My Seats So Far
I began my training contract in September 2022 with my first seat in Dispute Resolution. After that I spent a seat in Pensions and Projects, and I am currently over half-way through my seat in Real Estate. I think this combination has been very valuable to me as it allowed me to experience the differences between contentious, advisory, and transactional seats all within the first year of my training contract.
Throughout my first year I was given more responsibility than I would have expected, taking part in matter management tasks and corresponding with the client. Since beginning my training contract, I have noticed that I have become much more confident in my work and presenting my thoughts to fee earners. I think that this reflects the supportive ethos of the firm and how trainees are encouraged to take an active role in client matters.
Trainee Cohort
Looking back, I am very grateful that the majority of my trainee cohort took our LPC together at the University of Law Bristol, by the time we began our training contract we all knew each other well and it made the first day of our training contact much less intimidating. Instead of feeling out of place I was surrounded by familiar faces.
This has really helped in fostering a friendly atmosphere among the trainees at the firm, which has continued throughout the first year of my training contract. When I'm in the office I can guarantee there will be several other trainees to chat with at lunch and we frequently socialise outside of work. Our Teams chat is always the first port of call for any work-related questions and most of the time we are able to provide answers or point each other in the right direction.
I think one of the best testaments to this is the trainee away weekend. Despite no prompting from the firm, this tradition has stood the test of time, and my trainee cohort was no different, as we arranged for a weekend away in the Cotswolds in Spring 2023. It was a fantastic weekend and one of my favourite memories of my trainee cohort which really reinforced a sense of community among the trainee outside of work.
Other Opportunities
In addition to the chargeable work opportunities, I have also had the opportunity to get involved in a variety of firmwide initiatives. I have attended St Mary's Redcliffe School for their Careers Day and Clevedon School to carry out Mock Interviews with students interested in pursuing a career in law. Not only was it very rewarding to be able to talk about life as a trainee to enthusiastic students, but it also felt like a very full-circle moment for me as it felt all too recent that I was attending Law Fairs and meeting trainees representing Burges Salmon for the first time.
In November 2022, during my first seat, I volunteered to assist with the firm's annual charity event which that year was "Burges Salmon's The Masked Singer". As a first-year trainee I assisted under the supervision of the second-year trainee organising team who did a fantastic job of putting together a wonderful evening. I had a great time assisting the performers in their full costumes enter and exit the stage as well as monitoring the event livestream, and I ended the evening enthusiastic to take an active role in the next years charity event.
In no time at all, I was part-way through my third seat and had the opportunity to volunteer as one of the trainees for the firm's 2023 charity event "Burges Salmon's Got Talent Show". The rest of the organising team and I began work during the Summer pulling together a running order and corresponding with the venue to organise technical requirements. For the first time this event was hosted at the Bristol Beacon rather than within our office, this made the organisation process a bit more complicated due to the number of people involved and the size of the venue.
However, when the day of the event came all the organisation and working was worth it, seeing employees from around the firm delivery fantastic performances and the audience reaction to them was a fantastic feeling. As well as getting to take part in such an enjoyable event, this also gave me a lot of management and organisation experience in addition to working with people from all parts of the firms whom I had not worked with before and probably would not have had the opportunity to otherwise.
I am excited to continue taking part in the firm's charity opportunities alongside the final seat of my training contract and beyond. Looking forward I feel more confident than ever about my decision to pursue a career in law and can't wait to qualify as a solicitor.
Apply now for our Spring/Summer vacation schemes at our Bristol and Edinburgh offices.
Written by Katy Dixon.