My legal life: Alex Strickland, KJ Cox Solicitors

I am a solicitor specialising in private client. But my journey to becoming one was not plain sailing. I was born with profound hearing loss which was not diagnosed until I was two-years-old. I was therefore two years behind my peers in development, especially with regard to my verbal communication – I was not able to speak until I was four. 

I spent most of my childhood catching up. I was in the bottom sets for maths and English until I was nine, when I had my first cochlear implant. The difference this technology made to my life (almost instantaneously) was nothing short of miraculous. From April 2009 until the end of the academic year, I managed to get myself into the top set for English and middle for maths.

I had my second cochlear implant when I was 14. Once again, my qualify of life improved dramatically. Despite being told that a deaf person would not be able to study a foreign language, I studied a foreign language. I went on to get decent GCSE results.

My interest in law was sparked when I witnessed my little sister’s adoption process when I was 11. It feels strange now, however, that my initial interest was in family law and how dramatically my career path has changed since then. Wanting to do law, I went on to do A-levels.

'I want people to realise that having a disability is not a barrier to entry. I am grateful to the legal profession for giving me access. I am equally proud of myself for grabbing the opportunities that have been presented. I intend to continue my legal career progression'

I then studied law at Royal Holloway, University of London. I was part of the Covid era with lockdown halting my second year; my final year was conducted solely on Teams. This change in teaching was great for my performance. I always struggled with listening to the lecturer and making notes. Having all the lectures recorded meant that I could go at my own pace. I was also blessed with having a lecturer in my final year who understood my hearing loss and the challenges I faced, meeting me on a weekly basis to go through the content I was studying. That lecturer gave me so much confidence that I transformed my grade from a 2:2 in the second year to finally obtaining a first-class degree.

I joined a firm on the south coast of England within weeks of graduating from Royal Holloway. I was quickly offered a training contract. I started off in public law family and discovered that it was not for me. I decided to try a seat in private client. Initially, I had reservations as I detested the equity and trusts module at university. But I quickly found that I developed a passion for this practice area. I had a particular interest in trusts and estate planning as I enjoy solving the puzzles of people’s circumstances. I was fortunate to be trusted by my team and was granted a very hands-on experience during my training contract. I found myself carrying my own varied caseload of wills (including complex wills), LPAs and probate. I was lucky to have such a talented and caring team around me.

While I was doing my training contract, I was also doing my LPC part-time, orchestrating it so that I would finish both at about the same time. In doing so, I was able to qualify as a solicitor on 9 August 2023, at the age of 23. This has been the most memorable highlight of my career thus far. As a child, I was effectively written off and now… Well, the world’s my oyster.

Shortly after qualifying, I joined KJ Cox Solicitors based in Alton and Bordon. Working at this firm has given me a wealth of experience as I have continued to have a very hands-on role, including some complex matters. I have also helped to promote the firm through networking and writing legal articles. The firm has been incredibly accommodating with regard to my hearing loss.

I want people to realise that having a disability is not a barrier to entry. I am grateful to the legal profession for giving me access. I am equally proud of myself for grabbing the opportunities that have been presented. I intend to continue my legal career progression by completing STEP, and hopefully working my way up in the firm.