From Debt Caseworker to Legal Case Manager

Case Manager, Coral Forshaw, talks about her change of direction and building a rewarding career at Co-op Legal Services.

I studied criminology at university and did a few different jobs afterwards in retail, hospitality, and debt management – I even did a stint as a nightclub manager! Whilst I enjoyed these roles, I wanted something more fulfilling where I could feel like I was really making a difference to people’s lives.

Making the switch into legal services

I’d heard about Co-op Legal Services before, but I’d never considered working for a legal firm as I didn’t have any experience. When I saw the Case Manager/Paralegal role at Co-op, I noticed there was no legal experience needed, and that full training would be provided for successful candidates, so I decided to apply.

I was excited to be invited to an assessment then an interview, and not having a legal background didn’t hinder me during the process. I was assessed on my organisational, customer service and communication skills which are all important in the role. The interviewers were friendly and explained that there were lots of opportunities for career progression, which made me even more excited to join!

Learning and growing in a supportive team

I was successful in my application, and although the role seemed daunting at first, I’ve been able to organise myself and manage my own workload. Being able to work flexibly thanks to Co-op’s hybrid working policy helped with this.

Having been here for 6-months now I absolutely love it! It’s so rewarding to manage cases from beginning to end, and you can really see the difference you make to customers’ lives. There’s a supportive culture in my team – everyone works together to make sure we’re achieving our targets. We’re encouraged to take the initiative and learn from our mistakes, and this has helped me to develop in the role.

Looking ahead there are so many routes for me to progress my career, and I’m already having those conversations with my manager. For now, I’d like to stay on the fast-track route and become a Team Leader, however I also have the option to go down the technical route, picking up more complex cases in a Senior Case Manager role.

I’d never considered a career in legal until I joined Co-op. Now I can’t imagine doing anything else.