Apprentice Paralegal Review

My role involves speaking with clients over the phone or emails and being their first point of contact. I speak to them over the phone to book an initial meeting/ consultation with a solicitor and email them with updates or to answer any queries they may have. I also sit in on meetings and take notes which I then produce documents for after, such as risk assessments, letters of engagements etc. to be uploaded to the file or sent to the client. I also liaise with the court/ counsel or complete documents for court and carry out research for the fee earner.

I have developed my telephone skills and I am still working on them gaining confidence to speak with clients or other organisations over the phone. For example I frequently have to ring court to chase a case or call for counsel availability I have also learnt good letter writing skills and how to communicate with clients/ people over email to sound professional and clear.

I enjoy my programme as I am challenged everyday and I am always learning new things and jargon which I have never experienced/ come across before. I think it is harder to get to know my team members as everything is virtual and people don't go into the office as much so this makes it tough to make connections, however everyone is in the same boat and understands it is harder to start a brand new job under these circumstances so they are really accommodating.

The programme is well structured within my team as we have a family hub for junior members of the family law team for apprentices, trainees and paralegals where jobs are passed through for us to pick up- helping us get a wider range of work. The induction when I first started was very good and informative and set the job off on the right foot. With regards to my apprenticeship day, I have two half days which I think is good to have in order to focus on my studies.

My manager is very helpful and supportive. She has set up three check-in teams calls a week for me her and the other apprentice in the team to make sure we are okay, have any questions or if we need any more work. The hub is also very supportive and you can always ask questions/ for help there.

We have check-ins with our tutor Jen who is helpful and I can email to ask for help/ clarification. She also provides us with feedback on our module evidence logs for us to work on and improve. We also have apprenticeship sessions with the other apprenices in the firm and the apprentice manager to raise any issues.

I think my qualification has so far given me a basic understanding for my role. However we aren't very far into the course and currently learning about the basics of the law system such as court systems etc. I think when I learn about my specific area of law it will be more helpful and I will refer back to my apprentice work more.

I play for my office netball team on a Tuesday evening which is really good! The league also takes place in Manchester where we play against other workplaces/ businesses. I really enjoy playing netball and have always played it outside of work so to form connections through playing netball is really positive!

Yes

I think it is a positive environment to work with lots of different oppurtunities. The teams are all really friendly and you are given oppurtunities such as apprenticeships where you don't need to have a degree or certain qualification, you may be able to earn it as you work here!

With your application, make sure you know about the company and their history as it looks good to refer back to because you know about the company and shows you have a real interest and really want to work there. Also, if you're asked to make a presentation for your interview, make it on something you are genuinely interested about so they can learn about your personality.