Jonathan Steele Relates His Experience As A Barlow Robbins LLP Trainee
I would urge anyone looking for a training contract to take a step back from the process itself and consider what they want to get out of being a trainee. I decided that I wanted a training contract that would provide a breadth of experience, the opportunity for client contact and the skills that this invariably builds. As such I concentrated my search on larger regional firms in the South East, including Barlow Robbins LLP, which were beyond the nebulous London firms but with the calibre to offer varied and interesting work for both the commercial and private client business sectors.
The interview with Barlow Robbins LLP was unlike any I had experienced previously. I felt it was more of an opportunity for both sides to get to know each other, rather than a barrage of assessment style one-way questions. It felt like a conversation and exchange of information, from me about my experiences and from the firm about their ethos and culture. I did not, as I had done in other interviews, feel like I was sitting through a series of predetermined questions designed to illicit prescriptive responses.
I started my training contract with Barlow Robbins LLP in September 2006. The fundamentals of the training contract at Barlow Robbins LLP are that there are four seats of six months each spread across the three office locations at Guildford, Woking and Godalming. The firm makes a real effort to give trainees an opportunity to experience commercial and private client work as well as contentious and non-contentious cases. This is certainly true of my experience having completed seats in Residential Property, Litigation, Company Commercial and Employment. Each seat allows you to practice different skills, all of which will in one way or another be useful to you as a practising solicitor as well as affording you the opportunity to develop an understanding of the area of law in which you may wish to qualify.
For most, if not all seats, the trainee sits in the same office as their supervising partner, meaning that there is always high quality supervision only a swivel of your chair away. The advantages of this system are not just confined to supervision, being in the same room as a Partner also affords a trainee the opportunity to absorb the way in which complex files and sometimes complex clients are handled!
Barlow Robbins LLP encourages trainees to take on as much responsibility as their experience, knowledge and progression allows and you will almost certainly have your own files to run. The more able and confident you become as a trainee, the more responsibility you are given. The type of work you will undertake is in some senses dependent on the type of work that comes into your department during your six months, but you can be sure that your workload will be varied and interesting wherever you are. It is certainly the case that you will have a good degree of contact with clients, other solicitors and third parties and the experience you will gain from this is invaluable. You will also be given the opportunity to draft documents, attend meetings and participate in marketing events. This can all seem a little daunting but there is always support available whether in the form of your supervising partner, other solicitors or support staff in your department.
My advice would be to do as much as possible, be enthusiastic and have the ability to learn from your mistakes. You are not expected to produce perfect work and are always given constructive feedback on how to improve, so that you feel positive about your own performance. By being given hands on experience in a number of different areas of the law I was able to gain a real feel for each department which is all important when it comes to making a choice on which area of the law to pursue on qualification. There is no standing in a back room for three days, waist deep in photocopying bundles at Barlow Robbins LLP!
There is also a mentor scheme run for trainees where each trainee is assigned a qualified solicitor to act as their mentor throughout their training contract. This is a confidential scheme, which provides trainees another valuable avenue of support and a consistent point of contact throughout the two years.
As part of your training contract you will need to complete your Professional Skills Course before qualification and Barlow Robbins LLP do the course through the provider Law South (a group of law firms in the South East). All trainees in a year are sent on the courses together and it is an excellent opportunity to meet fellow trainees at other firms, or as you will quickly learn to call it ‘network’. The courses are extremely sociable and provide a good environment in which to complete a mandatory part of the training contract.
The trainees in each year tend to form a close knit group, regularly meeting up for a drink and a catch up. During the two years you inevitably form strong bonds with your fellow trainees and closest colleagues. Other than groups of friends meeting up on an ad hoc basis, the social scene is supplemented with departmental social events and a Christmas and Summer Party and starting sporting teams or other social groups is encouraged.
Two years have disappeared in a flash and I have become a more knowledgeable, competent and rounded lawyer as each six months has past. It has certainly become clear during my training contract that Barlow Robbins LLP is a friendly firm that lives an open door policy rather than just paying lip service to it. The atmosphere is inclusive and warm from top to bottom and makes it a very enjoyable place to work. This has encouraged me to stay at the firm, having been offered a place in Company Commercial in the Business Services Group at Guildford on qualification. I am very much looking forward to progressing my career here and I would recommend Barlow Robbins LLP to anyone looking for a training contract.
