Trainee Testimonials: Slee Blackwell Solicitors

Louise Langabeer. Trainee 1999 to 2001. Partner 2004.

On arriving at the firm's HQ in Barnstaple on my first day I was impressed by the fact that the office had a buzz about it. The staff were friendly and keen to make me part of their busy, efficient and effective team. There was a general feel of energy, which gave me a desire to perform.

This energy ran throughout the firm and certainly was present in every department I worked in through my training contract. The experience gained in my training contract was vast as every department has a different way of working.

The element I appreciated most was the chance to grow and develop skills as I was allow to take over cases from other staff , which meant I had to quickly learn how to manage a real-life caseload. So, from early on I knew exactly what was expected and required to fulfil the needs of the client, which is extremely important, as client care is one of the paramount considerations of the firm. I also felt safe in the knowledge that someone was there to support and guide me if you had a query and obviously they were checking my post etc.

I enjoyed my training contract as everyone was friendly and approachable and the partners of the firm were clearly a forward thinking bunch and were prepared to invest in the future. So when I qualified I desperately wanted to stay with the firm and my wish claim true. Then the real hardwork started which, I'm pleased to say, was recognised and quickly resulted in the reward of partnership.

Kerry Curd. Trainee 2003-05

Kerry Curd In my search for a Training Contract I was looking for a firm based in Devon that was able to offer me the opportunity to gain experience of a wide range of areas of Law. I was really pleased to secure my Training Contract with Slee Blackwell.

The training programme here is flexible and unlike other firms, genuine consideration is given to what the trainee wants. I have been given the opportunity to work from our two main offices in Barnstaple and Exeter, which has enabled me to work in the areas of Law that I enjoy.

From day one as a trainee at Slee Blackwell you are given real work to do, there is no tea making or photocopying! The forward thinking approach here has meant that as a Trainee I have had ample client contact and control of my own cases. The workload and responsibility can be tough at times but there is always help and support from colleagues when you need it. The atmosphere is hardworking but the partners, as well as other staff members are approachable and there is no stuffy hierarchy.

Brett Lawrence. Trainee 2002-04

Brett Lawrence On balance I would say that the time spent as a trainee Solicitor at Slee Blackwell was rewarding, challenging, and to be honest, quite daunting at times.

Slee Blackwell's fee earners are all specialist lawyers who only practice one area of law. This gave me the opportunity to train under a partner or fee earner with specialist knowledge of a particular field, with the result that I was able to get to grips with relatively complex areas of law quite quickly. It also helped me to make up my mind quickly about which areas of law did not interest me and more particularly which areas I was not suited to.

I was also fortunate in that my four training seats were in three separate offices, which afforded me a significantly varied training experience. I worked in the South Molton office which is a small office with a strong agricultural client base. I did my contentious training in our Exeter Office which is a specialist litigation office, and I completed my training in our Barnstaple Office, which is considerably larger than the other offices. I think this type of exposure not only helped develop my legal skills, but also helped the non-legal skills that are so vitally important to a solicitor.

I did find it difficult to judge how I my training was progressing, as I was the only trainee in my second year and there wasn't anyone to directly compare myself with. On occasion, I was quite overwhelmed by the colleagues I was working with because thay had years of experience and vastly superior legal knowledge to myself. It did help me to realise just how much hard work is needed to become a solicitor.

Although this is a perceived drawback of training in a firm of medium size it is balanced by the fact that you get to know the partners in the firm quickly and more importantly they get to know you. I never felt that I was just another trainee. I was able to contribute to the firm from day one of my training contract and in return I was given the level of responsibility that trainees in other firms would only get far later on.

I have faced daily challenges since qualifying and I think it is true that one's learning curve keeps accelerating even when you have 'Solicitor' after your name. But, the support which I found so important as a trainee is still on offer now and I can only cite the fact that I stayed on after qualification, having applied for no other jobs, as evidence that I can firmly endorse the firm.

James McNally - Trainee 2002 - 2004

James McNally Timing for me was everything. My CV landed on the desk of the right person at the right time. One of the solicitors was about to take 3 months maternity leave and they needed someone to cover her caseload until she returned. At my interview two things were impressed on me. The first was that my CV, which showed I had done more at university then the wannabe solicitors usual debating and mooting had got the firm genuinely interested in me. Slee Blackwell seemed to be a firm which realised that experience and personality were just as important as a good academic record. The second was that if I got the job I would have to be prepared and able to think on my feet.

I was offered a training contract on the back of the work I’d done as a paralegal and although I was now receiving considerably more support and training from colleagues the amount of responsibility I had for certain files and the amount of client contact I had remained the same.

Of course, at the time I perhaps didn’t appreciate the benefit of this as much as I do now and there were certainly days when I longed to be able to do nothing more then photocopy or number documents. But then a few months into my training, when I attended a local Professional Skills Course with other trainees from the region, I had my “Karate Kid” moment. There is a scene in the film where Daniel suddenly realises that all the “paint the fence” and “wax on wax off” that Mr Miyagi had him do were actually kick ass karate moves, my time on the PSC was like that. Being tested on document drafting, client care skills and even advocacy which for you were just part of the daily routine at Slee Blackwell and seeing others struggle you realised just how much you’d been taught compared to others.

It is true that there are certain sacrifices that you make when choosing to train at a regional firm. You know for example that your salary will never match that of your big city colleagues and perhaps that the firm you work for will never carry the same gravitas at dinner parties as Smart Suits & Co of WC1. But at the same time there is the fact that even a trainee at a smaller firm is not simply just another cog in the machine. I have friends who trained in the city who were not allowed to speak to their Managing Partners and who were expected to take the fall when more senior colleagues make mistakes. I couldn’t imagine working in that kind of environment. Here I trained and continue to work as part of a team who help each other out, discuss cases and share ideas. A smaller regional firm also means that you will be noticed in what you do by senior colleagues and partners. This can of course work both ways but you’ll find that more often then not your contributions and ideas are listened to and acted upon. Your efforts do not go unappreciated and the rewards are there for those who apply themselves, as are the opportunities. As a trainee I was involved in marketing and departmental decisions which changed the way the firm was run. Be it writing radio adverts, designing posters and websites, programming the firms computer system, the experience was second to none.

Some four years after joining Slee Blackwell I have no desire to work elsewhere. The job I have, the firm I work for and the lifestyle they allow me are the very reasons I chose to stay in the West Country. At times during my training it may have been hard work but when I get to spend a sunny summers day sitting in a beer garden somewhere on Dartmoor or going for an ice cream on the beach it makes those little sacrifices all worth while.