BURGES SALMON LLP
of but I never felt like they were designed to trip me up.” This supportive environment is key to the firm’s success as a trainer and, is underway before they start, explains Victoria, “Once they’ve accepted our offer, a trainee is invited to our summer party, to practice area talks and to meet their peer groups,” she explains. “We encourage those who haven’t already completed their LPC to do it together in Bristol so they get to meet each other and begin building their peer network before they even set foot in the firm.” These efforts meant a lot to Molly. “Little things like receiving Christmas and birthday cards, and being sent a bottle of champagne for my exam results made me feel like they were thinking about me and I was already a part of the team.” Once the trainees arrive at the firm they can expect plenty of support from all echelons. “Our trainees have a dedicated supervisor with whom they share an office, as we feel that they learn a lot from osmosis,” explains Victoria. Supervisors can range in seniority from an experienced associate to a partner and are chosen specifically for their ability and, crucially, because they have the time to supervise. “The trainees require plenty of time and supervision and they deserve the explanation of how their work fits into the wider case,” confirms Andrew. As well as a supervisor, trainees have a dedicated contact in the people team who sees them through their two years and offers pastoral advice. In addition, each department has a dedicated partner responsible for trainees. As well as day-to-day advice and support, mid and end-of-seat appraisals provide trainees with the opportunity to speak to their supervisors and people team contact about their progress. “I’ve never felt like support is lacking for either my
professional development or pastoral needs,” enthuses Molly. “If ever I have needed help, I have known there are a number of people I can turn to for it.” Just as the support and guidance that trainees receive is as likely to come from a partner as it is an associate, so too is the work they receive. “Partner contact varies from one seat to the next depending largely on the size of the team, but there will certainly be times when you will be working directly for a partner,” explains Molly. “They don’t operate as some sort of scary other – they muck in with the team and make themselves approachable.” Ensuring the trainees are provided with high-quality work is a firm-wide commitment. “We seek out stretching situations for them and give them access to high-level work and complex matters,” Victoria maintains. However, great care is taken that this stretching stops short of breaking point. “Responsibility is a funny thing,” muses Molly. “Having lots of it is only a good thing if you are ready for it or adequately supported. I would say that I have had appropriate amounts of
responsibility which has increased over the course of my training contract as I have improved in competence.” As Molly and her fellow second years get ready to qualify, their minds will no doubt be filled with the new challenges they will now encounter. In Victoria’s opinion, the greatest hurdle which incumbent lawyers face is understanding and meeting client expectations. “They’re higher than they’ve ever been and they trickle all the way down to trainee level – you need to think commercially about the value you bring to your clients and how you conduct yourself way before the point of qualification.” Andrew agrees that the demands placed on newly qualified lawyers today are weighty. “It’s a very different profession to when I qualified in 2001; it’s much more fast paced. I think a lot of trainees get into the law without quite understanding what is expected of them – and the expectation isn’t coming from the firm but from clients.” In order to help trainees understand the needs and requirements of its clients, Burges Salmon offers
They have the opportunity to enjoy a richer professional experience and achieve things that they wouldn’t have otherwise necessarily thought possible
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