At Travlaw we have always seen ourselves as a part of the travel industry first and the legal industry second. Everything we do at Travlaw is to help and support our travel industry clients and we love being a part of such an amazing, resilient and passionate group of industry professionals.
Obviously we bring our legal expertise to the table, but what you may not know is that we also have some team members at Travlaw with extensive travelling experience.
One such person is Kate Imeson who is now a solicitor in our very busy Commercial & Corporate Governance team. Here, Kate shares her global journey to Travlaw;
“I have always been keen to travel. From a young age, my parents took me on regular holidays and encouraged me to go abroad and explore the world. Before the age of 18, I had visited lots of interesting and beautiful places such as China, USA and South Africa, and had even completed voluntary work for the now “Path Onto Prosperity Project” with the Goedgedacht Trust in the Western Cape.
I moved to Leeds in 2013 and graduated from the University of Leeds in 2017 with a First-Class (Honours) Law (International) degree. During my degree, I was also awarded the “DLA Piper UK Prize for Commercial Law”, the “DLA Piper UK Common Law Prize” and the “Hogan Lovell Prize in Contract Law”.
With travel in mind, during my degree in 2015/16, I took a brief trip to Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, before taking part in the University’s Erasmus Scheme. I was the only student in my year group to live and study law abroad in the oldest University in Sweden – Uppsala University – for a full academic year. Although initially quite daunting, it was one of the best years of my life. The year gave me a chance to be taught at one of the top 100 Universities in the world, travel Scandinavia, immerse myself in a different culture and meet some of my closest friends who are now located globally. I have not visited Uppsala since, but it’s on my bucket list – the place holds many great memories I will cherish forever! On my way back, I decided to travel Europe on an interrailling trip lasting a few months.
Following my undergraduate degree, and whilst working part-time at a local firm as a Paralegal, I went on to complete my LPC and MSc in Law, Business and Management at the University of Law (Leeds) and graduated in 2018 with a Distinction.
Before starting my training contract, I took some time to travel further. My “big” trip started with a weekend in Poland and went on to include weeks travelling the Golden Triangle (and beyond) in India, riding scenic trains in Sri Lanka, exploring Hong Kong, scaling waterfalls in Vietnam, understanding the history of Cambodia, being rescued from mud slides in Laos, watching piano concerts in Thailand, swimming with whales in the Philippines, barbequing in Australia, climbing glaciers in New Zealand, and more! I met friends and family along the way and have some enjoyable and unbelievable stories to tell, just ask me to share them (although be prepared that I might not stop!)
I joined Travlaw in 2019, having transferred my training contract, and slotted in straight away. The firm and team were my “dream come true”, combining commercial law and travel into one legal role – who would have thought that could happen! I qualified in 2020 into the Commercial & Corporate Governance Team, assisting clients with booking conditions, supplier agreements, agency agreements, wholesale agreements, PTR advice … the list goes on.
I feel that my travelling experience helps me understand the passion clients have for travel, their businesses, and the meticulous planning that can go on behind the scenes of a holiday. I hope that I can help assist these clients in the commercial work I do, as well as discussing the great sights of the world if the opportunity comes up.”
Kate’s journey into law (and around the world) has meant that she has acquired invaluable experience and knowledge of around 40 countries. Now a firm fixture in our Commercial & Corporate Governance Team, assisting clients with their various commercial needs and providing compliance advice, she continually strives to do her best for all her clients.
Senior Partner Matt Gatenby had this to say about Kate when we asked him about her journey so far: “Kate came to us with no experience of travel and leisure law, but has shown an amazing ability to pivot into our particular niche. Without doubt her enthusiasm for travel, and experience of it, have been a major part of that, and many clients have benefitted from that combination of skills and experience. Kate’s energy, positivity and shrewd analysis of complex legal problems are an asset to Travlaw and our clients. We couldn’t be happier to have Kate as part of our expert team!”
You can contact Kate directly if you require any commercial assistance.
0113 258 0033
This article was originally published on: 9 April 2021
