Part of any trainee solicitor or graduate solicitor apprentice’s training is rotating between teams to start new ‘seats’ as you progress through your training period. It is one of the most appealing aspects of a training contract as it allows you to try a range of disciplines before you have to decide what you would like to specialise in when you qualify. At Michelmores, trainees and graduate solicitor apprentices rotate to a new seat every six months. It can feel a little bit like starting a new job every time you rotate, but the process offers lots of new opportunities and experiences which can be embraced and enjoyed. I have now completed my first seat rotation from the Transactional Real Estate team to the Projects and Infrastructure team and discuss below my reflection on the process.
It is just as you reach the six month mark in your seat that you finally start to feel settled in a team. You often feel that you have just built positive working relationships with your colleagues and have established your place in the team as a useful trainee when you have to rotate. This can mean that it can feel dauting joining a new team.
However, you cannot underestimate the brilliant opportunity that a seat rotation brings for you to meet new people across the firm and become part of a new team. You will definitely still keep those strong relationships you have built with your old team, but you now have a brand new group of people which you can get to know and most importantly, learn from. Trainees at Michelmores are encouraged to try seats in different Groups across Michelmores so that you can build up contact and relationships across different offices and practice areas.
It is also a good opportunity to move around the office and settle in the location that your new team sits in. This will mean that you will be sitting with and around more new people whom you can start to get to know. Michelmores offices are all open plan and operate a ‘hot desking’ policy. That being said, teams tend to sit together when they are in the office, so you will likely have a regular desk or area in which you sit.
The most exciting aspect of each seat rotation is the opportunity to get involved in a totally new type of work. Michelmores is a full service law firm and as such, trainees and apprentices have a wealth of choice of practice areas when selecting which team they would like to sit in.
Seat rotation allows you to jump into a new work stream and work with your new team on their matters. This can mean that you have a lot of information to absorb in your first few weeks so make sure that you try to actively listen to this and take as much on board as possible. Helpfully, the outgoing trainee in your new seat will have produced a handover document setting out all that you need to know about your new seat and any tips and tricks. You will also have had a handover meeting where you will have discussed key clients and matters and any ongoing task that are being handed over so you should go into your new seat feeling well briefed and prepared.
When you move to a new team you will be producing work for and working with new people who will undoubtedly have different working styles. The key to adapting to this is being upfront in asking your colleagues how they like to receive work when you are set a task. This is a great tip as it will help you to deliver the work in the way that is best for them to review. You can also ask the outgoing trainee as they are a wealth of knowledge on your new team.
Your period of training is the best time to learn and take on new challenges and opportunities. It is also the best time to make mistakes as you tackle things for the first time with the support of your supervisor and colleagues. By virtue, seat rotations push you out of your comfort zone but I encourage you to embrace this change and to grab every opportunity that being in a new team presents to you.
It is important to note that the existing skills which you have built in your previous seats will give you a great standing when rotating to a new team. You will continue to build and develop these skills as well as learning new ones. Whether it be communication skills in communicating with clients and colleagues, analytics skills is reviewing some research or complex documents or even confidence in facing new tasks and meeting new people, the progress you have already made in your training will give you a good grounding when starting a new seat.
Starting a new seat on your training contract is a great opportunity to take on new challenges and learn some new valuable skills as well as building on the useful skills you already have. Importantly, it also takes you one step closer to becoming a qualified solicitor, so enjoy the process!
