Trainee diary

January 2010

Soe-Hein Kyi, 2nd Seat Trainee, Parliamentary, Planning and Public Law

Having worked as a Paralegal in the firm prior to starting my traineeship, I was perhaps not as nervous as the majority of trainees on their first day. My previous experience of the firm had taught me that it is friendly, relaxed and supportive of its staff but as my first seat was in the Housing and Regeneration Department, a department which I'd previously not dealt with, my first day as a trainee was still very exciting. I particularly remember savouring the feeling that I had started a new stage in my career.

In my first six months as a trainee in the Housing and Regeneration Department I was involved in a wide variety of work ranging from multi-million pound property transactions for individuals, property developers and housing associations to simpler landlord and tenant queries and disputes. I was given responsibility for many of my own files, which further developed my organisational and time management skills, and I also handled a variety of property purchases from beginning to end. I always felt, however, that I could talk to anyone if I needed any guidance or clarification. The satisfaction of a job well done is its own reward but I admit that the satisfaction I felt at completing a transaction from beginning to end, and the appreciation I received from the clients, was something special.

I am now in the third month of my second seat and I am in the Parliamentary, Planning and Public Law Department. I joined the department whilst they were preparing for the House of Lords committee stage of a private bill and the planning inquiry stage of a Harbour Revision Order so I have gained a lot of experience in some of the department's main areas. The nature of this Department's work means that there are typically a smaller number of active matters than in the Housing Department, but these matters are usually more complex. I have therefore not been given sole responsibility for any files but instead have been assisting solicitors and Partners with their matters. I am very happy with the level of responsibility given to me as I have been heavily involved with the drafting of core documents such as statements of case and proofs of evidence, particularly in relation to the Harbour Revision Order matter.

In relation to socialising, there is an active calendar with firm-wide events held every month or so in addition to the meetings of the various sports teams and the impromptu after-work drinks. We've just had our Christmas Party which was a Masked Ball held in Vinopolis, a stone's throw away from our excellent new offices in London Bridge. The party was a riotous success, the venue, food and drink were all brilliant, however, the dueling male Roman slaves were something of a surprise!

October 2009

Tim Snaith, 3rd Seat Trainee, Employment/Construction Litigation

One of the main reasons I applied for a training contract at Winckworth Sherwood was the firm’s diversity of work. Since starting, I have not been disappointed.

I started my training contract a year ago in the Parliamentary, Planning and Public Law Department. I was fortunate enough to join the department whilst they were preparing for the House of Lords committee stage of a private bill. I was involved in the matter from the outset, attending preparatory meetings with counsel and the client. In the New Year I then spent two weeks in the House of Lords attending the Select Committee and carrying out research during the hearing. This often meant a sprint back to the office to find an answer or relevant document and then another dash back to the House. The chance to work in the department and to prepare for and attend the Select Committee was fascinating and an inspiring opportunity to see the organs of Parliament in operation.

The beginning of my second seat heralded the move of the firm from Westminster to its new home in London Bridge. In the very different and lively surroundings of Borough Market and Southwark Cathedral I moved to a specialised property seat within the Private Client department, dealing with matters such as leasehold enfranchisement, lease extensions and right to manage claims. From the start of the seat I was given my own files to manage and dealt with clients on a one to one basis. The nature and amount of the work I was given, meant I had to learn quickly to manage my work efficiently to ensure that it was prioritised accordingly and the deadlines involved were not missed. Although I felt that I had been given a large amount of responsibility from an early stage, I was always aware that support and supervision was readily available if needed.

Away from the day to day work, the firm encourages you to take on other responsibilities, for example, working with the corporate social responsibility team, playing in the cricket team or organising the annual firm quiz. I took on the captaincy of the firm cricket team last season. This proved to be a great experience both on and off the cricket field. The role involved liaising with clients and colleagues to arrange the fixtures. The matches, usually played on a sunny Thursday afternoon, were always keenly fought and provided an excellent opportunity to meet and socialise with those clients and colleagues. I am pleased to say that the team had a very successful season! 

