Trainee Blog - Jacqui Barr

Jacqui is a second year trainee at Rollits in Hull. Her current seat is in the Property Department. Below, she gives us her account of what it’s like to be a trainee at Rollits, along with her blog about life at Rollits!

May 2011

This month I was involved in the Hull Jane Tomlinson 10K. Rollits entered a team to take part in the corporate challenge. Although I hadn’t initially agreed to be a team member I was recruited to take part at the last minute due to a colleague having an injury. I was particularly worried as I had done no training but the actual day was really fun. We all had our team photos taken and there was a great atmosphere amongst all the participants. Our team did great and we all managed to finish within a respectable time. I would definitely do it again next year.

April 2011

This month I have been able to do a mixture of both residential and commercial property work. I have been involved in drafting Landlord and Tenant Notices and have undertaken various types of research on subjects such as possessory titles. I have undertaken lots of tasks such as reviewing title deeds and advising clients as to the extent of their boundaries and who should bear the onus of maintaining these boundaries. I have also recently been conducting investigations in relation to potentially contaminated land which is bringing a great deal of diversity to my days in my property seat.

March 2011

I have begun my final seat in the property department. It has been a while since I have done any property law. Although I did touch on some property law whilst in my seat with the Dispute Resolution department. So far I have been asked to search through lots of old property deeds to ascertain whether a property benefits from a right to light easement and ensuring that clients are protected potential chancel liability claims.

I have quickly found that a lot of time is spent searching through title deeds and determining the extent of land for the purposes of registration. It’s still early days in this department and I can safely say I have plenty of work to be getting on with.

February 2011

It’s the last month of my seat in the Corporate department and I have just been told that I shall be moving into the Property department for my final seat at the firm. I am quite excited although nervous as it feels like a lifetime ago since I studied property Law at the LPC. I have to say that I have enjoyed my time in the Corporate department and feel that it has drawn my knowledge and experience gained in my previous seats together. Although I was nervous about beginning my time in the Corporate department everyone has been so helpful and ready to answer any questions that I had. Much of my last week here has been finishing off work and clearing out my desk before I go!

January 2011

Christmas seems like such a long time ago and it is only mid January. Still, I feel refreshed after the Christmas break and I am looking forward to the New Year ahead at Rollits. I returned from the Christmas period and picked up where I left off in December. I have had no shortage of work and have been drafting Instructions to Counsel for our Employment Department on a very interesting constructive dismissal case. However, on the corporate side of my seat I have been drafting documentation to aid in the completion of a loan facility agreement. Being involved in the banking and finance aspect of the Corporate Department has provided me with invaluable understanding and experience. I like the diversity afforded in this seat and I actually look forward to coming to work to get stuck in. I only have two months left in the corporate department and intend to make the most of it.

December 2010

Its Christmas time at the office and everyone is really getting into the Christmas spirit. However, the Corporate department shows no signs of slowing down for the Christmas holidays. We have a huge transaction currently on the go and I don’t think I have been quite so busy since I came to the Corporate department. Unfortunately however, I think I will miss the completion of the transaction as I am due to go on two weeks annual leave. I would have preferred to see the transaction through but working on this project has provided me with invaluable experience which I am grateful for. However, I am looking forward to my Christmas holidays and look forward to returning refreshed in the New Year.

November 2010

I am now half way through my corporate seat and enjoying the variation of tasks assigned to me. Most corporate tasks involve carrying out company searches and reviewing a company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association. I have been involved in drafting Deeds and attending meetings with clients. I am really impressed with the degree of care and precision the corporate team apply when conducting due diligence in respect of a transaction. I was recently assigned a task in relation to due diligence which involved scrutinising every single page of several bundles relating to a transaction in order to ensure that they were correctly compiled and complete. This took me somewhere in the region of ten hours to do.

I have undertaken much research not only for the corporate department but also for our commercial department. This has allowed me to see how both our Corporate and Commercial teams complement each other when carrying out a client’s instructions as the work can often filter through to both departments.

I have even been given the opportunity to work on matters within our Employment department. I thoroughly enjoy this aspect of my seat. I find the clients are interesting as they are often individuals who are experiencing difficulties relating to their employment and the subject matter of this work can be quite emotive.

The fact that I have been lucky enough to experience work across these three departments has given me invaluable experience and brought even more diversity to my training contract than I initially imagined.

September 2010

I have now commenced my third seat in our Corporate/Commercial department. I find that seat changes are a bit like starting a whole new job, different people and a very different subject altogether. Overall however, I have found the work ethos of the firm remains quite the same throughout each department. I was a little worried at starting my new seat as it is now over three years ago that I finished the LPC. The last time I studied company law the Companies Act 1985 was in force. The Act has now been updated and many changes have been enforced by the Companies Act 2006. I was concerned that my knowledge of Company Law was very outdated. However, Rollits has many legal update sources that I am able to refer to which has made my transition much easier and actually, I needn’t had worried at all. It has only been two weeks into my new seat and so far I’m enjoying the work content and the work pace and have been quite surprised how settled I am after such a short time.

August 2010

It is coming up to the end of my first year as a trainee in September and I have been a long time settled in at Rollits. I have learnt so much in what seems to be such a short space of time, most importantly how much value the firm places on team work, effective communication with fellow colleagues and the sharing of `Know how`. Rollits is also keen to share its knowledge with clients by inviting them to seminars which informs them on legal updates that affect their business or even private life. The firm also invites clients to networking events allowing us to gain an in depth understanding into client`s businesses and operations thus enabling the firm to look after their needs on a much more informed level. I feel that attending these events as a trainee has benefited myself greatly in understanding the service that clients expect from Rollits and consider this invaluable experience. I feel privileged to have gained such a fantastic opportunity to complete my training contract with Rollits as I know I now have a strong foundation on which to build my Law career.

It is also my last month in Dispute Resolution, my second seat, and I can`t believe how quickly my six months in this department has flown by. This department has left a good impression on me and has given me a taste for the contentious side of the law. I have considered the possibility of pursuing this area of law after I qualify. The broad nature of the work covered constantly keeps me motivated as each day can bring varied types of work such as researching property related matters to attending hearings at court. Although I am looking forward to my next seat I will be sad to leave Dispute Resolution as I have had the opportunity to work on interesting cases and unfortunately won`t be able to see them through to the end. However, I am looking forward to my second year and hope that it will be as thought provoking and as exciting as my first year.