As I am undertaking the final seat of my Training Contract in London, I have now experienced a seat in each of Michelmores’ three main offices (London, Bristol and Exeter). Each office is slightly different – be it due to its décor, the focus of the work undertaken or the atmosphere, and so it has been a fantastic opportunity to be able to experience all three! It has enabled me to build relationships with colleagues across the Firm and to experience a wide variety of work.
Being the only trainee in London (and in Bristol at the time) means that I get the chance to work with lots of different teams across the whole office, assisting with a range of matters. For example, I attend the Royal Courts of Justice and have to dodge the paparazzi that regularly wait outside! I have attended Companies House, the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice. I have also been sent to a client’s office to work alongside them for a week in order to assist them on a matter. Being a trainee at the Firm’s London office offers you the chance to be involved in numerous matters, whilst exploring London during the working day.
I previously lived in London for four years whilst I was studying and I had initially vowed never to come back – I started to feel that London was always so busy and I didn’t like being pushed and shoved whenever I got on a tube! However, when the opportunity to experience London arose again I realised that it was too good to miss. The work and matters I am involved in and the buzz of being a trainee solicitor in the city makes it all worthwhile!
Not to mention being able to walk out of the office door and take ten steps to the local bar with my colleagues to while away the evening, being able to choose from a huge variety of places to eat, drink and explore, spending rainy days in the numerous museums and spending the rare sunny days on Clapham Common with friends.
Michelmores’ trainees are also fortunate enough to be able to stay in the Firm flat, which is based in Clapham Common. For those of you who haven’t visited this area, I cannot recommend it enough. There are plenty of bars, pubs and restaurants to choose from. The Common is huge and always full of people training for football or rugby, feeding the ducks on the pond or sunbathing. The local people are really friendly and there is a local artisan market on a weekend.
As a London trainee, you are exposed to fantastic clients, you experience the adrenaline of having big deals to complete and you are able to get involved with other teams. I would highly recommend that everyone take up the opportunity to undertake a seat in the Big Smoke!