Moska Gharanei Solicitor Profile

We sat down with Moska Gharanei from our Northampton office to ask about her day to day work, how she started her career, and what advice she can impart for individuals looking to start in law.

Q1. Why did you become a Solicitor?

I initially chose a career in law due to a desire not to follow my siblings who all studied and now work as scientists. With all my siblings in this sector, I never felt as drawn to it and preferred to look at rather than finding one answer, looking at arguments and contradicting views/opinions.

I actively started to get involved with law at around 15, when as part of my school curriculum, I did work experience at a local law firm in Coventry. From here, my passion continued to grow and stayed with me years later into my professional career as I moved not only cities, but different firms with different specialities.

Q2. What area of law do you specialise in, and why did you choose it as a specialty?

I specialise in public children law proceedings, care proceedings and private law cases.

I enjoy helping people, in particular parents, understand and reflect on their actions and approaches to their lifestyles and how it has affected their children and led to the legal case they are embroiled in. This has always been a drive of myself to help people resolve their issues and in some cases that go to court, look at years of data and information to create a case with a specific outcome, that will go in front of a judge.

Whilst training, I looked at and spent time working in several other areas of law, including criminal and property law during my training contract and further studies. Attending the University of Coventry between 2009-12, I then completed my LPC at the University of Birmingham. My years in legal firms, coupled with the knowledge gained during the LPC and Law degree, all led to me being sure family law was the area I wanted to specialise in. After graduation, I moved towards work experience in the sector and continued my path of growth and development until it bought me to Family Law Group.

Q3. What are the two essential skills you believe a good solicitor should have?

The first essential skill is your interpersonal skills, being able to connect with clients. When a case starts, you need the full story and all information around it, both good and bad, this helps you decide on an approach.

From this information, you pull together a full story and when you then speak in court, you are your clients voice to the judges and opposition so a relationship with them is paramount. By having a strong connection and understanding what their goals and aspirations are, along with the facts to argue their case, this relationship can make or break the case if information is not fully shared or understood.

The second skill is your professionalism that you display from the inception of the case and first meeting your client, to the eventual outcome and follow up work. As their previously mentioned voice, you are the effective middleman to the judge and by being professional in your approach to data and information collection and delivering arguments, you can present the best possible case.

As part of your professional behaviour, you must consider all the history surrounding the case and the positives and negatives that accompany it and know that that information will be used by you and the opposing side. Your professionalism means you take a balanced view and take an objective approach to argue your case. This along with a personal connection to each client in a professional sense enable you to be at your best and present a professional argument for your cases.

Q4. What is the biggest challenge that you have faced in your professional career?

Professionally, the biggest challenge I found, was around following my qualification, being able to stand out from the crowd.

The legal sector is always a small field, grades only mean so much when firms are looking for work experience and “real world” knowledge, this is especially difficult when looking at training contracts. I was able to get my contract through my extracurricular work through my years of experience with the Afghanistan Society. The society works across a national level, connecting and running networking and social events with immigrants from Afghanistan. The members offer their help, support, and expertise to others with an end goal of helping all peoples and bringing out the voices of Afghanistan in the UK.

Helping people from my country, especially those who are relatively new to the UK is immensely rewarding and our national work helps us hear stories, build connections, and help people through what is usually a difficult time of adjustment for people lives. By being involved for several years, my experience stood out when applying for training contracts and was a core part of me getting my contract and I still actively involve myself with the society to this day. My biggest challenge, also turned into a strength, not only for my career, but other people who can use my expertise to help themselves.

Q5. What is the most rewarding aspect of your career as a family lawyer?

I would have to say that getting a client their most desirable case outcome is the most rewarding aspect.

After an emotional and physical ordeal, seeing a child being able to come home, to helping a family with something that has been an issue for many years is incredibly rewarding. When guiding parents to the best outcome, you can focus on the real issues and through the case, you can manage their expectations and look at what the result may be and how best to prepare to accept or challenge it.

Q6. What do you like to do in your free time?

My free time is currently dominated by my one-year-old son! Over lockdown, I have enjoyed spending quality time with him and my extended family of siblings, nieces, and nephews.

 As my family lives close to me on the same street, a lot of activities are done as family and I love that my son spends time with his extended family as I did when I was younger. I like to read when I do have a moment to myself and over lockdowns, started exploring the local areas on walks with my family.

Q7. What is your advice to anyone that wishes to start a career in law?

I would recommend trying to get as much experience in as many areas of law as possible. The legal sector is giant, the areas and specialities are wider reaching and certainty for yourself that the area you want to pursue is what you will want to dedicate the next few years learning.

If you find a sector that you have a connection with, then put in the work and hours needed to become an expert in that area, no one can do it for you.

If you know the above and know where you want to be/ how you are going to get there, your professional career will reflet his and the effort you put in will solidify it.

To contact Moska, please click here