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student experiences
Bill (William) Hawkes-Reynolds
Career changer - previously ran own conservation and jewellery business ,Graduate Diploma in Law graduate with the College, considering the Bar or becoming a solicitor
I'm Bill, and I've just finished the Graduate Diploma in Law with the College of Legal Practice. My background could hardly be further from law. For years I ran my own business in the conservation of historic objects, specialising in metalwork, and I trained and worked as a jeweller too. Running a business meant living with business law and the rules around cultural heritage every day, so law was never far from my world, even before I decided to study it properly.
What brought you to law?
Brexit was the turning point. When Britain lost a lot of the funding that supported cultural heritage, it hit museums and private collectors hard. They still had objects needing conservation, but no money to pay for the work. As a business owner with bills to pay, I had to be honest with myself: this wasn't going to hold up long term. I'd studied law a long time ago and, for one reason or another, chosen not to pursue it. The GDL was my chance to pick the thread back up and run with it.
Why did you choose The College of Legal Practice?
I did my homework. The College has a strong reputation and the reviews are universally positive, which mattered to me. Then there was the cost. Some providers charge up to £14,000 for a law conversion course. The College's GDL is £3,950. For a career changer funding their own studies, a gap like this shapes the whole decision.
What was studying online like?
The course was well structured. All the reading and preparation for each workshop arrives well in advance, so as long as you've done the reading and made your notes, you walk in ready and it's no hassle at all. What surprised me, and perhaps it shouldn't have, was how varied the cohort was. People came from all over the world, from every kind of background and experience, and it added real interest to the course.
I'd worried that online study might feel isolating, but it was the opposite. We set up a WhatsApp group that stayed active most days, busier around assessments, and I've come away with some genuinely good friends. Online is no barrier to feeling part of something.
How did you find the support and materials?
I'd tell anyone not to rush out and buy supplementary textbooks. In law, books date quickly, so you end up throwing money away. Everything you need is in the manual and the reading provided for each session. The recordings deserve a mention too. Even when you've attended a workshop live, the recording is there to return to later if you want clarity on a point. It's a study resource in its own right, not simply a catch-up tool.
What's your advice for getting the most from the course?
Be honest with yourself about discipline. Anyone considering an online course should take a long, hard look and ask whether they have the self-discipline to do the work on their own. If you do, this is the right route for you.
And once you're in the workshops, contribute. No one ever learnt anything by being perfect. The workshop is exactly where you're meant to get things wrong, so ask the questions and join the debate. A lively cohort makes the experience better for everyone, including the lecturers.
What are your next steps?
For me, the two routes were solicitor or barrister, and with a background in public speaking, I'm drawn to the Bar. The GDL left me with a happy problem: I enjoyed all of it. Equity and trusts and public law stood out, so my practice area is likely to sit somewhere around there.
Advice for career changers
People should be more cautious of staying exactly as they are. When you face a career change you have a choice. You stay as you are and nothing changes, or you change and give yourself the chance to do something different and improve your situation. Yes, change is frightening. It's also a good and useful thing. My advice is to take the bull by the horns and do it. I'm 51, and I'd say the same to anyone wondering whether it's too late. It isn't.