Blog
MEET THE TEAM: BRONACH MURPHY
The legal industry’s loss became our gain when aspiring solicitor, Bronach, decided a career in the law was no longer for her.
Since joining B-Compliant, our junior consultant has not only proved she’s a natural at financial regulation, but has also demonstrated an impressive flair for poetry!
Stepping onto the legal ladder
I moved from Ireland to the UK in 2016 to pursue a legal career. I’ve always wanted to do something that would help people and at the time, I believed the law was a way to achieve this aim and earn a decent living!
I finished my undergraduate degree in 2021 and started working at a huge law firm in their first response team for car emissions claims. After just six weeks, I realised the culture in large businesses wasn’t for me and I left without having another role lined up, very sure I could secure a job in days.
Luckily, my cockiness paid off and I landed a role as a legal assistant at a small up-and-coming law firm. I was working directly with solicitors in the housing disrepair team, helping them with all sorts, from collating evidence to drafting court documents.
The next year was spent studying for my legal practise course (LPC) and my masters, with a view to securing a training contract and a career as a solicitor. I was given my own files and I really enjoyed helping clients settle claims and obtain the repairs they deserved.
I was all lined up to start a training contract when sadly, the business changed and the culture did too. The long hours and little time with clients began to make me feel weary when I thought about practising law for the rest of my life. However, I wanted to give it another try to make sure leaving the profession was what I really wanted.
The final push
On my 23rd birthday, I found myself sat in an interview room at one of the leading firms of solicitors for Authorised Push Payment fraud claims. It might have been a little birthday luck, but I was offered a job.
This was my first taste of working in financial regulation and to be honest, I only took the role because it was more money, better benefits and another chance to secure a training contract!
In my first few months at the firm life was great. The culture was amazing and I learned so much about financial regulation. At times, the work was difficult – seeing people lose everything and have to deal with the notion of never getting it back was heartbreaking, but it was also fulfilling. I was able to recover money for clients and help put their life back on track.
During this time, I was in the final year of my LPC and masters and the workload continued to increase, as the volume of scams grew. Once again, I found myself unhappy and I finally made the decision that a career in the legal industry wasn’t for me.
The compliance journey begins
After a long and difficult day at work, I decided to hop onto Indeed and see what other opportunities were out there. I knew I wanted to use my degree and experience, but I also wanted a role in which I would be able to progress.
When I came across the post for a junior consultant at B-Compliant, I was keen to learn more. I had developed an interest in compliance whilst working in the legal sector and had a personal interest in finance. (There were also dogs in the office!) I decided to apply and during the interview process, it became clear this was something I really wanted to do.
The call offering me the job came just as I was walking into a festival in Hungary, but I accepted immediately. I was so excited to start my new journey and we definitely celebrated that night!
Entering a new industry was a little daunting, but on my first day, the B-Compliant team was so friendly they made me feel at ease. A lot of time so far has been spent learning the ropes, but the skills I developed working in the legal sector have been transferable, which has helped me settle in quicker. Vicky and Jeremy really encouraged me to apply my experience to the financial industry by involving me in pieces of work from the outset. I can see how being a compliance consultant can be very fulfilling, particularly spending quality time with clients.
Being new to the industry, I have a development plan and another goal – to achieve my diploma in Regulated Financial Planning. I’m relishing the challenge, becoming more confident every day and being given more responsibility as time passes.
Contact us
If you would like to know more about our wide range of services, or discuss how B-Compliant’s support could benefit your firm, don’t hesitate to contact us on (0161) 521 8641 or email: info@b-compliant.co.uk
