In November, alumna and barrister Laura Johnson KC (Class of 1995), returned to Withington to give pupils in Years 10-13 an insight into her career. Laura made silk in 2022, becoming the first female QC (Queen’s Counsel) in her chambers. She works on personal and catastrophic injury and clinical negligence cases and is a police and insurance specialist. She has also worked on high profile cases such as the Manchester Arena Inquiry.

As well as outlining her role in her chosen specialist areas and answering lots of questions from pupils, Laura had some great advice for them. She talked about the importance of keeping their options open at this stage and getting as much work experience as possible in different areas of law. She explained that when she had started, it was hard to imagine being successful in her law career because there were not many role models, but now those examples are there for our pupils. She also talked about the importance of self-belief and urged pupils to back themselves and be brave in their choices.