To round off the year, we speak to James Lewindon, Head of Client Development UK at Pinsent Masons Vario, the global law firm and alternative legal services provider. Although he started out as a history teacher, James has built a strikingly varied, ‘squiggly’ career: from working for a newspaper and entrepreneurship skills programmes in schools, to leading a science centre team building exhibits, moving into management consulting within a global law firm, launching and scaling a legal resourcing business, serving as a CEO in a legal employment and training business, to now joining Pinsent Masons Vario in 2025.
James’ story shows us that a long-term career plan isn’t always essential for a fulfilling career. Driven by a fear of “Groundhog Day,” James moves on when the sense of challenge fades, shaping a path that plays to his strengths and preferred environments. Rather than pursuing a fixed-end career goal, he prefers to seek roles that offer stability, but also the space to grow, learn, experiment, and create.
In this episode, we also explore imposter syndrome, the experience of redundancy, and the power of asking your network for feedback and support along the way.
Listen via Spotify below. Also available on Apple Podcasts, or you watch it on YouTube.
Alice coaches those who want to change career but don’t know what they want to do instead. She offers Career Coaching designed to help career-changers gain a clear vision of what career is right for them, and how to achieve it. She is also an accredited Coach Supervisor, and host of The Career Change Diaries podcast.
