Molly Bloom – Trainee Blog

November 2023

I have had the chance to draft more documents in November, including LPAs, wills and trust deeds. I have also drafted the correspondence to advise clients in relation to these documents. As part of drafting some wills I have also submitted applications to the land registry in order to sever the joint tenancy and ensure the property can pass according to the terms of the will rather than the automatic right of survivorship.

In terms of business development I have also attended the Hull University careers fair in November. I completed my degree at Hull University so it was good to return and speak to current students and help with any questions they had regarding the route to becoming a solicitor.

I am looking forward to celebrating the Christmas season with colleagues this week at the Rollits Employee forum Christmas event.

October 2023

I have had a busy month with my second month in the Private Capital department. I have had the chance to draft more complicated documents, including Wills with Immediate Post Death Interest Trusts. There has also been lots of opportunities to draft Lasting Powers of Attorneys and I have seen the importance of having these documents in place.

I have also attended many more client meetings in order to take instructions and sign final documents. I am enjoying the client facing aspect of this department, it is good to meet the individuals who you are working for and helpful to understand the background to the matters.

At the start of the month I also attended the Hull Young Professionals masquerade ball with colleagues. It was a great event and provided a good opportunity to network with other young professionals in the area.

September 2023

September has been my first month in Private Client department. Everyone has been really welcoming and helped me get involved with a variety of matters. I have attended a lot of client meetings to take instructions for Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney or for final signatures of documents.

I have drafted a variety of different documents, including Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorneys for both health and welfare and property and finance. I am looking forward to gaining more experience in this department and learning how to draft more complicated Wills and other documents.

This month the Rollits Employee Forum organised a summer walk around Brantingham with tea at The Triton Inn. It was a good opportunity to catch up with colleagues outside of the work setting. I also attended the MacMillan coffee morning at our York office. It was great to be involved in the team fundraising effort for such a good cause.

August 2023

August has been my final month in the Company, Commercial & Employment seat - I can’t believe how quickly 6 months has passed! My final month has involved a range of work for both the corporate and employment department.

In terms of corporate work I have drafted board minutes and written resolutions in order for different transactions to progress. In the employment department I have undertaken research in relation to remote working and the need for sponsor licences, the ill health capability dismissal procedure and drafting a company secretary letter of appointment. In terms of client meetings in the employment department, I have attended some settlement agreement legal advice meetings and meetings with clients regarding next steps in the dismissal process.

I also attended the Hull Young Professionals Summer BBQ networking event with some colleagues. It was good to spend time with people outside of work and network with other young professionals in the local area.

I have really enjoyed working with, and learning a lot about the different departments in the company commercial seat. I’m looking forward to getting started in my new seat, Private Capital, next month.

July 2023

In the employment department I have conducted some research on the IR35 rules and the implications on employment status. I have also researched issues on Data Subject Access Requests and the relevant provisions of the GDPR.

I have had the opportunity to draft ancillary documents for different corporate matters and client correspondence for the employment team. I have also been involved in intellectual property matters and had the opportunity to draft a trademark licence and review further licences, noting potential amendments.

This month I had the chance to attend some additional events, providing me with a networking opportunity, such as the Rollits Annual Charity golf day and Driffield show. I also attended the careers fair at Archbishop Sentamu Academy to help answer any questions from the students about the route to becoming a solicitor.

June 2023

This month has been busy with research and drafting tasks from the employment team. I have researched aspects including the transferor’s obligations in a TUPE transfer in relation to the provision of employee liability information, umbrella companies and managed service companies and how these can affect the employment status’ of individuals and looking at the statutory minimum legal requirements of a settlement agreement.

In the corporate department I have drafted some ancillary documents for the purchase of the share capital of a company. I have also researched the documents needed for a share buyback and after receiving feedback on this, I drafted the required documents for the first stage.

Humber Business Week was held this month where the trainees attended some interesting events. Rollits held an event “Corporate Culture - why it matters and how to build it,” which discussed some important aspects of a healthy workplace environment for employees to feel valued and supported. I also attended a session on mental health in the workplace and received training delivered by Hull and East Yorkshire Mind, in order to challenge stigma and promote positive mental health culture at work. These were important events with lots of useful insights and provided a chance to network with others working in and around Hull.

Rollits also volunteered at the Macmillan Charity Race day at York on Saturday 17th June. This was a great day spent with colleagues outside of work, raising money for an important charity.

May 2023

This month for the corporate department I have spent time drafting documents for the subdivision and allotment of shares. I have also attended some charity client meetings including trustee meetings considering grant applications, and considering whether to register as a charity and discussing the implications of this. It was good experience to be involved in the client meetings and get more of an understanding of the different structures available for charities and any advantages and disadvantages of these.

In the employment department I have been researching various matters including the requirements to mitigate loss when claiming unfair dismissal and the implications of accepting other job roles. I have also spent time using the information on Companies House to determine the group structure of companies, including any subsidiaries and holding companies.

I attended the office Elevenses at the start of the month to celebrate the King’s Coronation with colleagues and took part in the Coronation quiz.

April 2023

I have had more experience researching different employment law matters this month. This has included research on details of the TUPE Regulations, the use of actual and hypothetical comparators in direct discrimination claims and what may constitute reasonable adjustments.

