Lawyer, Master of Laws with court training
"When it comes to the lawyer's profession, people often have the false impression that you must have reached a perfect score in the matriculation examination. Studying to become a lawyer does not require performing miracles or reading longer hours than any other profession. Versatile experience in different fields is important if you want to succeed on your career. The best lawyers I have met during my career have worked in many fields or even in many professions. Having experience from fields, such as construction or agriculture, is a major asset on your career."
- Silja Snäll
- Lawyer at LähiTapiola.
- Graduated with a Master of Laws degree from the University of Lund in Sweden, qualified as Master of Laws at the University of Helsinki and was trained on the bench to qualify as Master of Laws with court training.
- Nine years of work experience in the field.
Briefly explain what you do for a living.
I act as a lawyer in LähiTapiola in compensation issues related to property, operations and liability claims. At LähiTapiola Palvelut Oy, I am responsible for counselling services, training, and developing processes and operating models for regional companies together with my colleagues working in the same team. Processing of professional indemnity cases also constitutes a big part of my job.
How have you ended up in the profession of your choice?
In a way, being a lawyer is my childhood dream job. I am the youngest child in my family, and I believe that many babies in the family consider the principle of fairness more important than most people. However, I did not take the most direct way into becoming a lawyer, as in the general upper secondary school studies did not interest me at all. I thought I would seek a career in the sports sector, but that did not happen. I ended up studying law first in Estonia and then in Sweden. After that I completed my Master of Laws qualification studies in Finland. I feel that, for me, studying abroad has been an advantage rather than a disadvantage. Because of my different study history, I stood out among hundreds of applicants, when I, for example, applied for court training and got selected.
Describe your typical working day or week.
“Well planned is half done” is a good way of describing how I schedule my working week. I start by looking at my calendar and planning the programme for the week. It involves drawing up different task lists, as certain tasks must be completed within given deadlines. Sometimes the whole day must be replanned when a matter of urgency needs to be dealt with.
A typical working week may consist of such tasks as writing compensation decisions, counselling, developing insurance terms and conditions, and preparing responses to various committees. In addition to carrying out work tasks such as these, I must keep on following the development of legislation and changes in the contractual terms in different sectors.
What kind of work environment or working hours do you work in?
I work both in the office and at home. I do my work at varying hours between 8 am and 4 pm, as we have flexible working hours. I am currently doing reduced working hours, 80-per cent of full working time.
What kind of competence or qualities are required in the profession?
When working as a lawyer, you must be able to make independent decisions and justify your own decisions sufficiently well. You learn this profession only by working in it, which means that you build confidence in your work through experience.
What is the best thing about your profession?
The best thing about my profession is that I get to challenge my brain every day, and I get paid for it. I also appreciate the fact that it is easy to reconcile work and leisure time. Another good thing about being a lawyer is that there are so many options where and how you can work. You can become an entrepreneur or politician, or work in a company, organisation or public administration.
What are the downsides of the profession or what seems challenging?
In this field, you will never get all your work done, so a lawyer must be able to set limits to how far they will stretch. Working continuously using your brain may also be stressful, as work sometimes follows you to your dreams and free time. I feel that meaningful hobbies are very helpful, as they can help you reset your brain.
What would you tell a person considering the profession of a lawyer?
When it comes to the lawyer's profession, people often have the false impression that you must have reached a perfect score in the matriculation examination. Studying to become a lawyer does not require performing miracles or reading longer hours than any other profession.
Versatile experience in different fields is important if you want to succeed on your career. The best lawyers I have met during my career have worked in many fields or even in many professions. Having experience from fields, such as construction or agriculture, is a major asset on your career.
How do you see the future of your profession?
The sector will continue to offer a lot of work in the future as well, and knowledge of different fields and versatile experience in them will become even more emphasised. Having studied only as a lawyer will no longer suffice. For example, the demand for people with familiarity with the ICT sector is and will remain high.