Newly qualified Solicitor Ben Collingwood, relates his experience as a Barlow Robbins LLP trainee

I can vouch for the comments made by this year’s trainees. I thoroughly enjoyed my Training Contract at Barlow Robbins LLP and was delighted to be given so much responsibility as a Trainee Solicitor.

It was clear to me from an early stage of training that employment was an area of law which was of interest and I quickly became convinced that this was to be my specialism. The fast pace of change in the law, the mix of commercial and private clients, and the mix of contentious and non-contentious work all contributed to the attraction.

I qualified and was admitted as a Solicitor in September 2009 and was fortunate enough to be offered a newly qualified post in the Woking Employment Team at a time when many Trainee Solicitors were facing unemployment.

Upon qualification, I had already developed much of the experience and many of the skills which I would need to draw on as a newly qualified Solicitor. This all helped to build my confidence in the approach to qualification and made the transition to newly qualified Solicitor less of a shock to the system. I knew I possessed what I needed to do the job well.

Since qualifying I have enjoyed an extremely busy and varied case load. My non-contentious matters have included: comprehensive reviews of corporate clients’ Contracts of Employment and Staff Handbook; drafting Directors’ Service Agreements; drafting and advising on Compromise Agreements in the event of termination of the employment relationship; advising on best practice in redundancy consultation procedures. I have also conducted litigation files on behalf of both claimant and defendant clients involving wrongful, constructive and unfair dismissal, race and sex discrimination, harassment, equal pay, unlawful deduction of wages and whistleblowing, and have benefitted from conducting much of my own advocacy in the Employment Tribunal.

One of the biggest challenges facing a newly qualified Solicitor is dealing with the responsibility of the role and being accountable for the advice given. That said, I feel empowered to advise with confidence in the knowledge that the firm has enabled me through my training contract experience to lay the best possible foundation for an extremely successful career, and I benefit from the exceptional day to day support of the Partners and my peers who are always available should I need advice myself!