Career story: Hardeep Chumber

A career in law wasn’t always the plan for Hardeep Chumber, Solicitor in HCR Law’s Private Client team. His route to qualification began in biomedical science and took a number of unexpected turns along the way.

He shares his career journey, the challenges he encountered and the experiences that ultimately led him to Private Client law.

Starting out in biomedical science

After leaving school, I went to St George’s University to study Biomedical Science. It was a fascinating course, and I even carried out human dissection, but I ultimately decided that a career in medicine wasn’t for me.

Rather than dwell on that change of direction, I chose to embrace it.

After graduating, I moved to Australia and worked in a remote mining village in the outback as part of a $90bn gas mining project. Picture 40-degree-plus heat, snakes and spiders the size of your hand. It was an incredible life experience and a world away from anything I had known, which gave me resilience and perspective that I still draw on today.

Finding my way into law

When I returned to the UK, I enrolled at BPP Waterloo on an accelerated law degree. I loved the course but, like many aspiring solicitors, I found that securing a training contract was far easier said than done. I spent years applying while working in a jeweller’s shop to support myself.

After hundreds of unsuccessful applications, it would have been easy to throw in the towel and move on, particularly as I was due to get married. However, I was determined to pursue a legal career and completed the LPC with a Master’s at Nottingham Law School.

My persistence eventually paid off in an unexpected way. While working in the jeweller’s, I met the CEO of the firm I would later join and secured and opportunity to work there as a Motoring and Transport Paralegal.

From there, I obtained a training contract, although its start date was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Joining HCR Law

After qualifying, I worked at two firms before joining HCR’s Private Client team in August 2025. I’m delighted to be here. The team and culture have been everything I hoped for, and I’m now pursuing further professional development through STEP to continue building my expertise in trusts and estates.

Looking back, the 14-year journey from school leaver to qualified solicitor was long and varied, but I wouldn’t change it. Every experience, from the dissection lab to the Australian outback and the jewellery counter, taught me something I draw on in my work today. I look forward to continuing to grow with HCR in the years ahead.