Amanda Millar

So… I confess a return of imposter syndrome when asked to contribute to this amazing project. 

It got me thinking about my journey to and through the legal profession and what place there could be for someone like me. 

What place for someone with no plan, no connections, no career path, no clear passion for the law? 

What place for the child who remembers standing in the street with binbags as mum left her first husband, remembers homeless accommodation, remembers living in a caravan, remembers mum sleeping on the floor as only enough money for one bed? 

What place for the child who remembers dry pasta and tinned mushrooms, remembers living in a house without a habitation certificate, remembers a parent studying in the bathroom, remembers parents with multiple jobs and ultimately living in nice houses developed by them? 

What place for someone who got their first job at 13 and has had some form of employment ever since? 

What place for someone who was encouraged to attend university as a route to a ‘proper job’, chose law instead of accountancy and chose Strathclyde instead of University of Glasgow?  

What place for someone who doesn’t remember but knows they were hit by a car in the summer prior to their second year at university?  

What place for the graduate who couldn’t find a traineeship and briefly entered academia?  

What place for someone who remembers being told that they couldn’t be a lesbian as it would ruin their life? 

And still, 

What place for a lawyer interested in people and outcomes, more than the law?  

What place for someone who worked in many areas of legal practice, often with and for the most vulnerable, with the least access to life’s opportunities? 

What place for the first solicitor to be accredited in both mental health law and incapacity & mental disability law by the Law Society of Scotland?  

What place for the fifth woman and first open member of the LGBTQ plus community to lead the solicitor profession as President of the Law Society of Scotland? 

What place for the President of the Law Society of Scotland who conducted engagements with every constituency, the judiciary, Scottish and Westminster government ministers, colleagues from across the world, students, admitted solicitors and solicitor advocates, and who recorded podcasts, radio interviews and issued  press releases in defence of the solicitor profession, the rule of law, civil society and highlighting the importance of human rights, equality, equity and inclusion across civil society, but especially in the legal profession… and all entirely online thanks to a pandemic? 

My story is unique. It is mine. However, elements of it will resonate with many. Variety across the strands of the legal sector is a must to ensure this fundamental pillar of civil society reflects the society that it serves. Visibility of variety of those working in and with the law is still lacking.

Everyone who has contributed to this project has done their part to improve and evidence the benefit of variety and visibility. There is #MuchStillToDo 

What place?  

This place, this space, my place. There is a place for you. Whatever your story.