Don’t tell anyone, but until November 2024, my knowledge of the legal industry was limited to Suits and Better Call Saul. I knew lawyers dealt with crime, buying companies and property, and had spoken to precisely one solicitor in my whole life (lovely Adrian, who did our conveyancing). Several months into my current role, as Legal Operations Manager at BPP, my learning curve in this world remains steep and I am loving every minute!
I spend my days looking at how I can improve the service delivery of BPP’s in-house legal team, leading on process improvement projects, assessing legal tech and devising metrics to help us make data-informed decisions. One day I might be writing a group-wide asynchronous training programme, the next having discussions with potential vendors, of course attempting to cut through the inevitable AI hype. I can honestly say that there is not a single part of my job that I don’t enjoy. Is it challenging? Absolutely. Frustrating at times? Of course. But I am always learning – and if I had to choose, the learning would be my favourite part. I love being immersed in the fast-paced space of AI and legal tech – attending Legal TechTalk and ScaleUpGC this summer, meeting different people across the community and feeling the excitement and momentum for development is amazing – I cannot believe how fortunate I am to have this as my job!
“My route into Legal Ops has been more of a squiggly path than a straight road“
My route into Legal Ops has been more of a squiggly path than a straight road, but looking back, I can see how skills and past experiences have prepared me for my role today. Hailing from into a family of teachers, it seemed natural for me to follow in their footsteps – I had a successful 12 years across a variety of roles, including leading RS/Philosophy provision, careers, PSE, and heading up a Sixth Form. Post-Covid, I was contemplating returning to work full time after having my daughter, when I realised that I had achieved what I wanted to from teaching, and it was time for a change.
I applied for various jobs in HE and adult education, securing a position at BPP teaching careers and employability skills to international students. This introduced me to the corporate world, and I became interested in operations and roles behind the scenes. This resulted in a move to the School of Healthcare and Nursing working on process improvement – a hybrid business analyst/project manager role. Come Autumn 2024, I came across the internal vacancy for an Operations Manager in the in-house Legal department.
Checking down the list of requirements, I realised I had many of the skills – project management, stakeholder engagement, good communication and problem solving. The role looked a perfect fit – many of the responsibilities in the JD were a natural progression from previous positions. A friendly yet rigorous application process later, and I had the role!
“..my journey reflects the fact that this space is so fast-moving and constantly developing – there is no one route in“
I think my journey reflects the fact that this space is so fast-moving and constantly developing – there is no one route in. There appears to be momentum growing for Legal Ops courses, with a few Law degrees having Legal Tech modules. For career changers and non-legal professionals wanting to break into the profession, I would recommend understanding the language and theory of project and stakeholder management – learning to listen to stakeholder needs, communicate effectively and manage change are crucial skills to develop (and mention in a job application). Back when I was teaching, I had years of consultants coming into my classroom telling me how to improve – without knowing me, my subject or my students. This is absolutely not the right way to bring about change or improvement. I’ve carried this thinking into my current role – listening, understanding and collaborating on solutions is the way to get things done!
Kim Humphrey
Legal Operations Manager
BPP
