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Clair Douglas is a first year trainee at Rollits in Hull.
Clair'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 her life at work! |
Starting a new seat is similar to beginning a completely new job and can be quite daunting. However, the litigation team have made me very welcome from the first day.
The first seat of my training contract was Company Commercial and prior to that I worked in the firm's Commercial Property department as a paralegal therefore this is my first experience of contentious work.
Each solicitor in the department has their own specialist area and as a result you have a wide range of knowledge and experience available to you.
On a typical day I will start work at around 8.45am and tend not to leave until after 6pm. I must stress that the firm does not insist that anyone works past 5pm and they are keen to promote a healthy work life balance. However, it is much easier to focus on a complex piece of research once the phones and emails have stopped. In a busy department such as this it is advisable to start each day with a reasonably clear desk in case an urgent matter arises.
The work that I have been given so far ranges from dealing with the end of a company administration process to preparing for a week long trial due to take place in May. In addition there are daily pieces of research on numerous interesting points and frequent trips to court.
Contentious work requires all of the skills that have already been developed but there is an additional layer in developing arguments, pre-empting potential pitfalls and, of course, meeting court deadlines.
Each and every matter is entirely different and I have found that this results in the work remaining fresh and interesting. The litigation procedure for a case will remain largely the same but the facts of each matter and the different approaches that clients choose to adopt vary widely.
There is of course a steep learning curve when joining a new department. The law that you are researching and the procedures to follow are new and, in addition, each solicitor has there own way of working.
Rollits provides Trainees with a high standard of legal training and in line with this the Trainees are given a slighter greater degree of autonomy and responsibility than you might otherwise expect. However, daily contact with your supervising solicitor and the firm's open door policy ensures that, should you require assistance, someone is always available to discuss a matter or point you in the right direction.
Trainees are encouraged to become involved in any social events organised by the firm and with all of the Trainees living in the city we get together for lunch or drinks as often as possible.
