Training Focus
The major opportunities lie within the commercial area. Initial preferences are taken into account in planning training programmes, which are agreed at the beginning of the training contract and remain flexible. It may be that a trainee wishes to gain experience in an area not originally planned; or extend or reduce the time with a particular team; or, as often happens, return to a team where it is recognised his or her real interest lies.
Early experience of commercial work is seen as desirable in helping trainees gain awareness of the management experience and skills that are so vital in running a law firm and in whichever specialism is eventually adopted. That, of course, is because we are a business and the law embraces the very fundamentals of business.
Trainees are directly involved with company formations, acquisitions, disposals, management buy-outs, commercial land and property acquisitions, residential and commercial development and planning issues, environmental matters, business and personal tax planning, wills, trusts and probate, and a complete range of medical negligence and personal injury claims.
What You Can Expect
Responsibility is immediate, with trainees drafting documents, visiting clients, and attending meetings from the outset of your training contract. The responsibility for training rests with the partners heading their respective specialist teams, so the partners take a real interest in the trainee’s progress.
There is a focus on developing a good personal relationship between you and other members of the teams, and an awareness that as a newcomer to the legal profession there is much to learn and a good deal of help may be needed, especially in the early stages.
