Emma
Batten

Emma studied her LLB Law, and Legal Practice Course at NTU, undertaking a career in Employment Law with a national law firm, before moving in-house to Boots. Emma has recently moved out of the legal team to Head of Employee Relations at Boots. Read more about her experience at NTU, her career journey so far and what advice she would give to anyone studying the Legal Practice Course.

Why did you choose to study at NTU?

I looked at a number of different universities but only a handful offered a sandwich degree attached to the LLB Law course. That was a really big attraction because although I wanted to study law, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to be a lawyer. The option of this degree meant that I could get a year placement, undertaking legal work, before I made a decision about applying for training contracts and the LPC. I visited an NTU open day and just really got a good feeling about Nottingham – it was really diverse, vibrant and busy (and having come from a sleepy town in Suffolk, this was a top priority!).

I had a really great experience at both undergraduate and LPC level. I met my (now) husband in halls of residence and still regularly see friends made at NTU, 20+ years later. The LPC tutors were really knowledgeable and had tangible, practical experience that they could bring to their teachings.

Tell us a little bit about your legal career.

After I finished my LPC, I had a gap year before I started my training contract and during this time, I worked in-house for a local authority in their legal department, which gave me a really good grounding to starting my training contract (if only because I knew the basics re preparing bundles, court etiquette etc).

Once I completed my training contract, I joined Freeths LLP in 2011 in the employment law team. Over a 10-year period, I started as an Assistant and held several roles before being promoted to Managing Associate. I worked for some great clients and there was a real focus on the team undertaking their own advocacy so I gained some great experience in undertaking my own hearings, which whilst terrifying when you are only a few years qualified, is great experience in ensuring a case is fully prepared for the final hearing.

I moved in-house at Boots in 2021 and the work, whilst similar in topic to that which I had done whilst working in private practice, required a much more commercial approach. There were always lots of exciting projects that were on-going that required an employment law input and I quickly forged really positive relationships with the stakeholders I was supporting.

Why did you move out of the legal team to be Head of Employee Relations?

I would have been very happy remaining in the employment law team but because of an internal move, the opportunity arose for me to move into the Head of Employee Relations role. I saw it as an opportunity for me to bring a different skill to the role and given the overlap between the roles, it was a role I thought I could really get my teeth in to.

What challenges have you faced?

I think the toughest part of my career was when I qualified. It was in 2009 and was during the last big recession. The firm I had trained with didn’t have an employment role at the point I qualified and so offered me a role in their Shipping department, which I accepted despite never having done a day’s work in the team! It actually turned out okay because I was asked to cover a few extra weeks in the employment team at the end of my training contract and just never left, so I never got to know anything about shipping law!

What advice would you give to anyone considering studying the LPC?

Preparation was the key for me on the LPC. There is a lot to get through and I always tried to treat my studying like a work day (working 9-5) so even between seminars/lectures, I would try and prepare for the next session (rather than going home or to the pub!). It also means that when you start your training contract, a full working day is less of a shock to the system!