Trainee Blog - Jonathan Ho

Jonathan is a second year trainee at Rollits in Hull. Jonathan’s current seat is in the Dispute Resolution Department. Below, he gives us his blog about what it is like to be a trainee at Rollits!

December 2011 / January 2012

Apart from the 2.5 work days between Christmas and New Year, these past two months have been particularly busy. One of the highlights was speaking before a District Judge at a hearing in Hull County Court; this was my first experience of advocacy outside the classroom, and so it was particularly memorable. Other interesting tasks have included drafting Instructions to Counsel and a Part 36 Offer. I have also been invited to attend a mediation in the offices of a major law firm, where I will have the opportunity to meet all the parties, together with their representatives and experts, and will be expected to take a detailed note of the negotiations. Overall, I am finding this seat far more enjoyable than I originally anticipated.

November 2011

This month I have been given the opportunity to draft a number of legal documents, including a defence and counterclaim, witness statement and case summary. I particularly enjoy these tasks because they enable me understand all the facts and issues of the case. In addition, there are a number of files where I am now involved during each stage of the dispute, including client contact.

Apart from my work in the department, I have helped organise a pool tournament for trainees and young solicitors in Hull, and I also helped out at a wine tasting event at my firm where I was given the opportunity to talk to clients.

October 2011

This month I have had the opportunity to attend a short application hearing and also a two day trial in a case concerning advertising. On both occasions my role was to listen carefully and to take detailed notes of what was said. Until now, I had not attended court as part of my training, and so it was particularly exciting.

I also went to the College of Law, Moorgate, to complete two elective modules on the Professional Skills Course, namely Civil Litigation Drafting Skills and Advanced Communication Skills. Whilst the firm gives us the choice of which electives to take, I felt that these modules would be of particular relevance to my current seat. Neither of these modules included any pre-reading, so I simply turned up on the day and participated in all the activities. Having already completed all of the compulsory modules, I now have only to complete two more elective modules, and this can be done at any time before I qualify in September next year.

September 2011

I have now moved to my third seat, namely Dispute Resolution. Interestingly, a significant number of my files relate to property disputes, such as issues regarding rights of way and the termination of leases, and so I am glad that I have previously spent six months in the Property department. This month I have also been elected as President of the Hull and District Junior Lawyers' Division, and so I will play a much greater role in organising events for trainees and newly qualified solicitors in the local area in the year to come.

August 2011

It is now the end of August and I have reached the end of my corporate seat, which means that I have now completed 50 per cent of my training contract. One of the highlights of this month was attending an AGM. This was a great opportunity to meet the directors, shareholders and other stakeholders of a client and to improve my understanding of their business. Next week I will be moving to dispute resolution, which I expect will be quite different from property and corporate.

June/July 2011

As we enter into the summer months, many colleagues and clients are on holiday and so it is much quieter in the office. I myself have recently taken a two-week break. This does not necessarily mean that the workload is any less, as I often receive work passed on from absent colleagues. I have recently been involved in a security refinancing which involved scrutinising a large number of documents. I particularly enjoy the banking aspect of my current seat and find it far more exciting than the Banking & Debt Financing elective on the LPC.

May 2011

I have now reached the half-way point of my second seat, which also means that I have completed one third of my training contract. This month I have been given more research tasks, including the interpretation of various Companies Act provisions, the Corporate Governance Code, specialist tax provisions and public companies. Overall, I am really enjoying this seat.

April 2011

Having been absent from the office for a number of days last month in order to attend the Professional Skills Course, I have finally been able to settle down in my corporate seat. I have done significantly more drafting compared with my previous seat, and this has included drafting articles of association, minutes and resolutions, Companies House forms, stock transfer forms, statutory books, shareholders’ agreements, sale and purchase agreements and loan agreements. I am glad that I chose to study private acquisitions and debt finance on the LPC in addition to Business Law and Practice as they have been very particularly relevant to the work which I have come across.

I have also helped arrange a number of seminars and have represented my firm at a quiz organised by the local Law Society branch.

