First Court Appearance

I've only ever been to court once before, it was on a school trip during Sixth Form when I was studying Law at A Level. I was allowed to sit in the public area and watch a live case. God knows what happened, it was too long ago.

This week I had the opportunity to go to court to take notes for a client as a colleague was on holiday. All sorts of questions were running through my mind. What do I say when I get there? Where do I need to go? What does the client even look like? (luckily I am writing part of this post in advance of the court hearing, so I have just checked the client's ID) Will people acknowledge me or is my job to be ignored? Who knows!

Thankfully the staff at the court were very helpful and I was told where to go, phew! panic over.

Court is an interesting experience, there is a lot of waiting around before you go in, but in this time I was able to witness negotiations continue between the barristers acting for both parties. I didn't realise that the barristers would be trying to reach an agreement right up until the point of entering the court, but I guess that this is a good idea. The more the parties agree, the better.

What is my note taking technique? Just write everything. I don't know shorthand or any decent tip behind note taking so I just scribble down everything. I think I covered it all.

Family law is beginning to become very interesting and going to court is a nice break from the office, so I'm happy in that sense. I've already been in the family department for a month, I can't believe how quick the time has gone! It actually scares me how quick this training contract is going, but let's embrace the madness.

Summer Has Arrived

It's been two weeks since I started my new seat and I'm slowly settling in the department. The initial terror of not knowing anything is beginning to wear off, just slightly!

The weather this week is already phenomenal, I'm not sure if that's in a good way though! These soaring temperatures make me want to quit the week ahead and go on a permanent holiday, drinking Pimms in a bar alongside a picturesque backdrop.

I always feel sorry for the men in offices, I have no idea how they can sit in a shirt and trousers all day, and comfortably too. Us women are rather lucky in that we can still look professional in a dress and sandals.

Summer is finally here, but it will probably only last a few days. Soon the thunderstorm will come along and we will be wondering where it went again.

How do you make yourself comfortable in such hot conditions? I'd love to know, I seem to struggle to concentrate when it's so hot.

Enjoy the rest of your week, hopefully it goes smoothly for you and this weather continues into the weekend. I am going to see friends down south this weekend, so that is something that I'm excited for! It will have been three years since we graduated with our law degrees, certainly a cause for celebration, and an excuse for drinks!

Welcome to Family Law!

Last week I entered into the second seat of my training contract which is Family Law. I have just spent 7 months in the Corporate and Commercial department so I was apprehensive about working in an area that is completely different.

The thought of dealing with people's feelings (feelings? What are those!) and trying to be sensitive can prove to be somewhat difficult for me but I need to suck it up and get on with it.

In my first week I was asked to prepare trial bundles, instructions to Counsel, divorce petitions, all sorts. Needless to say this is extremely different to Corporate and Commercial law and I have already been told to write a bit more kindly! But I'm enjoying having the opportunity to tackle something unfamiliar.

The partial downside to being a Trainee Solicitor is that as soon as you're comfortable in a department and feel like you're doing ok, you automatically have to move on to your next seat. I'm not too fond of going back to knowing very little about the procedures etc. But I am sure that as soon as I get into the swing of things again it should be ok.

So here's to a good six months in Family Law. I shall let you know if this area becomes of interest to me in good time!

Hills, Sweat & Gossip

The day came when a group of ladies from my firm took part in the Ipswich Legal Walk. A 10km walk around Ipswich in aid of the Eastern Legal Support Trust and the Suffolk Law Advice Centre.

I had a moment of panic in the morning as it was absolutely tipping it down with rain. But in true British style, the forever changing weather corrected itself from torrential downpour to bright and sunny, thank heavens for that.

At 5.30pm the team met a number of others at Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich. It was a good turn out as approximately 70 people had registered to walk. Teams ranged from lawyers to recruitment consultants.

At the start we were raring to go, a nice walk in the park on a summers day I thought, until I realised that there were SO.MANY.HILLS. I don't really run, or walk for that matter, unless it's to go and get food so I knew that it would be a struggle!

Luckily I had a good team with me, the ability to multitask by gossiping and walking made the walk go a lot quicker, until we hit the 8km mark.

We were tired, worn out, sticky and being the heavy footed baby elephant that I am, my feet really hurt! But we pushed on and finally made it to the end, where we enjoyed a drink at the pub. Perfect way to end the day.

So far  all teams have raised approximately £1,400 which is amazing. Hopefully we can raise some more in the coming weeks. Well done to everyone that took part. Here's to next time in 2017!