Most days, I get into the office between 9 and 9.30 am. I work as an employment paralegal at Speakeasy Law Centre, currently the only Law Centre in South Wales, a region with a population of about 2.2m people – 71 per cent of the entire Welsh population. Commuting from the valleys to Cardiff, I get to see (part of) South Wales in all its glory. Lush green hills and trees frame either side of the long, winding roads, interspersed with beautiful villages and bilingual signage. I never cease to be in awe and wonder at the views.

My journey to South Wales and to a career in law has been serendipitous, rather than the fruition of childhood dreams. A first degree in English followed by working as a teacher and community outreach officer in Nigeria stimulated an interest in presentational skills and serving local communities. When the opportunity to study law in Wales presented itself, I took it enthusiastically.

While at law school, I enjoyed learning about the intersection of law with social issues, particularly the reality of social inequalities and miscarriages of justice. I realised that while the workings of the criminal justice system easily attract public attention, a functioning civil justice system is just as critical.

Volunteering with the University of South Wales Legal Advice Clinic helped me put this into further context. I learned that Wales, though naturally lush and green, is in legal terms very much a desert. Years of devastating cuts to legal aid have had an acute impact on access to justice. I realised very quickly the importance of the limited support we were able to offer clients who faced welfare benefits, housing and employment crises. At the end of my studies, I felt a keen sense of purpose in continuing to use the legal skills I had gained in this way. In Speakeasy Law Centre, I found an organisation where my values aligned with its vision of using the law to fight injustice.

At Speakeasy, we deal in four areas of social welfare law: welfare benefits; debt; housing; and employment. In the employment team, I share our caseload alongside a full-time employment solicitor and a consultant solicitor. Given our limited capacity, our priority is giving one-off advice to clients, sometimes undertaking casework where we can.

I advise clients on various employment and discrimination matters. Usually, when clients are still employed, the advice is to raise a grievance, which hopefully resolves the situation. Sometimes that is to no avail, and they have either been dismissed or have resigned and are looking to bring a claim to the employment tribunal.

There have been a lot of efforts by the courts and tribunals to demystify their procedure for the ever-rising number of litigants in person. However, my clients remain daunted by the process: today, my email inbox is full of queries from my clients who are none the wiser regarding what ‘case management orders’, ‘schedules of loss’ and ‘witness statements’ are. I spend the morning explaining these terms and sending helpful templates. Usually, they also require help particularising their claims. Understandably, they want to leave no details out in telling their stories, but I guide them to focus on the most salient points.

Lunchtime comes around very quickly. I enjoy catching up with my colleagues and hearing what they have been up to, normally around our dining table. Unsurprisingly, the Department for Work and Pensions has refused another person their benefits. Our office is located conveniently next to City Road, a portrait of Cardiff’s multiculturalism, where restaurants from all parts of the world line its streets. Today we are ordering halloumi wraps from an Iranian family-run café, which go down a treat.

After lunch, I meet with my supervising solicitor to discuss my more complex cases. A migrant client has lost an employment opportunity following a delayed right-to-work check and is making a discrimination claim. The regulations around right-to-work checks veer into EU law territory, which we do not encounter very often. We plan to discuss this with our more experienced consultant solicitor for his opinion.

I then meet with a client who developed a disability during their employment and has been denied reasonable adjustments. They have now been unfairly dismissed and need help making a claim to the tribunal.

I write up my attendance notes and have a debrief with my supervisor to discuss the afternoon’s work. I discuss the challenge of maintaining professionalism in the face of such harrowing experiences faced by clients.

Those thoughts remain in my head as I travel home. It is quite easy to feel discouraged by the weight of injustice faced by ordinary people in Wales. However, watching beautiful flowers sway happily in the fields, I feel that somehow the work we do represents green shoots of justice, gradually populating our legal desert.