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Sarah is a first year trainee at Rollits in Hull. Sarah's current seat is in the Employment Group. |
March / April 2012
I have now settled into my second seat in the Company Commercial department, in which I am part of the Employment team. I took a two week holiday in March, so I ensured that I had tied up any loose ends before I left the office. The Employment work is very interesting and varied. Over both March and April I have been involved in researching the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employees (TUPE) regulations. I have also attended a number of client meetings where I have been asked to take notes. I have drafted contracts of employment and been asked to review Staff Handbooks to ensure they are up to date with recent legislation. I have also assisted in preparing bundles for upcoming tribunal hearings; so hopefully I will be attending a hearing soon!
Rollits hold an annual Employment Law Update for clients, so I assisted with this seminar in both Hull and York. I found the seminar very informative and it gave me the opportunity to meet some of our employment clients. The seminar was very interactive; with clients asking questions and putting our lawyers on the spot. Rollits got really positive feedback; the clients found it beneficial, and came away with very practical sound advice.
February 2012
This month was my last in the property department and I was kept very busy. A lot of the transactions that I had been involved in were nicely coming to an end, therefore before I moved seats I concluded some of these matters. I also attended the College of Law in York for the Financial and Business Skills module of the Professional Skills Course with the other first year trainees at the firm. This part of the course was examinable so I had to do some revision which felt strange! In relation to Professional Development undertaken, I attended the Chartered Institute of Tax lectures on Accumulation and Maintenance Trusts and Capital Allowances this month. I also attended a webinar on Financial Promotions and an employment law seminar on Restrictive Covenants in contracts. Rollits hosted a lunch for members of the Hull Chamber of Commerce and Patricia Hewitt was a guest. We also had University of York students’ visit our Hull office and we were asked to meet and greet them, and give them a tour of the office. We also took them out to lunch which gave them the opportunity to ask us questions about life as a trainee.
January 2012
January has gradually picked up and I have seen a few new matters come in. I also attended the first part of the Professional Skills Course at York. As part of your training contract you are required to attend and complete this course; therefore you have to be organised and leave file notes for colleagues when you are out of the office!
December 2011
During December I have had the opportunity to see a few matters that I’ve been working on exchange and complete. This has enabled me to see a typical property transaction develop through from the early stages to post-completion. I have also been involved in the drafting of Stamp Duty Land Tax returns for a portfolio of properties; some of which were subject to tax relief. Furthermore, I completed the applications to the Land Registry to register the above portfolio of properties, which nicely closed the matter before the Christmas period. Other tasks I’ve been given during the December month include drafting a renewal lease by reference to an existing lease, carrying out reports on title for a number of properties, drafting a sale agreement and researching the procedure for a planning appeal.
Rollits arranged a firm Christmas party at the Country Park Inn which was an eventful night, and we also had a departmental meal at Garbutts which allowed us all to socialise out of the office.
Between Christmas and New Year the office was open for business, it was however relatively quiet, which allowed me to catch up on a few tasks that I was given before Christmas!
November 2011
I am now half way through my first seat at Rollits. The department has remained busy, and I have been involved in several new purchase matters. I have been asked to open these new matters, draft the engagement letter to the client, carry out searches and draft the report on title. I also assisted in the drafting of the contract for the sale of some agricultural land, which is hoping to exchange by the end of the month. It has been very interesting to see how each matter progresses and the various stages in a property transaction. I am also in the process of voluntarily registering land at the Land Registry; this involves reading the historical deeds and conveyances and seeing how the ownership of the property has passed hands.
I also attended a careers fair at the College of Law in York this month. I spoke to many LPC and GDL students about obtaining work experience placements and training contracts, this gave me the opportunity to represent and raise the profile of the firm.
October 2011
The past few weeks have flown by in the property department. I have been relatively busy on a number of different matters; these have ranged from opening new files to completing the registration of properties at the Land Registry. I have also been asked to carry out research into Stamp Duty Land Tax and the availability of group relief for companies.
Outside of work, I attended the annual Law Society ball at the beginning of the month, which gave me the opportunity to socialise with colleagues and other local lawyers. More recently, I was a member of the Rollits team which participated in the Corporate Sports Challenge; an event organised by the Humber Sports Partnership which consisted of a number of sports games in which we competed. Unfortunately we didn’t win, but it was an enjoyable event and allowed us to raise the profile of the firm and to network with businesses in the local area.
September 2011
I started my training contract on the 5th September so have just about settled in to my first seat in Commercial Property. I have spent the first few weeks attending various training sessions ranging from IT and administration to marketing. I have also attended a few seminars outside of office hours, including an interesting legislative update on the Bribery Act 2010 held my members of different departments within the firm. Within the Commercial Property department I have carried out various tasks. This has included making several applications such as the completion and submission of SDLT returns to HM Revenue and Customs, applications to change the register, and an application to enter a unilateral notice. I have also been asked to draft a few licenses; namely to assign and underlet. More recently, I have assisted in the completion of a property, where I was required to organise the transfer of the completion monies and liaise with the Seller's solicitor to ensure that the process ran as smoothly as possible. I have noticed that Rollits really do operate an open door policy- this was something I felt apprehensive about but from the first day I was made to feel very welcome by everyone. I am really enjoying my first seat so far, and am looking forward to seeing how some of the larger transactions develop and progress through to completion.
| Trainees |
| Samantha Pullen |
| Jonathan Ho |
| Joe Healey |
| David White |
| Sarah Greendale |
| Work Experience |
| Libby Clarkson |
| Nathan Gee |
| Adam Smith |
| Natalie Bartlett |
| Komal Sehgal |
| Jo Fletcher |
