Alumni Spotlight: Craig Kelly (Postgraduate Certificate in Trademark and Practice Law, 2012)

31 July 2023

We speak to Craig, an alumnus student from Postgraduate Certificate in Trademark and Practice Law course, who graduated from CCLS over 10 years ago and is now working as a Senior Associate and Head of Corporate & Commercial at Holmes & Hills Solicitors.

Q: Tell us about your journey into the legal career and your current job. 

A: I started my legal career as a Legal assistant at Baker McKenzie in London working within their Trade Marks department. I was then offered a training contract at an Essex based law and qualified as a solicitor in 2019. I am currently working for Holmes & Hills solicitors in Essex, and I am a Senior Associate and Head of the Corporate/Commercial Department.  

Q: As it was a slightly unconventional career path that you took rather than a traditional degree followed by a postgraduate course. Have you got any advice to other students thinking about what path to follow into the legal career? 

A: The unconventional route allowed me to gain work experience in many different areas such as admin and IT, which has helped me to become a better solicitor as I have an understanding in those areas.  

Q: What are the favourite aspects of your current job? 

A: Working with a varied amount of clients and different areas of law on a daily basis.  

Q: You share some very informative and entertaining posts on your LinkedIn profile. What is your inspiration for them? 

A: Many of my posts are based on interactions with clients. For example, explaining the processes of a share purchase or what types of clauses should be included in certain agreements.

You can see Craig’s LinkedIn profile and read his posts about everything trademark on his LinkedIn page.