Trainee's experience - By Nikki Elsom, now a solicitor with Wilkin Chapman LLP
On 11 September 2006 I arrived at Wilkin Chapman LLP’s Grimsby office for my first day of my two year training contract.
The first week was spent on an induction course allowing me to familiarise myself with the office systems and administrative functions of the firm, this included the accounts and IT systems. The induction was carried out with several members of staff including the other trainees who were beginning their training contracts in the Lincoln office. We spent time with each Head of Department as well as the Practice Director, which gave me an insight into each individual department as well as an overview of the firm as a whole.
My first seat was in the Debt Recovery Department where I specialised in insolvency proceedings and, in particular, bankruptcy matters. My seat lasted for 10 months and during this time I worked exclusively doing insolvency work for Local Authorities. I had direct contact with the clients as well as the opportunity to run my own case load and attend Court Hearings alone. I was able to attend Court within the first two months of my training seat.
I remained in the Grimsby office throughout my training contract and in my second seat I moved to the Commercial Property Department. I began my seat shadowing the Senior Partner and by working my way up from residential matters to the more complex commercial and leasehold matters. I gained experience in drafting Contracts for the sale of residential property and Transfer Deeds together with post completion matters, such as registering the clients as new owners of their property. Once I had a comprehensive knowledge of residential matters I became more involved with commercial matters where I gained experience in drafting and negotiating lease terms as well as Business Sale Agreements and Build Development Contracts. This seat lasted for 6 months before I moved to the Wills and Probate Department.
I spent 3 months in the Wills and Probate Department where most of my time was spent working on the administration of estates and also drafting Wills for new clients. The Wills and Probate Department was client intensive and I spent a lot of my time sat in on meetings or visiting clients in their homes.
As my probate seat came to an end I discussed my qualification options with the Practice Director and decided to return to Commercial Property for the remainder of my training contract. I was offered a full time position a Solicitor with the Commercial Property Department working directly with the Senior Partner and gradually building up my own case load. Towards the end of my training contract I was given more responsibility and a greater degree of freedom to take on and run my own cases and now as a newly qualified Solicitor I run all of my own matters. I have the reassurance of continued support from both the Head of Department and Partners in the Grimsby office who are always available to assist should I have a query.
Wilkin Chapman is accredited as an Investor in People and can award continuous progression and development (CPD) hours for its own internal training. Every department has a number of training sessions each year and trainees are encouraged to attend them all. In this way, I learned about development in all areas of law, regardless of whether that was my current seat or not. Not only did this boost my own legal knowledge but provided a good opportunity for me to meet other staff from different offices and areas of law.