The benefit of having only a small number of trainees at the firm is apparent from the diverse and challenging level of work you are given from the start of each seat. The ability to become so involved in the work and other roles away from your desk provides a grounded and thorough training experience.

August 2009

Rupert Seldon, 4th Seat Trainee, Litigation and Dispute Resolution

I am now in my fourth and final seat as a trainee at Winckworth Sherwood. The morning I joined I was nervous and unsure of what to expect. I soon realised, however, that the firm was friendly and relaxed and provided its employees with an honest and open working environment.

The work I have undertaken has always been interesting and challenging which has been ideal for helping develop my skills as a trainee solicitor. I am currently working on several particularly interesting matters in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution department. One of these involves considering potential causes of action in relation to a share-holder dispute and another involves drafting a witness statement in respect of a loan dispute.

I have been surprised and grateful for the high level of responsibility that I have been given and how much hands-on experience I have had. For example, on a recent employment matter I attended a client’s offices on a fact gathering exercise and followed this up by drafting the required ET3 whilst liaising directly with the client throughout.

During my time in the Housing and Regeneration department I was actively involved in a number of matters ranging from multi-million pound property transactions to everyday tenant disputes. Running numerous files concurrently required me to develop my transaction and time management skills.  It was very satisfying providing clients with practical legal solutions and being given the opportunity to see a lot of matters to conclusion. I remember feeling particularly satisfied when I completed on my first property transfer having been involved in the negotiations almost from start to finish.

The training and support provided by the firm has been far greater than I expected. All the people I have worked with have provided invaluable guidance and advice and have been very generous with their time when I have needed it. The firm also runs weekly training seminars which cover both hard and soft skills. The last seminar I attended was on Stamp Duty Land Tax and the one before that was on positive thinking.

Overall I believe that my training experience with this unique and dynamic firm has been enjoyable and successful in helping develop myself as a solicitor and as a person.

December 2008

Anna Davies, 1st Seat Trainee, Institutional Property

Why did I choose Winckworth Sherwood? The firm has a good reputation and some unusual clients. As a non-law graduate it was particularly important to me to experience different areas of law before deciding on a specialisation. The wide range of practice areas at the firm was appealing because I didn't want to restrict my options. Although I am only three months into my first seat, I am already keen to find out more about practice areas which I had not considered when I was studying.

I liked the fact that the firm only takes a small number of trainees for its size. As the firm only places one trainee within each department, there is none of the anonymity of the City trainee. My first seat is Institutional Property, a department mainly dealing with commercial property matters for institutional clients such as the police and transport services. Recently I have attended client meetings and lease negotiations - being the only trainee in the seat ensures more contact with partners and clients.

A typical day might start at the Planning Department at City Hall, looking through the microfiches to find documents. After returning to the office, I spend some time carefully unfolding vast and crumbling 19th Century documents in order to create an epitome of title.

Training seminars are held on Wednesday lunchtimes. Last week the topic was Business Leases, which was very useful and relevant to the work in my department. If the weather isn't too grim I might meet up with a couple of the trainees to have lunch in the park.

I am currently working on a large file of properties, so after lunch I need to check on how the matters are progressing for each property. I update my supervisor, then I continue working on the file - ordering Index Map searches and OC1s, making applications to the Land Registry to alter the register and sorting out any problems. Later in the afternoon I carry out legal research on energy performance certificates, and review leases and licences to check the extent to which our client is entitled to make alterations.

The atmosphere at the firm is friendly and hard-working. From the start you are responsible for your work, although I always feel able to ask if I need clarification or guidance. Socialising is usually informal - occasionally the trainees will arrange after-work drinks but there isn't a strict social timetable. In the third week, my supervising partner took our department to a very chic Italian restaurant, and I'm looking forward to the annual Christmas Carol Service and a black tie Christmas party in a couple of weeks' time.

July 2008

Alex Carty, 2nd Seat Trainee, Employment

I am almost halfway through my training contract.

