Paralegal Apprentice Review

I do a lot of admin work. Occasionally I draft legal documents, such as letters of claim and witness statements. I also carry out tasks such as locating expert witnesses to assist us on cases. Some days can be slow when there is not much work in the team inbox.

I have learnt some skills surrounding drafting legal documents. I am currently able to draft some legal documents with some assistance from more experience colleagues. Some tasks I can complete independently, such as bundles and searching for expert witnesses. I look to expand my skill set further in the future.

I enjoy my apprenticeship when I have tasks to do, however it can be slow day to day. I often try to find tasks to do that will allow me to develop my skills. I really enjoy drafting legal documents as I know that I am increasing my skill set.

I think sometimes my provider BPP can be a bit unorganised, sometimes we do not know what we are supposed to be doing as it is not communicated to us. I also think DWF could utilise us better by putting us in teams that have more work and jobs coming in.

If I have any concerns about my work load my apprenticeship manager is always available to talk, however I find sometimes not a lot gets done in relation to my issues. I do not think I get a lot of support from my managers as it feels like they're too busy to find us things to do.

Sometimes things do not get communicated to us as well as I think they could be. However we are able to email BPP when we have any issues, they often get back to us quickly and we have face to face meetings with them throughout the year to check on our progress

In my area of work I think my qualification is helpful. Often we learn something with out training provider that I can later apply to my day to day work. This helps me to understand things a lot more and realise how useful the training is to my development and skill set.

There are extra-curricular activities available to us. We have fridge Friday every Friday and we can also take part in sports activities and charity events. There is always something going on. I recently took part in a charity event for Manchester Cares, who help connect the elderly community to the wider community

Yes

Although the workload is slow at the moment in my team. I think there is a lot of good opportunity to develop at DWF. We have a study day every Monday, which gives us time away from work to focus on study and progress our skills. Everyone is friendly and the company is good to work for.

If your applying for a role at DWF, be prepared to be put into any area of work. Everyday can be different. Be confident and ensure your literacy skills are good! It is important to prepared for anything as day to day jobs can vary! Also be prepared to work hard with your study!