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Zoé Spinks is a second year trainee at Rollits in Hull.
Zoé's current seat is in Dispute Resolution.
Below, she 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! |
After completing my second seat in the firm's Company and Commercial Department I have now commenced my Litigation seat in the Dispute Resolution Department as a second year trainee. Beginning a new seat is akin to beginning a new job as you have a new office and are surrounded by new matters and different faces.
I enjoyed my time in the Company and Commercial Department very much. They cover a broad range of subject matter from acquisitions and mergers to intellectual property, corporate finance to employment law. I enjoyed working in all areas, in particular on the corporate and commercial aspects. I found it very rewarding to be involved in transactions between big corporate bodies, even if my contribution was relatively minor! Such involvement provides a valuable insight into the inner workings of larger corporations.
My Litigation seat will be my first real contentious seat, although the skills I learned in the employment department (meeting deadlines, assessing claim prospects, drafting witness statements etc) will hopefully ease the transition. Though I have only been here a week, I have already had the opportunity to attend a mediation session, which was both interesting and revealing.
The Litigation seat is usually conducted in a trainee's second year. This is primarily because of the wide range of subject areas covered. Each fee earner has their own specialist area of law, so a Litigation trainee will find themselves coming up against a variety of issues. During my first week in the department I have dealt with boundary disputes, easements over land and commercial contracts, to name but a few.
My usual day will start at around 8.00 am and usually begins with checking post and e-mails, after which I am able to prioritise the day's tasks. I tend to have a few research matters ongoing and other solicitors will usually ask me to conduct various tasks throughout the day. From a personal point of view I prefer to work on research earlier in the day in order to allow time for more pressing matters that can arise later on.
Rollits have an open door policy throughout the firm and actively encourage staff to talk to one another about their cases, making it easier and far less intimidating to ask for help on matters that you might be unsure about. Trainees are also encouraged to have weekly update meetings with their supervisor so that they can discuss their workload. This also gives the opportunity to express an interest in any particular area of law that you might be interested in.
The firm is also very involved in arranging outside events for employees and clients alike, of which the Trainees are actively encouraged to participate and help with.
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