and family law; I am comfortable in court.

I took the traditional route of a law degree following A-levels and then on to law school. I quite enjoyed mooting at university in the annual competition, winning in my first year and that was the start of my advocacy training. During holidays, I arranged work experience in a solicitor’s firm, mini-pupillage at barristers chambers and worked in a local magistrates’ court during summer holidays for three years. I felt it was important to help me decide which area of the legal profession would best meet my interests.

I took up karate when my son’s club launched a new class for adults in 2018. Having practised Tae Kwon Do about eight years before, I decided to get back on a mat. During the pandemic, the club adapted really quickly, offering online karate tuition and online fitness classes. I practised with my son and was able to advance from a green belt to a brown belt despite the lockdowns.

My first competition took place in November 2021 and was at the club, so I was competing against other brown belts. Unfortunately, I was the only female adult and had to compete with teenagers who are inevitably more agile and have a lot more experience, but I won a bronze medal in Kata.

'Juggling work, training and competitions is not as hard as it sounds. Competitions are at weekends and training sessions take place in the evenings. This encourages me to set boundaries around my work/life balance'

Entering the arena for a competition is both daunting and exhilarating. The atmosphere is electric and the sheer volume of athletes, coaches and spectators is fantastic. It has been an amazing journey over the last year, adapting and developing my skills to compete nationally and internationally. I am incredibly grateful to my coaches and teammates for their support and guidance.

My first gold medal came last April when I competed in the Karate England Open, a competition hosted by my club alongside other clubs within the Karate England group. My most recent was a silver medal at the World Union of Karate-Do Federations (WUKF) European Karate Championships in Italy last November.

Juggling work, training and competitions is not as hard as it sounds. Competitions are at weekends and training sessions take place in the evenings. This encourages me to set boundaries around my work/life balance. During the pandemic, I reorganised my home so that my son and I could have a dedicated workout space to ensure we could still practise at home. I aim to attend karate training sessions at least three times during the week and attend the dedicated ‘Fight Club’ on Saturday mornings to practise fighting techniques that I can incorporate when competing.

I decided to specialise in child protection law at two years’ PQE. Family law was the area I was most interested in. I moved from the firm where I completed my training contract to one with a strong family team. It was while working at that firm that I met and was inspired by colleagues who specialised in child protection law as opposed to a specific case.

Undertaking my own advocacy in court ensures continuity for the family at a time when so many people may be involved in their lives. Parents, grandparents, children and guardians need someone who knows the law to advocate for them to ensure the best actions are taken for the child at the heart of the case. Clients often feel that they have to fight for their views to be heard, and I can be that voice for them.

The thing that I really like about martial arts is the way that, as well as being a physical activity, it requires total concentration to develop the skills. This means that your mind can really switch off from work in a way that doesn’t happen if you are swimming or pounding a treadmill.