Solicitor's diaries
Last November, we were delighted to host Yasmin Khan-Guns as part of our Career Launchpad series — our online monthly programme which is a student‑led initiative designed to equip students with real‑world insight into leadership, professional development, and the diverse paths to success across different sectors
During the series, our inspiring professionals share real‑world insights, practical advice, and honest reflections on their career journeys.
Yasmin, who is a Senior Family Law Associate at Keystone Law, and 5 x Award-Winning Family Lawyer is also Recognised in The Legal 500 for Family Law.
Yasmin, who is also a Legal Commentator & Advocate for Family Law Reform, joined us for a lively and engaging session where she answered students’ questions about navigating early career choices, building confidence, and developing the skills needed to thrive in a competitive job market. Her openness, and encouragement resonated strongly with everyone who attended.
We are incredibly grateful for the time she dedicated to our community and for the valuable guidance she offered to students preparing for their next steps.
Following the event, we also caught up with Yasmin for a follow‑up conversation.
We will share this in a mini-series and today’s questions are on early career:
1) What inspired you to pursue your current career path, and how did you get started in your field?
Honestly, there was no Hollywood-style “calling” to family law for me.
At school I was good at English Language, English Literature and analysis. I knew I wanted a career where I could write, think, argue and have financial stability. Law ticked all of those boxes, so it was a very practical decision rather than a romantic one.
After my LPC at The University of Law, I obtained my first proper legal job as a Legal Assistant in the employment team at Slater & Gordon. I found this on the website Indeed. Two months into that role, a firm in south-west London offered me a paralegal position in their family department. I was not especially drawn to family law at the time; I was just very aware that the legal market is competitive, and I needed to get my foot in the door wherever I could.
That move into a family paralegal role ended up being the start of my whole career in family law. I was offered a training contract after about three months, qualified into family law, and I have stayed in family law ever since.
So the short answer is: I picked law because it suited my strengths and offered a clear and financial rewarding career path, and I ended up in family law because I took a sensible opportunity in a competitive market – and then discovered I enjoyed it.
2) Looking back, what was the most pivotal decision or turning point in your career journey?
There are a few key “risk moments” that completely changed my career:
1) Leaving a higher-paid easier role for a lower-paid paralegal job - At Slater & Gordon I was on a decent salary as a Legal Assistant in employment law. I left to become a lower-paid paralegal in family law. At the time it felt risky and slightly backwards. But within three months, that decision turned into a training contract offer – so it was actually a huge leap forwards.
2) Leaving the firm that trained me to help start a family department from scratch.
When I qualified, my training firm offered me an NQ role. Instead of staying somewhere comfortable where I had friends, I accepted an offer from an BLM, a big insurance firm in Monument that did not even have a family department. I joined a partner to build that from the ground up, which meant lots of responsibility, business development and visibility very early on.
3) Putting myself out there publicly.
I then took the risk of being “visible”: setting up a legal Instagram, writing articles, saying yes to podcasts, entering awards and competitions. That was uncomfortable at first, but it led to five family law awards, Legal 500 recognition, and a strong professional profile.
4)Leaving traditional employment to become a self-employed consultant.
My final big risk was leaving my last firm to join Keystone Law as a self-employed consultant. That meant giving up the perceived safety of a salary, sick leave, maternity leave etc and backing myself as my own mini-business. It has been the best decision I have made – in terms of flexibility, work-life-balance, control over my work and the sort of clients and matters I take on.
So the theme is: every pivotal moment involved not becoming complacent, being willing to leave a comfortable situation and accepting short-term discomfort for long-term gain.
3) How did you navigate the transition from university to your first professional role?
Being honest, my approach was a bit of a scattergun.
After university and during my LPC, I applied for a lot of things: training contracts, paralegal roles, legal assistant roles – and I was rejected from a lot of them too. At the same time, I made sure my CV showed I was a rounded human being:
- I had non-legal jobs: working in a crèche, tutoring at Explore Learning, working for a children’s arts and crafts company. Those roles developed communication, responsibility and people skills.
- I did legal volunteering: Citizens Advice, small placements and work experience at local firms.
- I stayed flexible on how I got in. I stopped fixating on a direct route to a City training contract and focused on “any solid legal role that gets me inside a firm”.
The turning point was being open-minded about the “first step”. Instead of waiting for the perfect training contract to appear, I took the Slater & Gordon legal assistant role that I found on Indeed, used that as a platform, and then moved across into the family paralegal position that led to my training contract.
So the way I navigated the transition was: apply widely, be humble about where you start, build experience in any related role you can, and let that first role be a launch pad.
.... next edition Skills and Employability
