Getting qualified – from TC to NQ

Being a trainee was great! You're the new kid, just starting out. You're allowed to find your feet, have a little extra time and are given a bit of slack.  You might even be afforded the benefit of the doubt, occasionally.   

On the whole, we are expected to work hard, be diligent, manage our work load and try not to insult clients, colleagues or Judges.  You should try and show a bit of initiative here and there - and even "commercial awareness" (knowing that things cost money and that client's also have things to do, other than speaking to their lawyers). 

B P Collins' trainees get nights out too - we actually have a trainee budget that can be splurged on beer, burgers and the like.  It's all good team bonding stuff.  

Alright, it's not that easy.  It's hard work and there's a steep learning curve. You can't just put your feet up and expect everything to be great. 

Trainees are expected to know the law and how to apply it.  At B P Collins I've had the benefit of great client contact from the outset and been given responsibility for important matters.  Clients rely on you to know what's going on – you're often their first port of call.  Even if your answer is "I should ask my supervisor about that one", it definitely keeps you on your toes and you feel like you actually matter.  Those burgers and beers are well-earned.

Towards the end of your two years you might even start feeling comfortable. You might even be "ready" for qualification.

But then you qualify.

The invites to those trainee events dry up, the social budget goes and you're actually expected to make your own friends.

It's time to demonstrate that you know exactly what costs how much, why, and whether that satisfies your detailed "cost-benefit analysis" that you've carried out and put onto the file (with an appropriately coloured tab flagging it, of course). 

Alright, it's not that bad.  The way our training seat rotations work (four seats of five months, and then a final four month seat in your qualifying practice group) means that I've had the benefit of spending a good amount of time in the litigation practice before I qualify there.  It has allowed me to settle in, build my case load, get to know the ongoing cases and work with my new supervising partner.  I've even learnt a few things and managed to broaden my experience.

The firm has also got an active social life; last week we gave a local professionals group a "jolly good thrashing" at cricket, and the football fixtures start in September. Then there's the firm drinks, the annual Easter egg hunt, and the B P Collins quiz for those who are less sportily-inclined.

Most importantly, I'm a Solicitor of England and Wales now; an officer of the Senior Courts (thank you very much).  But best of all, now I get to boss those pesky trainees around (milk, one sugar – thanks).

Posted by Simon Hall, trainee in the Litigation and Dispute resolution practice group.



Simon started his training contract in January 2012 and his experience includes working on shareholder and director disputes, contractual disputes, personal insolvency and consumer claims. 

To buy or not to buy?

As a trainee in the Property practice group, I have been involved with many residential transactions including sales, purchases and lease extensions. All this work is making me wonder if I should be trying to buy a property rather than spending my money on rent. Although it seems like a good idea, I am faced with a problem which many of my peers are also facing: where do I find the cash for a deposit?

Recently, I was involved with a client who was looking to purchase a new property with the help of the government's NewBuy Guarantee scheme. In its current format, purchasers can buy a property with a 5-10% deposit and a 90-95% loan-to-value mortgage. Lenders will provide such a high percentage of the value because the government is providing some protection for the lender in the event that the property is repossessed and the lender cannot recover the full amount of its loan. At the moment, the scheme is only available for the purchase of new-build properties and there are some other restrictions.

One of the aims of NewBuy is to get first-time buyers on the property ladder and help others climb up it. Although many people may be able to afford mortgage repayments, they are not always in a position to put down a hefty deposit. Having spent thousands of pounds on university fees, the GDL and the LPC, it is not surprising that even though most of the trainee solicitors I know are earning a decent salary they are not in a position to buy a house.

The scheme is one of a number introduced by the government which is trying to get the residential property market moving. The government has also introduced shared ownership schemes and equity loans to help more people access the property market. From 1 January 2014 the government are introducing a new initiative called the Help To Buy mortgage guarantee scheme. This will be available for both new-builds and existing properties up to a value of £600,000.

Lenders have welcomed this addition to the Help To Buy home ownership schemes but worries have been expressed that it will artificially inflate house prices to the detriment of buyers. There are also potential losses ahead for purchasers of new-builds who are not looking to stay in their property for a long time: a premium is often paid for new properties which may not be recoverable if the property is sold in the short term.

However, the number of people using the government schemes is considerably fewer than predicted: only 1,500 new homes were sold through the NewBuy scheme in the first nine months but the government's target was 100,000. I certainly haven't come across many clients in my Property seat looking to take advantage of the schemes.

All this property work is certainly making me think more seriously about buying a house. I suppose I'd better start saving!

Posted by Harriet Betteridge, trainee in the property practice group.

Harriet started her training contract in September 2012 having previously worked in the Litigation team as a paralegal. Her previous experience includes working at a group of law centres in south London and in the Legal, Compliance and Risk team at the Charities Aid Foundation.

A day in the life of a corporate and commercial trainee

Having selected the Corporate and Commercial practice group as my final training seat it has been a rewarding experience to begin honing the skills I will now need throughout my career. My days as a trainee in CoCom vary between corporate transactional work designed to test the sharpest mind, to researching caselaw for three of the six partners within the practice group. And before you ask, CoCom is short for Corporate and Commercial in the B P Collins dictionary.

After my regular morning catch up with partner Vicky Holland, my trainee supervisor, I begin my day by checking my emails. From the emails, I identify action points and prioritise tasks in relation to the matters I am assisting with.

 My first task is to review due diligence information provided by our client on a business sale. As an integral part of the transaction, I will present my findings to and discuss my thoughts with both the partner and associate working on the transaction later today. These transactions are particularly document heavy so those three little words that you heard so often at law school, “attention to detail”, play an important role in the due diligence process.

The practice group is always actively searching for new opportunities and tomorrow, in partnership with NatWest Bank, CoCom partners Diane Yarrow and Simon Deans will host an important pharmaceutical and healthcare sector lunch with key companies in the local area. Lunches like these require a lot of planning and research. Both partners will need to be briefed on who they will be meeting, which areas of the sector each business deals with and how we could potentially assist.

Maintaining and cultivating key contacts within corporate circles is one of the most important parts of any commercial law practice and the firm prides itself on adding value to our client’s businesses at every stage of a businesses growth cycle. The industry analysis is a nice break from the lengthy documents I had been reading and the timing (before lunch) is fortuitous.

One of the many perks of training here is that we are given a good amount of responsibility and client contact. The telephone rings regularly with urgent requests from fee earners in the practice group and across the firm. These requests often mean that I get to speak directly with clients and this morning is no exception as a senior associate asks me to make an application to restore a company that has been struck off. The matter is time sensitive so I will need to draft the application and supporting witness statement for approval this afternoon. I will have to send the documents to court today. My colleague informs me that, in relation to distinct parts of the matter, I am the client’s point of contact.

I spend the rest of the afternoon discussing my progress with several fee earners who have assigned me tasks to complete throughout the day, before I begin to draft a tripartite investment agreement and ancillary documents for one of the partners.

As everyone slowly starts to slip out of the office, to complete my day I usually file appropriate forms with Companies House and update some company books. Before I can head off home, I check returned dictations for accuracy and finalise any letters before filing emails and correspondence.

Posted by Araba Amissah-Arthur, trainee in the corporate and commercial practice group

Araba joined the firm as a trainee in September 2011. She graduated from the University of Warwick with a BA (Hons) in Politics and International Studies and completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course at BPP Law School in London. She then worked as a consultant in a national Employment Tribunal representation service for three years.