Degree: Law with Criminology
LPC: Nottingham Law School
I began my training contract at Henmans in September 2011 having worked there previously for three years. I completed my LPC in 2008 and was looking for a job in a law firm. I started working in the facilities team at Henmans and after six months I moved to the marketing/business development department as an assistant. Henmans invest greatly in staff development and I have been lucky enough to have seen this firsthand throughout my time here. I applied for the training contract at Henmans because they have an excellent reputation for giving legal advice, providing training and for being a family-friendly firm. I had already seen this for myself and wanted to continue experiencing it throughout my training.
My first seat was in the property department which is split between commercial, agricultural and residential work. As the largest property department in the region I was gaining valuable and varied experience and was also able to work on property development and charity property transactions. My second seat is split between the personal injury and clinical negligence departments. Both teams deal with a variety of claims so I have been assisting in all types of cases, from minor road traffic accidents to severe child brain injury claims. Some jobs I have been given in this seat include calling witnesses and drafting their statements, attending court hearings and client meetings, providing quantum reports, accessing medical records and drafting schedules of loss. Of course there are a number of non-chargeable jobs as well but these can easily be spread throughout the week or month to ensure that you can still spend time each day working for clients.
Trainees receive a lot of support in every department of the firm as each trainee has a supervisor and a “buddy” (a trainee in the year above or a newly qualified solicitor) to give advice and guidance. There is also a review every three months where we receive feedback and can raise any concerns. The firm has a great family atmosphere where staff are encouraged to enjoy a good work-life balance. All of the trainees are on the firm’s Charity & Social Committee which organises social and charity fundraising events, sometimes combining the two, which means that we are in the best position to get to know a lot of different people at the firm. We are also regular attendees to networking events outside of work where we can meet other young professionals and lawyers.
I would recommend that anyone looking for a well respected regional firm which can provide you with regular client contact, varied training and a good work-life balance should apply to Henmans. I certainly found this here and am looking forward to my next two seats.