Patricia White graduates as a 'Fellow'

Congratulations to Ware & Kay’s Patricia White, who recently attended a graduation ceremony following her admission as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives.

As a fully qualified Legal Executive, Patricia (pictured right) is a trained legal professional. Like most Legal Executives, she specialises in a particular legal area, which, in her case, is Civil Litigation. Civil Litigation deals mainly with disputes, for which compensation is often granted. These disputes can be resolved through assisted negotiations and mediation or court proceedings, and can vary widely: some concern disagreements between individuals over such issues as property boundaries, whilst others may involve disputes between individuals and organisations, such as government bodies or companies.

Civil Litigation also covers commercial disputes between companies such as often arise from the existence of contracts and a party’s breach of their terms. Patricia has built up a substantial caseload of both commercial and individual clients since she joined the Litigation & Dispute Resolution department back in 2005, part-way through her legal training.

According to Patricia, the route to qualifying as a Legal Executive is both rewarding and tough. It is particularly well suited to those who want to change career direction. When making the decision to move into a legal career, there is also the option to return to full time education to complete a law degree or ‘conversion course’ (which transforms an existing degree). However, many, like Patricia, are managing family commitments and thus giving up a regular source of income is not always feasible. Training as a Legal Executive offers the option of training whilst continuing to work.

Once fully qualified, there are plenty of opportunities for Legal Executives to rise up through the legal ranks, where they can ultimately take up positions as District Judges or Partners of legal firms. The Institute of Legal Executives, established in 1963, continues to raise the profile of Legal Executives both in the legal profession and in the public domain. Graduating alongside over 100 other ‘Fellows’, Patricia commented on the sense of the Institute’s progress which was felt by all.

In addition to being a wife, mother and grandmother to Reece and Callum, Patricia founded a video and photographic business with her husband and has been a Company Director for nearly 15 years, which fulfils her interest in photography.

You can contact Patricia White on 01904 716015 or e-mail her.