The future is bright for three talented lawyers, who have qualified as solicitors with the region’s largest law firm in Grimsby – and they have nothing but praise for North East Lincolnshire and the opportunities the area presents.
Danielle Sakseide, Bethany Boothby and Amber Aisthorpe, all from the Grimsby area, are celebrating 2019 as a year when they all successfully completed their training with Wilkin Chapman solicitors.
Although all taking different paths to reach their career goals, they are all now confident of a bright future in Grimsby and believe that many opportunities do exist for young people in the local area.
Danielle, 25, of Holton-le-Clay, is a former pupil at Louth’s King Edward Grammar and qualified through the traditional route – taking a law degree at Newcastle University and completing her LPC, (Legal Practice Course) at the University of Law in Leeds.
Having undertaken previous work experience at Wilkin Chapman’s Grimsby and Louth offices, she successfully applied for her two-year training contract, qualifying as a solicitor in the Wills, Estates, Tax and Trusts department in September.
“The route I took to qualification has taken six years and yes, that may seem like a long time, but it has been broken down into studying and the opportunity to work within different legal disciplines. I am now looking forward to my future at the firm,” said Danielle.
Bethany, 26, a former pupil at Tollbar, and Franklin College now living in Holton-le-Clay, successfully completed a law degree at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.
She joined Wilkin Chapman as a legal assistant and undertook CILEx Law School’s specialist distance learning route to qualify as a Chartered Legal Executive in 2017. To cross-qualify as a solicitor, Bethany juggled her work with her part-time legal studies on the Legal Practice Course before qualifying in September. As a Chartered Legal Executive, she was exempt from the traditional training contract. She is a member of the firm’s Wills, Estates, Tax and Trusts department.
“I always wanted to be a lawyer and could have taken the more traditional route, however when the opportunity came to take up a position at Wilkin Chapman, it was not to be missed. There is a lot to offer both here in the firm and in the wider Northern Lincolnshire area,” said Bethany.
For Amber, the chance to join Wilkin Chapman straight after her A-levels was grasped with both hands and at 18 the former Tollbar student joined the firm. Progressing to a Chartered Legal Executive, Amber, 28 from Scartho, also took the CILEx route to qualification and was happy to have done so. She qualified in late summer and continues her career in the Recoveries team.
“I was more than happy to stay in this area and progress here. Yes, the route I took was a different one, but a very good one and just shows there are different opportunities to progress if you choose not to go to university,” she said.
And, they all agreed: “If young people are reading this, then we would advise them not to be put off by the time you may think it takes to qualify, and to take your time to look at the different routes you can take. Also, make sure you all open your eyes as to the opportunities around here – it’s a good place to be, with an awful lot going on.”
