‘Moving from a high street firm to the City – what are my chances?’

If you wish to continue to practice conveyancing or property transactions, but move into central London, that is achievable. To go from a high street practice immediately to a leading city law firm is more unlikely.

There are 100s of firms in central London, many of them have large property teams. I’d suggest applying to work at one of those firms first, spend a few years there, then start applying for roles at slightly bigger firms. I’ve worked with many lawyers in small/medium sized firms in central London that came from high street firms outside of central London, and some of them now work for large City firms. It is absolutely achievable, you just need to go about it the right way.

p.s. you may need to accept that you may not receive a pay rise moving into central London at first, but once you are in central London, the game changes.

Better to wait year or two until you have a big client or two who would be willing to say you are exceptional.