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When considering life as a trainee solicitor, it is easy to focus solely on your four seats and the legal work you will be doing. However, there is so much more to life as a trainee than just your seat, and this article seeks to demonstrate just some of the fantastic opportunities we can get involved in as a trainee solicitor at Michelmores.
Charity Partnership Groups
Michelmores have multiple offices in the South-West and each of the four principal offices have a designated “Charity of the Year”. These are chosen by the employees from each office every two years. For 2023 and 2024, our Charities of the Year are:
- FearFree for the Exeter office;
- St Peter’s Hospice for the Bristol office;
- Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice for the Cheltenham office; and
- St Giles Trust for the London office.
Each office has a Charity Partnership Group responsible for helping raise money for our chosen charities. Lots of the trainees get involved with the Charity Partnership Groups, particularly when it comes to helping to organise events and fundraisers. A highlight of the Charity year is always Michelmores’ Charity 5km run in Exeter, although we run exciting events all through the year including silent auctions, sweepstakes, and sporting challenges.
Social committees
There are various social committees at the firm, including one for each office and a trainee social committee. This is a fantastic way to build inter-level and inter-office relationships. As a trainee it always helps to have lots of connections throughout the firm. This can be useful when you have questions about a client or matter, or want to find out more about what a specific team does. As a firm which values cross-team co-ordination and delivering a full-service to our clients, being able to make connections between teams is incredibly important.
Volunteering
At Michelmores, every employee has a paid volunteering day each year, which you can use to volunteer for any charity or organisation. Lots of employees use the day to volunteer with one of our Charities of the Year, although this is not compulsory. In previous years, we have done work in charity shops, behind the scenes at the warehouses and completing sporting challenges amongst a great many other things, showing that Michelmores’ offering extends well beyond just providing legal advice.
Partnership with Momentum
Michelmores has partnered with Vision Path to help deliver the “Momentum” programme which aims to support schools in developing and building their careers skills, experiences, and mentor opportunities for students from more disadvantaged backgrounds.
If you volunteer to help, you will go into classrooms at our partner schools and colleges alongside other lawyers at the firm to deliver training sessions which range from interview skills and communication strategies to the power of persuasion. It can be extremely rewarding to be able to provide guidance to students from more disadvantaged backgrounds and demonstrates Michelmores’ ongoing commitment to widening access to law and creating opportunities for colleagues across the firm to have a positive impact in our local communities.
Careers fairs and recruitment
As a Michelmores trainee, you are often asked to help at careers fairs and other recruitment events. Whilst it is common to find it difficult to step away from the laptop for a morning or afternoon, it is a fantastic way to show your contribution to the firm that goes beyond the seat. Talking with aspiring future lawyers also offers you the chance to reflect on how far you have come and to be proud of your achievements in standing on the “other side of the table”, so to speak, at a careers fair.
Trainees also help out with vacation schemes and assessment centres, usually by running “meet the trainees” sessions. At these events, we are encouraged to speak honestly about our true experiences of life as trainees at Michelmores. If you can find time to participate in these activities, you will become a valuable resource to the firm in providing insight into the future talent, and you can help to ensure that future trainee cohorts can continue to nurture the firm’s values.
Key takeaways
Get involved! Michelmores has so much to offer, and as a trainee you have so much you can give back and offer too. In order to build connections, learn new skills and gain a greater understanding of the firm as a business, say yes to the opportunities available and get stuck in!
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