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06 June 2025 / Jason Hunter
Issue: 8119 / Categories: Features , Profession , Career focus
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A life after law

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Jason Hunter tells his story of leaving a long-term career in law & taking a new path
  • Why thinking ahead with honesty and making a structured plan of execution (and succession) can fuel the journey to a successful and brighter future.

I don’t remember much about my school education. But I do remember one particular conversation in class. The teacher asked: ‘Why do people work?’ I responded: ‘To have a fulfilling life.’ The teacher told me I was wrong. He said: “No, it’s to earn money. That’s it.’

To me, that exemplifies the heart of the issue of transitioning from a long-term job to something else, whether that’s to retirement or to a different sort of work.

Everyone’s story and everyone’s thinking is different and uniquely personal to them. However, some themes and questions crop up consistently, such as:

  • Will you have enough money?
  • Money aside, what is most important to you and the important people in your life, and why?
  • If you don’t know the answer to those questions,
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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