Joshua Hobson – Trainee Blog

January 2023

January has seen me settle back into the corporate team and has been a busy month.

During the month I have attended numerous client meetings/calls and have drafted and amended a range of documents including APA’s. The month has also seen me researching a range of topics, including accounting requirements under the Companies Act 2006 and re-registering a public company as a private company.

This month has also seen me exploring the use of ChatGPT, the latest AI software craze. Whilst my use of the software has so far been limited, and admittedly, needs improvement to ensure optimum results, the responses that I have seen generated from the software have been amazing.

December 2022

The last month of the year, and my time within the dispute team has seen me carry out several research tasks including looking into detail about TPO offences. As the month draws to a close I have moved back into the corporate team and will remain here until I qualify.

Away from the office, I have had several Christmas meals to attend which have kept me busy and got me in the Christmas spirit by over-indulging on food and alcohol!

November 2022

During November I attended Northumbria University Careers Fair. It was really nice to speak to the students that attended, both generally about their course as well as about a career in law.

Back in the office I have assisted in a dispute regarding repair obligations within a lease. The terminology of such clauses are very important as to the scope of the obligation involved. In this case, the terminology suggested that the meaning was narrower than the landlord was insisting upon.  I have also taken numerous enquiries from potential clients. These are always interesting as you do not know what they will entail or what the person calling will be like.

November has also marked the start of the Christmas celebrations with the firm holding their annual event at the Hilton, and of course, I have taken it upon myself to keep the floor informed of the World Cup scores by having a wall chart by my desk!

October 2022

October has seen me settle into the DR team. During this time I have been given numerous tasks including drafting chronologies, DQs as well as assisting colleagues with various research tasks. I have also undertaken some of my PSC courses which are a mandatory requirement to complete.  During the month I also attended some of the Waterline Summit 2022 events. These provided a useful insight into commercial developments concerning the local area.  I ended the month by taking a trip to Berlin with my friends which provided a good time to relax and recharge.

September 2022

September marks my one year anniversary at Rollits and means that I am now half way through my training contract. This presents a good opportunity for reflection and I have certainly learnt a lot over the previous 12 months and have built on numerous skills that I had been developing during my academic studies.  September also marks the start of a new seat; I am now in the dispute resolution team. I am looking forward to what the coming months will bring as this area encompasses a wide range of law.  So far I have assisted in several research tasks; including landlord duties of care, TPO’s, deemed delivery as well as case law on pre-action protocols as well as attending a court hearing, amongst other things.

August 2022

August represents my final month within the employment team and on the company/commercial floor. I have really enjoyed my time over the last 6 months. The end of this seat also represents the half-way point of my training contract.

During this month I have assisted on several research tasks; including on the distinction between a service occupancy and a service tenancy as well as potential industrial action in the absence of a trade union. I have also assisted in the drafting of several documents such as employment contracts and attended numerous client meetings, which have covered a range of topics.

During my time within the employment team I have learnt a significant amount having gone into the department with little to no knowledge of employment law. It has been a very different experience to my time in property and corporate, with employment law relying on case law much more and therefore this has presented different challenges when trying to find answers to my research tasks.

My next seat will be within the dispute resolution team, an area in which I have a limited understanding of from my LPC so I look forward to learning more new things and widening my knowledge.

July 2022

July was an annual leave sandwich for me in the employment department as it both started and ended with me being on annual leave. It was nice to have some time away from work to relax after a busy half of the year.

During the month I have assisted on a variety of research tasks including holiday pay for part-year workers which is an area of law which has undergone recent case law development and therefore it was important we informed our client of this and the implications that it would have for them.

Rollits also held their annual Golf Charity Day as well as having a stall at the Driffield Show. Two events in which I assisted and it was good to get more exposure to clients, most of which I had not met before.

June 2022

June has seen me combine my time working on both employment and corporate matters as I help tidy up those corporate matters I had been assisting on.

My work for employment has so far consisted of a lot of research tasks, though I have had the opportunity to be involved in several client meetings; one surrounding a tribunal and the other concerning settlement agreements. This first month has therefore seen me involved in a wide range of employment concerns and has helped to build my knowledge seeing as this is an area of law which I have very little knowledge of.

June also saw Humber Business Week occur and the firm encourage all of us to make the most of this week and the events that were held. I attended numerous events during the week and all provided benefits of learning new skills and expanding my network.

At the end of June I went on holiday to Genoa so it was nice to have some time away and come back refreshed.

May 2022

May has been an extremely busy month for me and the corporate team. It has seen me attend several meetings and assist on several transactions to help progress them.

I have drafted my first Instructions to Counsel this month to help resolve some shareholding anomalies as well as assisting in the drafting of other corporate documents such as minutes, resolutions and SPA’s.

This has been my final month within the team and I move over to the employment team for the next three months so I am looking forward to what that will bring.

April 2022

My workload for the month has remained high and again this has seen the variety of work coming my way increase. April has also seen me participate in several client meetings covering differing topics. Each has been a good experience to have to aid my learning and I have been given numerous follow up tasks.

I have drafted a range of documents including sponsorship agreements, NDA’s and reorganisation documents as well as undertook several research tasks including on the Academisation process.

Outside of work I have also participated in several business development events, notably the Hull University Law Society Law Ball and the Bridges Charity Quiz which sought to raise money for The Bridges which is part of the Forward Trust. They seek to help men, although when they move to their new facility, women also, address and recover from addiction. It is a very notable cause and I was happy to have helped in their fundraising effort this year.

March 2022

March has seen me move onto my second seat within the Company-Commercial team and therefore marks my seventh month at the firm, I cannot believe how fast the time has gone!

Despite only being in the department for a few weeks I have been given a wide variety of drafting work including advice notes on assets purchases and shareholders agreements as well legal documents such as asset transfers between a general partnership to an LLP and deeds of retirement and appointment. This has seen me receive lots of constructive feedback which will aid my development over the remainder of the seat. As well as drafting, I have been given numerous research tasks ranging from Charity issues such as incorporation questions to Commercial issues such as GDPR and non-compete questions.

It has been interesting to see how the different areas overlap with each other and the variety of work has ensured that each day has been different with new challenges. I have also found that my electives chosen during my LPC have helped give me a good base to work from within this department and have helped me have more confidence in the work that I am delivering.

I am looking forward to seeing how my work evolves over the coming months!

February 2022

January has been my busiest month so far and February represents the last month in the property department for me. I have really enjoyed my time within this department and will certainly miss those that I have worked alongside daily for the last 6 months.

This month has seen my workload following similar trends to the last few, increasing in diversity and volume. This has given me the opportunity to work alongside colleagues that I had yet to work with. This has also continued to see me having to deal with complex SDLT issues and make lots of Land Registry applications.

With this being my last month it is incredible to reflect on how fast the past 6 months have gone. During this time I have developed my key skills drastically which will help me when I move into my new department which will be company/commercial. I am excited to be moving to this seat as I have always been more interested in these areas throughout my studies.

January 2022

January has been my busiest month so far and the cobwebs after the Christmas break have well and truly been blown away.

This month has seen me be involved pushing several matters over the line to completion as well as assisting in complex leasehold and freehold transactions. This has resulted in me having to do lots of research into topics such as when SDLT exemptions will be available.

The firm also had its AGM this month which gave me the opportunity to meet more of my co-workers, most of whom have largely been working from home but also gave me the opportunity to meet those who work at the York office.

I now move into my last month in the property department and cannot believe how fast the time has gone, although I am excited to find out which seat I will move into next.