As the saying goes - time flies...

After two years of being a trainee, I’ve finally qualified as a solicitor! It's the perfect time to reflect on my training contract here at B P Collins and give an insight into my experiences.

When I started in September 2013, I was repeatedly told that two years would “fly by”. I didn’t think it would, as two years sounds like a long time. But like anything, whether it’s three years at university or a Man v Food-style eating challenge, we have a tendency to split big tasks into manageable chunks. And with a training contract, moving to new practice groups every few months can feel like you’re starting a new job each time.

Each practice group has new work, new colleagues, new clients and different ways of doing things. Some are open plan, others individual offices. Far from daunting, I found this really refreshing.

“When you think of a training contract as five seats, rather than two years, it really does fly by.”

I can never say I got bored or even too comfortable, and I was always kept on my toes (Michael Jackson would have been proud).

Let's start at the beginning as a fresh-faced trainee in my first seat - property. I very much enjoyed property; I actually think it should be a compulsory seat for trainee solicitors, whichever firm you're in. It's amazingly pervasive as property-related issues crop up in nearly every area of law.

My time in property was also the most eye-opening. I was thrown into the deep end as the practice group was very busy at the time, and I also had the benefit of returning for a second seat later in my contract.

Upon joining, I quickly grasped the nature of residential and commercial sales and purchases, working on commercial leases on behalf of both the tenant and landlord and all manner of Land Registry applications.

“In my view, property is the best example of working independently.”

Of course, assistance was always available whenever needed, but I enjoyed using my initiative to progress a transaction. There are excellent opportunities for client contact and you would often be a client's first port of call.   

Corporate and commercial (CoCom) was my second seat. I always enjoyed corporate work, having opted for the private acquisitions elective on the LPC and, back in May 2014, I wrote a blog about my seat in CoCom. I met fascinating business people and assisted in a wide range of transactions, including acting for a 3D modelling and printing company in its share sale, advising yacht and rowing clubs in their tax/charity statuses, and amending manufacturing and licensing agreements concerning a global film franchise.

If ever you want a great insight into the formation of companies, their regulatory requirements and how businesses run, then CoCom is an excellent seat to do so. I also saw the collaboration between solicitors in several practice groups working on a single corporate transaction.

I then went back to property for my third seat before completing my training contract with two seats in litigation and dispute resolution. My time here was split between property litigation and general civil litigation. By this time, I was seen as an 'experienced' trainee ("where's my walking stick?!") and therefore had a brilliant level of responsibility, often handling smaller pieces of litigation on my own or being given sole responsibility of a substantial task within larger, more complex proceedings.

In property litigation, I assisted the supervising fee earner in a claim at the First-Tier Tribunal of the Property Chamber involving leaseholders of 36 residential properties and our client as landlord/freeholder (which ties back into the importance of a seat in property!). In general litigation I had a hugely varied workload with, for example, contested probate claims, contractual disputes and unfair prejudice petitions.

It was general litigation where I decided to qualify and (luckily!) the practice group was able to keep me and fellow trainee Rebecca Mitchell as newly-qualified solicitors. Litigation seems to suit me.

“I enjoy assisting clients in resolving disputes they or their businesses may have, to try and think outside the box with the best solution you can find and the excitement of litigation's twists and turns.”

Your training contract, wherever it is, is likely to be career-defining. I learnt not to see it as a long journey to qualification, but to consider each seat as a new stage, or even a new job. Enjoy it while it lasts – it'll fly by.

Posted by Rajiv Malhotra, newly qualified associate in the litigation and dispute resolution practice group.

Having graduated with LLB (Hons) from the University of Birmingham before completing the LPC at BPP Law School, Rajiv completed his training contract with B P Collins. Upon qualification, he joined the litigation and dispute resolution team as an associate in September 2015.

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.