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Lottie Pigg is a second year trainee at Rollits in Hull.
Lottie's current seat is in Employment.
Below, Lottie gives us her account of what it's like to be a trainee at Rollits, along with her description of a typical day in the life at work! |
I have now completed my rotation of all four different seats and have taken the decision to return to the employment group. I am approaching qualification (September 08) and I hope to qualify into this area of law.
I found it took me some time to make a final decision on the area of law that I wished to qualify into as I had enjoyed many different aspects of the variety of departments that I have spent time in. I think the final reason for my decision was my time spent in our Litigation department, the experience I gained made me realise that I was more interested in contentious areas of law which focused my mind back to employment and its diverse and varied elements.
For a decision that can affect the rest of your career, I was really impressed by how supportive and helpful Rollits have been. Rather than simply being left to make my decision and voice my preferences, I was invited to meetings and I found people really approachable when I began a sounding out process of different aspects of the decision facing me.
I have now returned to the employment group to gain further experience for the last six months of my training contract. I have recently moved into an office with Neil Maidment who heads up the employment team and is also a partner within the firm. This echo's Rollits open door policy as I tend to talk through any questions or issues that may arise with Neil which I am finding a really helpful learning experience.
I am thoroughly enjoying the varied nature of the work that I am undertaking. My day invariably involves a wide range of different tasks and responsibilities. I have conduct of my own files which are diverse and varied involving both Claimant and Respondent work.
In the employment group client contact is a large part of my day, not only in updating clients as to their Employment Tribunal proceedings but also preparing all aspects of the claim or defence. I am encouraged to gain as much experience as possible of the Tribunal system and recently spent two days sitting behind counsel on a case involving the defence of an unfair dismissal claim which centred around redundancy.
I have also recently undertaken my first Case Management Discussion involving the defence of a claim for unfair dismissal which had occurred as a result of the alleged gross misconduct of an employee. Whilst undertaking any Tribunal task can be daunting to start with, sharing an office with Neil gives me the support and confidence to pursue each opportunity that I am faced with.
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