I had the opportunity to attend a Charity trustee meeting and it was interesting to see the format and discussions within these meetings and to be involved with the follow up work. For the Charity department I also worked on drafting the CIO foundation constitution for registration at the Charity Commission.

Corporate work has included drafting Lost Share Certificate Indemnities, Stock Transfer Forms, Board Minutes, Share Certificates and Written Resolutions for a share for share exchange matter.

I enjoyed attending the Hull Young Professionals Event at Beverley Races this week with other Trainees from Rollits and having the opportunity to network with people in similar roles within the area and with people working within different industries.

March 2023

March has been my first month in my new seat - Company / Commercial and Employment. Everyone has been really welcoming and helpful. In terms of Corporate work, I have had experience drafting Board Minutes, Written Resolutions, Lost Share Certificate Indemnities and Stock Transfer Forms.

In the Employment department I have undertaken various research tasks based on areas such as the requirements of a redundancy pool, the impact of tax on settlement payments, how job roles can be implied into contracts of employment and the potentially fair reasons for dismissal under the category of Some Other Substantial Reason.

I have also had some work to do for the Charities department including drafting AP01 forms to appoint directors and TM01 forms for the termination of appointment of directors.

I am enjoying the varied work and looking forward to learning more across the different departments.

February 2023

February is my last month in the Property department and I cannot believe how quickly my time in my first seat of my training contract has gone. I have had a lot more varied experience in my final month of the Property seat and after having drafting various documents for a transfer and seeing the matter progress, it was exciting to have completed the transaction and deal with the post completion steps.

I have also attended a client meeting and been lucky to have the experience of sitting in 2 conference calls with Counsel to take notes in order to establish the next steps for the client to take. It was really interesting to see the detailed discussion on the intricacies of the law.

Further research tasks have centered around Stamp Duty Land Tax and whether any relief is available for these payments, researching the assignment provisions of an abstraction licence and the importance of determining which party is the “competent landlord” for the purposes of serving a s26 notice under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Drafting tasks have included a deed of release of restrictive covenants, a report on title to address any important aspects of the property which is being transferred and land registry forms for various applications.

I have really enjoyed my time in the Property department and am grateful for the wide ranging experience I have gained. I’m looking forward to starting my new seat next week in the company & commercial department.

January 2023

January has been another very busy month in the Property department and I have been involved with various transactions at different stages. I have been given the opportunity to draft different documents including transfers of part, overage agreements, a licence to assign and SDLT returns which are payable on completion of certain transactions. I have also drafted documents for land registry applications, including noting easements on a title and removing unilateral notices from the title.

I have undertaken different research on matters such as a Land Registry restriction in relation to the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022, the removal of deeds of easements from title registers and the Review of Old Mines and Minerals Provisions and in what circumstances compensation may be payable under these provisions.

The Rollits Annual General Meeting was held at the MKM this month. This was a really good experience to work with other people in the firm who I have not had the chance to work with yet. It was good to be involved with everyone working towards promoting the positive culture at Rollits.

November 2022

November has been a busy month for me in the Property department. I have had various drafting and research exercises across the full department. Drafting exercises have included underleases, replies to requisition, TR1s, UT1 for the upgrade of title, statements of truth, client letters and a licence to assign. The research tasks have revolved around aspects such as SDLT payable on second properties, SDLT payable on the purchase of leasehold properties and the registration of car parking rights. I have also submitted local searches.

I have been lucky to see the progression of a purchase of a development site. With this I have been reviewing documents such as collateral warranties, drafting rent authority letters and learning about the structure of concurrent leases.

October 2022

I have been faced with a wider range of tasks in October in the Property Department. Much of my work has included drafting exercises, including a Licence to Assign, a Licence for Alterations, a contract for sale of a property subject to a lease and a tenancy and drafting lease reports. I have also drafted a TP1 form and had to consider the different covenants required. I have received useful feedback on these drafting exercises which I will be able to use in the upcoming months in the Property Department.

I have also spent some time drafting SDLT returns and calculating the SDLT due on different transactions. I spent some time researching this topic and watching a webinar on the different reliefs which could potentially be available in certain situations, as this is useful knowledge to have when dealing with property transactions.

Rollits had a ‘Wear It Pink’ day in October in support of the Breast Cancer Now Charity. A raffle was held and together we raised £240.

September 2022

I am coming to the end of my first month in the Property department and have already been given various tasks to complete. I have been assisting with a First Registration of land applications. This was a compulsory first registration since the ownership of the land was being transferred. The process of registering the land required me to draft different forms, including a First Registration, draft a document list, conduct a search of the index map and land charges searches. It was useful to see the process of a First Registration of land in practice after briefly studying it at University.

I have also carried out various research tasks regarding areas such as SDLT, the availability of Multiple Dwelling Relief and the required address for service of a notice to exclude the security of tenure provisions of LTA 1954. I have received useful feedback from these exercises to help me to improve my researching and drafting skills further in the future.

I have also attended a lunch and learn session on capital allowances and I am looking forward to the Employee Forum event at the end of the month, involving pizza at the office and a crazy golf competition to spend time with colleagues outside of the work environment.