March 2011

I have now moved on to my second seat which is Company & Commercial. This department is split into three teams, namely corporate, commercial and employment. I am seated with the corporate team, but I am occasionally involved in the work of the other teams. Changing seats is rather like starting a new job. Nonetheless, this is the seat which I have looked forward to most, as I really enjoyed the corporate law modules during my law degree and the LPC.

For much of this month I have been away on the Professional Skills Course (PSC), which is a compulsory part of the training contract. The PSC consists of 12 days of classes spread out across the 2 year training contract. There is also an exam, but students are given plenty of help beforehand. Overall, it was a good opportunity to network with trainees from other local firms and it was nice to be a student again for a few days.

I also received my first formal appraisal earlier this month. This is done at the end of each seat, and is in addition to the informal feedback which I receive on a regular basis.

February 2011

I have now completed my first seat in Property. At this stage I am doing most of the day-to-day work on each of my files, including correspondence with clients and other solicitors. The highlight of this month is doing a residential sale and purchase for a client. Up until now virtually all my work has involved either commercial or agricultural property, and so it was interesting to do something different. It will also be useful for when I start buying a property. Overall, I have really enjoyed my first seat. Land law was far from being my favourite subject at university, but I have realised that it is very different in practice and I would be quite happy to qualify into Property.

January 2011

Having now worked for 5 months, I have noticed a gradual change in the nature of my work. When I first started my work consisted of one-off tasks such as completing a single form or an isolated piece of research, after which I would have no further involvement on the file. Nowadays, I am often responsible for the file from start to finish under the supervision of a partner. This increase in responsibility has led to a much better understanding of the clients’ objectives and the purpose behind each individual task. It also means that the work is more interesting. Earlier this month I had my mid-seat appraisal, which is an informal opportunity to discuss my performance and to prepare myself for my formal appraisal at the end of my seat.

December 2010

The first part of this month remained busy in the Property Department. I have now swapped rooms with Christina, but my work continues to be mostly commercial property. My department also organised a Christmas meal followed by drinks; this was a good opportunity to socialise with my colleagues outside office hours. Having only taken a couple of days’ off work during the last three months, I decided to go on holiday for a week just before the Christmas period. Upon my return I felt much refreshed. I was a little concerned that there might be a lack of work during the Christmas period, but I was pleased to find a reasonable pile of work on my desk upon my return. The period between Christmas and the New Year is very different to the ordinary working day. It is much quieter, which means fewer telephone calls or other interruptions. Also, since many of my colleagues are out of the office, I have to check their e-mails and respond to any urgent requests.

November 2010

The past month has been very busy in the Property Department. I have been involved in some big property transactions which taken up a lot of time outside usual office hours. I am also gradually being given more responsibility in the running of smaller transactions, including client contact. What I like most about being a trainee is that I always learn something new each day.

Outside the office, I have had the privilege of attending the Hymers College Careers Convention and my firm has also organised a table for the Old Hymerians’ Association Annual Dinner later this month.

October 2010

It has now been two months since I started my training contract at Rollits. My first seat is in the Property Department, and I share an office with a partner, which is a beneficial because it enables me to observe and pick up a lot of important skills such as client contact.

So far, I have been given a wide variety of tasks, which have included drafting leases and transfers, registering documents at the Land Registry, SDLT returns and legal research. Each task each has a different deadline and is set by a different person in the department; I often have around 10 tasks at any one time, and so it is essential that I prioritise each one according to its deadline.

I have found the material covered on the LPC to be of great assistance in understanding the basic principles of the work undertaken in my department. Furthermore, there are numerous practice guides which I can refer to if I am unsure. But most importantly, I have found that my colleagues are always available if ever I need help.

Outside office hours, the Hull Branch of the Junior Lawyers’ Division organises monthly drinks and other social events which enable me to meet trainees and newly qualified solicitors from other firms in the area.

Overall, I am really enjoying my training contract so far and I look forward to the rest of my time in the firm.