Success Isn’t Always a Straight Line
Less than three years after graduating with a Law degree, Lily Cahalane is building an exciting career in corporate litigation. Yet just a few years ago, she faced an unexpected pause in her studies when personal circumstances led her to suspend her Law course at the University of Surrey.
“It was a difficult time, but when I look back, I’m grateful I had the opportunity to take a step back and think carefully about my future,” says Lily. During her time away from university, she broadened her horizons by studying Biology and Chemistry alongside the A Levels she had already achieved in Economics, Philosophy & Ethics, and Art.
Since returning to university in 2021, Lily has gone from strength to strength. After graduating with an LLB in 2024, she secured a role as a paralegal in a specialist aviation and maritime law firm before moving to the London office of leading US firm Quinn Emanuel in 2025. She is now completing the final stages of her legal training and is on track to qualify as a solicitor in 2027.
Any concerns she once had about falling behind her peers have long since disappeared: “Now I’m in the workplace, I realise people reach their goals at different times. Those few years didn’t hold me back at all,” she enthused. Her role at Quinn Emanuel involves legal research, preparing court documents, drafting correspondence, and supporting lawyers across a wide range of cases. It is the variety of the work that she enjoys most, and she hopes to continue developing her career with the firm after qualifying.
Lily’s advice to current students is simple: don’t panic if life doesn’t go exactly to plan. Her journey is a powerful reminder that there is no single route to success, and that sometimes the detours along the way can help you discover exactly where you are meant to be.
