Want get back to work, change direction or give yourself an edge in the employment market.  Here are 10 ideas we came up with.

1. Open university - the OU runs some good postgraduate law courses. The advantage is that most of it is done online.  

2. Go on the returners course run by the BPP there are several courses in the new year. Apparently it's great for confidence building and networking.  

3. Find a course near you –  sourcethecourse is a really good website where you can search courses by subject area date and location.  

4. Update yourself online – Go to our courses section

5. Get some confidential free maternity advice from the Association of women solicitors helpline. They also provide a mentoring service if you want some help on changing specialty.  

6. Get some professional maternity coaching see ten-percent.  

7. Go to a sympathetic recruitment agency who understand the needs of returners. See ten-perecent. 

8. Why not go for a part-time judicial appointment or other public appointment – Go to the Judicial appointments commission or the public appointments webssite. There are companies that will help you fill in the form and coach you for the interviews. See jsbonline.  

9.  Why not think about the government legal service – they seem to have a strong commitment to flexible working. Also see our jobs page.

10. Alternative careers - The website lawcare provides some useful information on alternative careers if you are thinking about getting out.