Claudine Adeyemi has been busy not only with her career as a real estate litigation lawyer since qualifying three years ago. She has also been actively making a difference in her community by supporting young people from non-traditional backgrounds in their journeys to become working professionals.
In 2014, she set up The Student Development Co, a non-profit organisation that provides youth with career-related support and advice. More recently, Adeyemi and her team launched a mobile application, Career Ear, to extend their reach to more young people. The application gives young people a platform to pose their career-related questions directly to professionals.
Adeyemi was driven to help others like her because she understood the challenges faced by young people who lacked the resources and networks to achieve their potential.
Her own journey to becoming a lawyer was fraught with obstacles. Her mother passed away when she was young and she subsequently left home due to a difficult relationship with her father. While studying her for ‘AS’ Levels, she lived in a dirty B&B and was hospitalised in between her examinations due to the poor living conditions. Despite her challenges, she achieved excellent ‘A’ level results and went on to graduate from University College London with a law degree. She qualified as a solicitor at Mischon de Reya in 2014 and is now an associate in the real estate litigation team.
Adeyemi’s dedication has earned her recognition in her legal career, her entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to diversity. She was highly commended by the Law Society in the Junior Lawyer of the Year category and was awarded the Judges Recognition award in the Women4Africa in 2016 and the Rising Star in Law award with WEAreTheCity. For work on The Student Development Co, she received the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Precious Awards, which recognises women of colour in business.
Her story inspires me because it proves that you can achieve anything you set your mind to.
Written by Ndifreke Ekaette, First 100 Years Student Ambassador