A Day in the Life of a Dispute Resolution Trainee – Trainee Blog

Samantha is a 2^nd year trainee at Machins Solicitors. Having worked previously in another Bedfordshire firm as a conveyancing assistant, Samantha’s background leans mostly towards property matters. Samantha’s seats have included Commercial Property (6 months), Family (9 months), and is finishing her training contract in Dispute Resolution (9 months).

Samantha is due to qualify in July 2021 into Dispute Resolution.

What’s the first thing you do when you start work?

I tend to start any time between 8am and 9am. This various mostly due to work load and deadlines. I tend to start my day checking through my emails whilst I finish getting ready (a bonus with working from home). I flag anything that needs attention and forward anything that I need to double check with my supervisor.

Once I’m ready to start my day, I tend to review the list I’ve made of things that require my attention from the day before (I’ll come to this later!). I highlight anything in bright colours that are urgent. I also review my diary and check any deadlines that are due over the next few days. My outlook diary is my go to for keeping an eye on things!

Once I’ve got my plan in place, I set onto the first urgent task.

What does a typical day look like for you?

My days vary quite a lot because of the nature of the work I do, but to outline an average day, I’ll set out what I got up to yesterday!

9AM I’ve sorted through my tasks and I’m about to get on with the first matter to sort – an urgent letter before action for a client. For certain matters, particularly where urgent applications might be needed, letters before action aren’t necessarily something that can afford weeks of time being spent. This particular matter related to a ‘passing off’ issue where it is really important to get the notice of potential action and, if needed, application off quickly.

I spend up to an hour and a half on this, including research into particular points that might affect our client’s position. I then pass this back to the solicitor I am assisting. We’ll review and discuss my drafting at a later point.

10:35AM Once I’ve got this particularly urgent piece out of the way, I call a number of clients that have approached the firm for some advice. I call to get a bit of an overview of their case so that we’re able to quote them for our potential costs in advising them.

The length of time needed for is call can often vary for a number of reasons: the length and history of the dispute, any extra details I would need in order for us to advise on costs accurately, if it is a standard application/issue that we have a set fee for, what the client’s aim is and so on.

Once I’ve got the details needed, I will often discuss the matters with my supervisor. He will decide on the solicitor best suited to deal with the matter. On some cases, particularly if the issues are less complex and the potential client is concerned about costs, he will suggest I run the matter with a chosen solicitor’s supervision. The supervising solicitor will usually specialise in the particular issue at hand.

If I am running the matter, I tend to set up a draft cost estimate which is then approved by the supervising solicitor. I send this onto the potential clients for their consideration.

10:50AM I get some comments back on a witness statement first draft provided to the client. The client wishes for some bits to be amended. I amend these in track changes and send them over to the supervising solicitor with my comment on the document and a copy of the client’s email explaining the changes.

11:15AM By this time, our post has come into the office and I have received an order from the court that requires personal service on the other side. In order to get this done ASAP, I contact our process server and send all the relevant documents and details over to them.

11:30AM My supervisor has passed me over a bundle of disclosure documents received from another party on a company dispute. I’m asked to review the bundle and the position of the other party so that my supervisor can get a good idea before his review of what’s included and what further disclosure we might need from the outset.

12NOON Team meeting! Each week, once a week, we meet on Skype to catch up – that’s everyone in the team, secretaries included. We review each other’s workloads, discuss cases we’ve got coming up, discuss marketing and networking and other bits from our personal lives. These are usually informal meetings and not too serious at all – which is great!

12:20PM I continue to review the documents from before my meeting and draft a memo for my supervisor outlining what’s included and the overall position of the other party considering my knowledge of the dispute.

12:50PM I quickly catch up back through my emails and fire off anything to colleagues that can quickly be replied to. This usually includes networking opportunities, marketing initiatives and, in particular, a new project I’m working on – podcasts! There’s usually a lot going on to get involved with.

1PM Lunch! Depending on workload and location (home or office) often alters how I spend my lunch. This particular day I was home, and so was my partner, so I made a packed lunch up and we went for a walk to our local woods, sat on a bench and enjoyed the (not very British for the time of year) warm sunshine!

1:50PM I check through my emails again whilst making a post lunch cup of tea.

2PM Back at my desk, I have a telephone call with a client who is concerned about her property. We discuss the issue and we plan a route forward, which, once off the phone I mention to the solicitor supervising me on this particular task. They agree on the route forward and I follow up with the client by email. I proceed to draft relevant notices for this client. Once drafted, I send these onto the solicitor supervising on this task for approval.

3:30PM I receive a number of emails from a senior solicitor in the department regarding a development dispute. I am asked to review documents regarding the development and report back to the client on their legal position and what they may be able to do going forward. The report is approved quickly by the supervising solicitor and I send it onto the client for review. Whilst I await the report I respond to a number of emails from clients and potential clients.

4:30PM I am passed over a piece of work from a solicitor within the department regarding a boundary/neighbour dispute. This requires a considerable amount a reading and research and is not something I had covered previously. I research matters including trespass, private nuisance, planning permission, and right of light considering the client’s position throughout. I make detailed notes for my own record.

I then set to drafting a letter of advice to the client. This takes some time and is particularly complex. I am stopped when a reminder flashes up on my computer for a seminar I signed up for that evening.

5:50PM I finalise my draft and make notes along the document to review in the morning. I review my list and cross off the matters that I’ve finished and add to the list for the next day. My list review is something I do every day and really is a must in dispute resolution so not to miss anything!

5:57PM I manage to grab a quick snack and drink before returning to my desk for a seminar.

6PM I join a seminar on service charges and arrears put online by a well-known property barrister. These are really useful and often only require a small fee to join. This particular one lasts 1 hour and I make extensive notes as a result.

7PM I quickly re review my list, check my flagged emails to make sure I have everything ready to go in the morning and log off for the day.

How much do you communicate with clients on a daily basis?

My day to day contact with clients varies quite significantly. Some days it can feel that I’ve spent all day on the phone and other days it can feel like I’ve not really had a verbal conversation with a client at all.

I have, however, had the ability to communicate with clients from the second I started in the seat, which has been great. I had a client from my second day in the seat – there was exposure to clients from the get go. Which was great – it’s one of my favourite parts of the job!

And lastly…

Is it what you expected it to be?

Yes, and so much more! I wanted a fast paced department and that’s exactly what I got. Every day is different and every day is as exciting as the next. I can’t wait to see what July brings!