Work Experience Blog - Jo Fletcher

August 2010

I found the two weeks that I spent at Rollits to be an invaluable experience that has instilled my desire to attain a training contract with a predominantly commercial law firm. The morning of the first day was spent getting to know my work experience friends, meeting all of the staff and being shown around the vast premises of the Hull office.

In the first week I was part of the Dispute Resolution and Property Teams. I spent time drafting statements of case, putting together trial bundles and researching often complex and specific points of law. I was treated as one of the team and attended departmental meetings with the partners, solicitors and trainees so that I had a feel of the work that was going on around the office. I also attended a client-focus meeting which is designed to educate all solicitors at the firm of the key clients that Rollits has dealings with.

My second week was spent in the Employment and Private Capital departments with one day spent in the York office. I attended an Employment Tribunal to observe a Pre-Hearing Review, amended precedent documents to comply with client instructions and gave a marketing presentation with some of my fellow work experience colleagues. I particularly found the end of placement presentation to be informative and enjoyable.

Throughout the two weeks we were informed of the administration, accounting and IT systems that the firm has in place through talks by members of the non-legal management team. This enabled us to have an insight into how a law firm manages its affairs as a business, as well as providing legal services.

There is a stark contrast between the two offices in terms of size and layout. But what was immediately clear was the help and support that was provided by all members of staff from the second I walked through the door. Everybody in the firm knew my name and said hello and goodbye to me which helped me to settle in. I felt I could approach members of staff to ask for tasks and for help if I was struggling.

I would encourage all potential trainees with an interest in studying a wide range of practice areas to apply for a work experience placement at Rollits and to experience the friendly atmosphere and hospitality that I did.