An alumna of De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has been shortlisted for a prestigious Law Society Excellence Award 2016.
The awards celebrate outstanding legal practitioners and Elizabeth Warhurst is on the shortlist for Woman Lawyer of the Year.
The Head of Legal and Support Services and Monitoring Officer at North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) is “incredibly proud” to be recognised.
She credits DMU with equipping her with the skills needed to succeed and remains in touch with the university, supporting the Employability Mentoring Project.
Elizabeth said: “I am proud to have been shortlisted and be able to represent the public sector among some of the large national law firms.
“I think it is important for aspiring female professionals to see what success could look like in their sector and, in my case, to raise the profile of female lawyers in the public sector, which offers great career and development opportunities.”
Elizabeth was nominated for her work building partnerships with the private sector, creating a fresh approach to recruitment and staff development at NWLDC and generating income for the council by providing legal services to external clients.
She said: “I am currently leading and developing a network that extends this approach to other councils and other partner firms.”
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Elizabeth’s ambitions to be a lawyer go back to the age of 14 and a school careers event.
She said: “I chose DMU as I wanted to study in a city university which was vibrant and made the most of its location.
“I spent four years at DMU, undertaking my Law degree and Legal Practice Course. I then returned a few years later to do another postgraduate diploma in Company Secretaryship.”
Elizabeth particularly enjoyed learning the basic legal principles, which have stayed with her.
She said: “I had some great lecturers who inspired me to listen carefully, to continually learn and, importantly, to think for myself and have the confidence to express my view, with clear reasons and authorities.”
Graduating in 1995, Elizabeth wasn’t able to land a job in law straightaway so took a different route, working for two councils and undertaking additional study.
She said: “Having proven my ability and commitment I was able to secure a training contract, qualified in 2001 and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Elizabeth is now head of service at NWLDC as well as the Monitoring Officer. She said: “I really enjoy managing a range of services. No two days are ever the same and I have dealt with some very challenging legal and practical issues over the years.”
Despite her success, Elizabeth remembers how daunting it felt when she first left DMU.
She added: “My message to students would be... if at first you don’t succeed, find another way around it.”
The winners of the Law Society Excellence Awards will be announced at a ceremony in London on Thursday 20 October.
Posted on Friday 14 October 2016