Blog: Becoming a solicitor - the long way round

Paul Nevin, senior solicitor at Moray Council, discusses his alcoholism and belated entry to the legal profession.

I enjoyed a drink in my late teens and early twenties, usually at the weekend. Everyone did. At 22 I was a psychiatric nurse and by 25 I had moved from Belfast to London to study law.

I worked hard and played hard, but with hindsight I realise I was playing too much. Abandoning my studies I went back to psychiatry - it’s what I wanted after all.

At some point I’d crossed a line without noticing. I tried to stop many times. Alcohol-fuelled arguments gave way to aggressive behaviour, unreliability and relationship difficulties.

Drunk, I crashed a car and was banned. I had regular blackouts. At times I suspected what everyone else knew: I was an alcoholic. I made promises and tried harder many times. During one such effort I returned to law. At 31 I was called to the Bar of England and Wales.

Drinking was common around the Inns of Court. I spent free time in pubs while others worked hard to gain pupillage. Then my partner died of cancer.

Mandy’s death was as an excuse to drink more. Kind souls tolerated my behaviour. I drank most days and returned to psychiatry full-time. I was banned from driving again and convicted of being drunk and disorderly. Just holding down a job in hospital management, I said things weren’t too bad. I sometimes believed it.

I sought and rejected the help of friends, counsellors and psychiatrists. I was given a severance package. I thought I was broken in some unfixable way. For the first time I asked for help without reservation.

With support I stopped drinking and got honest. I was told that new opportunities would present themselves, but I was just happy to be sober.

I moved to rural Scotland and worked in local nursing homes. Life was pretty simple, and I started to enjoy it again. I began to have hope. I applied for a paralegal position with the Moray Council and pre- Diploma Training was suggested. It was a great opportunity, but I had a dilemma.

My past might be discovered which would surely prevent me from practising. I took a risk and wrote to the Law Society. A hearing was arranged and I told the truth – the whole truth. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

The panel agreed that I was a fit and proper person and I cried. Colleagues and managers were every bit as supportive as the Law Society, and I felt very lucky. That was 2005.

Today I’m a very grateful Senior Solicitor with the Moray Council and in better mental and physical shape than I was at 25. I don’t drink, I sleep well at night and my life is full. I value my recovery and continue to attend a support group. I try to give a little back.

I’m indebted to the Law Society of Scotland and the Moray Council for giving me another chance. Organisations are just groups of humans, and when one human is open and honest with another, it is my experience that good things usually happen.

This article first appeared on the Law Society of Scotland website.