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Ben McFeely is a first year trainee at Rollits in Hull.
Ben's current seat is in Property.
Below, he gives us his account of what it's like to be a trainee at Rollits, along with his description of a typical day in the life at work! |
I have now been a trainee with Rollits for two weeks but my career with Rollits now dates back over a year.
I took part in a summer work placement with the firm in 2006 having completed the LPC at BPP Law School in Leeds the same year. My intention was to join a firm specialising in corporate and commercial work having predominantly taken these modules on the LPC and I was aware of Rollits' impressive reputation in this field in Hull and York. I was very pleased therefore to find the staff during my work placement friendly and encouraging and I observed that the trainees at the time were allowed genuine responsibility with ample support from senior fee earners. I finished the placement wanting to join the team and so I applied for one of the training contract placements for September 2008.
Following the second interview stage of the application process I was delighted to find out that I had been successful. The firm then contacted me further a couple of months later to offer me a role within their Social Housing department in York as a paralegal. I started this role at the firm in January 2007 and it has proved greatly beneficial. Not only have I got used to the working practices and ethos of the firm but I began to build working relationships with fellow colleagues.
I was then pleased to find out that the firm had decided to bring forward my training contract to start in March 2008 within the property department. This has been a natural progression from my paralegal role as I have obviously gained a certain amount of experience in the area and I have worked alongside the fee earners in the department for over a year.
I have relocated from York to Hull to start the training contract, and it is good to be back having spent 3 years at the University of Hull. The city has changed much since my time as a student with the regeneration of the city centre in full swing. The St Stephens development has brought fresh impetus to the retail options in Hull and new up market housing developments seem to be popping up everywhere. The firms' offices actually sit in the Old Town region of the city centre which was always a particular favourite of mine as a student with many fine restaurants and bars located nearby.
Whilst I have only had a limited time as a trainee so far, I have already experienced a wide range of matters. These include attending a Planning Committee Meeting in Beverley where local Councillors decided upon two significant retail developments in Beverley and the construction of a bypass to the south of Beverley. Being the only attendant from Rollits I had to take a comprehensive note of proceedings for my colleague, which is the kind of responsibility that made the firm stand out to me in the first instance. I have also handled leasehold enfranchisement matters, varying registrations with the Land Registry and was involved in the sale of a property at auction.
A typical day as a trainee is hard to summarise as every day I come into work I cannot be sure what will be expected of me, which serves as a great motivation. I always have a busy caseload and prioritising is a key skill for survival. Senior fee earners have the confidence in trainees to involve them at every stage of their ongoing matters and the open door policy of the firm breeds communication and knowledge management; both factors will prove invaluable in my development as a trainee.
The Junior Lawyers Division in Hull is also very active. Within my first week as a trainee I was persuaded (reluctantly) to take part in a mixed netball tournament with fellow trainees and newly qualified solicitors in the area. Whilst netball isn't my sport of choice the evening was nonetheless very enjoyable and such events provide a great opportunity to build contacts with other young professionals in Hull.
I have so far found the training contract to be a very rewarding experience; I have been made to feel part of the team and am enjoying the varied and challenging workload that Rollits has to offer.
