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Starting as a trainee can sometimes be daunting. Our trainee solicitors have put together 10 top tips to help you along the way. Prioritise effectively. Usually, you should prioritise your direct supervisor’s work before the work of other members of the department. Sometimes this may mean speaking to the Partner you work for about your
I remember grappling with this question in my third year of university when I was knee-deep in training contract research and applications. Was I better suited to a regional firm or a city firm? Would I still have exposure to big corporate transactions or litigation at a regional firm? Would I be working in a
I am a Solicitor in the Dispute Resolution team at Machins, and have been involved with the trainee solicitor recruitment process for a few years now, since I was a trainee myself. When I attend law fairs and do talks for law students, lots of candidates ask what my top tips are for when they
January 2021 marks the start of a new year, and I am delighted to embark on my final six months of life as a trainee solicitor, before qualifying – eeeeek! My previous seats have been private family, public family, company commercial/commercial property, and now I am back to private family where I hope to qualify
They say hindsight is a wonderful thing… As I embark on my final few months (5.5 to be exact) as a trainee solicitor, I’m writing to a former me, and any other future trainees, to set the record straight… Dear Future Trainee, Wow, you did it?! No, I know, you’re not qualified yet or maybe
by Brad Johnson and Samantha Ball The musician and grime artist Kano once said, “There’s more than one way to make it” and much to many people’s surprise becoming a Solicitor couldn’t be more true to this statement. At the time of writing, I am in my second seat in the Employment Department and my
As a trainee, two things are guaranteed: 1) you will copy a forests worth of paperwork and 2) you will work in at least two departments. If you are lucky – or unlucky – you might work in four departments. This seemingly routine aspect of the training contract is, to my mind, the greatest cause
My Training Contract began on the 1st July 2020 during the height of the covid-19 pandemic so I guess my experience differs somewhat to previous Trainees, but nonetheless I have done my best to adapt to a socially distanced/remote working Training Contract. 7:15am: My alarm goes off. As I am currently working from home, I
On 07 January 2021 the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced proposals that mean leaseholders will be able to extend their lease by 990 years instead of the current 90 years allowed by the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, and for those with lease lengths below 80 years, removal of marriage value which
Divorce, separation or relationship breakdown is a challenging and difficult time when you may be worried about the impact it will have on you and your family – emotionally and financially. There are many horror stories out there about huge legal costs being incurred when separating couples go to court and whilst there are times