I spent my first six months in a property seat in our Housing and Regeneration Department, where my work included acting on purchases and sales of property to individuals, property developers and housing associations. I was also involved in acting for housing associations on the negotiation of leases from both the landlord and tenant's point of view.

You are given a great deal of responsibility in Housing and Regeneration, where you may, for example, manage a lease negotiation or property purchase from start to finish. It was quite daunting to take full control of my files in my first seat, but it was also hugely satisfying. One early tip was to use automated reminders and maintain to do lists, as there are a series of inflexible deadlines to be met!

I am now in my second seat, which is in the Employment Department. I have been spending a lot of time at the Central London Employment Tribunal for a race discrimination case that has been allocated 18 days in the Tribunal. On this occasion we act for the employee but we do also represent a range of employers.

The nature of the work in the Employment Department is wide ranging. So far it has included attending meetings with clients and counsel, drafting ET1's and ET3's, letters of advice and the COT 3 ACAS Consiliation Form. For one particular case my work extended into the area of forensic pathology, disciplinary and potential criminal activity!

I have also attended seminars run by the Employment Department. For example a series of "Tackling Sickness Absence" seminars attended by Human Resources professionals. This gave me the the opportunity to observe the types of training we offer externally, as well as to network directly with our clients.

I attended the BPP Careers fair in April this year, this time on the law firm side of the stand, and the question asked by most potential trainees was; "Why Winckworth Sherwood?"

The answer, at least to my mind, lies in the nature of the work, that as a trainee you are able to become so involved from the very beginning, that the experience gained is invaluable both in terms of present immersion and benefits for the future. If you are not shy of getting involved this is an excellent opportunity for a comprehensive well-rounded training that will stand you in good stead on qualification.

February 2008

Anna Fremantle, 3rd Seat Trainee, Ecclesiastical and Education Department

My first experience with Winckworth Sherwood was when I arrived at the Westminster office with five other fresh-faced students for the summer vacation scheme.  The scheme was two weeks long with each week spent in a different department; I spent a week with the Construction Litigation team and a week with the Housing team.

The two weeks were jam-packed with activities and gave me an excellent insight into working life at a medium-sized law firm.  I worked alongside the trainees in my respective departments, and my experience included visiting a client to gather evidence relevant to a construction litigation case, and drafting a simple report on title.

Each head of department gave us a talk about their practice area, which gave us a good idea of what practice in each area of law involves on a day-to-day basis.  We all achieved the sought after “Mars-Bar Prize” in the library research exercise (fantastic training for those like myself who had not done a law degree), and other activities included trips to the Royal Courts of Justice and the Houses of Parliament.  A fun evening was spent in the longest bar in London getting to know the trainees and quizzing them about their training experiences.

Having very much enjoyed my vacation scheme at Winckworths, I applied for a training contract and two years later I started my first seat as a trainee in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department.  The work was extremely interesting and varied, involving property, construction, family and employment work.  One particular highlight was the huge team sense of achievement and satisfaction when a mediation ended successfully after a long day of hard discussion and negotiation. 

My second seat was with the Private Client department where I very much enjoyed the more personal experience of working with clients as individuals; sometimes helping them to set themselves and their families up for the future, and sometimes dealing with difficult times such as bereavement and divorce.  The seat was predominately non-contentious, however I was briefly involved in a matter concerning a contested will, and one of the divorce cases I was helping with settled at the doors of the Court!

I am now in my penultimate seat with the Ecclesiastical and Education department which is currently based at St Paul’s.  This seat offers not just an insight into the ancient and fascinating realm of ecclesiastical law, but it has also exposed me to a broad range of areas such as property, employment, education, charity and trust law.  In the past few months I have been involved in property transactions, school disciplinary issues, the incorporation of a charity and a trust dispute.

The firm offers a thorough training experience which balances responsibility with strong supervision and support.  However it is not all work and no play.  A fellow trainee and I are currently organising a firm quiz night and the social committee are, as usual, bound to surpass expectations with a fantastic year-end party!