You are here

  1. Home
  2. Study
  3. Our tutors
  4. Mike Lambarth

Mike Lambarth

Mike Lambarth

I have been teaching Level One Law modules since 2006, and Level Two modules since 2017. 

I am a solicitor, having qualified in 1999, although I almost fell into the profession by mistake. I am sure many people have felt unsure about what they want to do in life from time to time, and I was no exception. I cannot honestly say that law was what I wanted to be from a young age. I wanted to be a professional footballer like many other young children, even though I was pretty awful at it.

Having left school without a huge number of qualifications, I worked in a bank for a few years, which is where I first had to balance work and learning, as I studied for exams on a distant learning basis. One of the subjects I studied was the law of banking, and that is what first hooked me onto the subject of law. Eventually, I decided to go off to University and do a law degree, although it was a close call between law and accountancy. In the end, I qualified as a corporate tax lawyer, which allowed me to maintain my interest in financial matters whilst practising law. I then studied for my professional tax qualifications whilst working full time and by then I also had two young children too. It was a busy time, but I enjoyed every minute of it - well, almost every minute!

I think the experiences I have had have equipped me well in my role as an associate lecturer at The Open University, whose primary role is to support the learning of students who are often following a similar route to my own, albeit with their own goals and experiences. I can certainly empathise with the hurdles that can appear in life and hopefully help students to overcome them. I enjoy the diversity amongst Open University students, and teaching both level one and level two modules means I often get to meet up again with students I have taught previously and I am regularly amazed by the progress they have made.