Gambling Law with Jessica Wilson
In the latest episode of LegalTea, Max speaks to Jessica Wilson, an Associate at a law firm specializing in gambling and gaming law. Having had no previous experience in this area, after completing her training contract and qualifying as a solicitor, Jessica bet the house and went all in on a job in a field she had no background in. Quite a risk, you might think, but should you also take a chance and roll the dice on a career in gambling and gaming law?
Gambling and gaming law might not be an area of practice that you’ve heard much about in the course of your studies. In a nutshell, it is the set of rules governing the gambling and gaming industry, including licensing, regulation and enforcement. The main constituents are the Gambling Act, which is the main piece of legislation, and the Gambling Commission, which issues guidance every three months in the form of the License Conditions and Code of Practice (LCCP – or ‘Gambling Law Bible’). Together, they set out how all operators, from huge casinos to apps on your phone, get their licenses and what they have to do while they’re operating.
Jessica certainly didn’t set out to become a gambling lawyer from the beginning. After qualifying and being offered a job she wasn’t particularly interested in at the full service city firm she trained at, she was on the look out for something new. But it wasn’t until she received an email from a recruiter about a job as a gambling lawyer that she even considered a career in this industry. And while it felt overwhelming and a little scary at times to work in an area in which she lacked any direct formative experience, with an open mind and willingness to learn, it turned out to be a fantastic move. So, don’t be put off applying for roles in areas which might seem niche or which you don’t have direct experience of from your studies or training; if something sounds interesting, give it a shot.
As we often say on the LegalTea blog, don’t underestimate the value of your transferable skills. If you’re working in a niche, it’s completely fair to expect that you won’t have any direct experience going into the job, and employers will often be open minded. In Jessica’s case, the firm was actively seeking a newbie to the area, who they could train up and mold. But Jessica was still able to demonstrate the value of the more commercial roles she held during her training. In particular, because working with gambling operators involves corporate and commercial cycles, being familiar with things like corporate structures, different types of entities, and different trust structures from having worked with companies before was really useful.
You may worry that working in a niche area of the law might limit your chances for career development. It seems a logical thought: surely a bigger area means more opportunities? But don’t forget, the bigger the pond, the more fish there are to compete against and you might find it harder to get noticed. Working in a smaller area can actually mean that you get to progress faster and are given opportunities before peers working elsewhere. As Jessica has found, it’s much easier to start building a reputation and to become known in the industry if the pool of people working in the area is smaller. You’re able to foster closer relationships with clients and more quickly experience things like conferences or events which are usually reserved for the top dogs at bigger firms; in fact, Jessica was sent to her first conference on her third day in the job! So sometimes it can payoff to be a big fish in a small pond.
And as for the work itself, there’s a nice variety of responsibilities, from the more academic to process-driven and strategic tasks. Different duties makes the work feel fresh and, working in gambling, you meet some pretty ‘interesting’ characters form time to time too.
So, if all of this sounds up your street, what are your options for working in this area? Although there are only a small number of firms which are as niche and specialized as Jessica’s, you’d be surprised how many of the larger, well-known city firms have small teams which work in gambling and gaming. There are also a range of firms which take a more boutique approach, dealing with things such as gambling and sport, or gambling and technology. However, as the area is quite small, there aren’t many opportunities for people to start out as trainees in this area; you might want to considered doing your training contract, qualifying and then trying to move over as jobs open up. Or you could take a job at a bigger firm and wait for a position to become available in their gambling team. Alternatively, there can also be in-house opportunities; some people have started out as paralegals for gambling businesses and gone on to be gambling lawyers from there.
Whether you’re considering a career in gambling and gaming law, or any other area of the law, Jessica has three key pieces of advice for you:
Make the most of your training. There’s no way to train wrong, just make sure to try your best and make the most of the opportunities available to you. If you do this, you will develop the key, useful ‘good lawyer’ skills – organization, communication, hard work – which will pay off in any role.
Be flexible, adaptable, and open minded. Don’t dismiss working in an area just because you don’t have a background in it, but be aware that, in some parts of the law, rules are changing all the time, so you have to be on it!
Don’t be afraid to take your time. Law students can have a ‘now, now, now’ mindset and expect that everything should happen quickly. But don’t let yourself be pressured into a particular career direction and take some time out to think if you need it. And don’t feel demoralized if you think you’re taking too long to land that training contract or another role – it’s normal for things to take a while, so don’t feel like you’re falling behind.
