As part of our ‘Meet the Team’ series, over the next few weeks we will be featuring Q&As with our amazing trainee cohort. Today, we are delighted to introduce you to Rebecca Solomon who joined us initially as a paralegal and then was accepted on our trainee programme. We sat down with Rebecca to ask her a few questions about trainee life at Cleveland & Co.
1. What made you want to enter the Law profession?
I became interested in pursuing a career in law, through a personal experience as a claimant in a personal injury case whilst at sixth form. As a claimant, I was in the position of a client receiving legal services. What intrigued me most, was how my legal counsel was able to apply the law to the facts of my case, and pursue the best outcome for my case. I wanted a career which was both intellectually stimulating and challenging, but also rewarding knowing you have been able to deliver a dynamic solution to a client’s problem, and I believe law allows me to do this.
2. What does a typical day at Cleveland & Co look like for a trainee?
What is great about training at Cleveland & Co is that you are not restricted in the type of work you do, even if it is an area of law, you are not particularly familiar with. The firm takes pride in your development as a trainee so you can get experience working on various matters, meaning no day is the same. My usual day as a trainee consists of working on client matters, which could include amongst other things, reviewing NDAs which we have received from our clients, progressing custody agreements by reviewing comments from a counterparty’s legal counsel and legal research. Outside of working on client matters, I work on internal matters such as organising client files, drafting articles or newsletters on a topic relevant for our clients to be posted to our website, and LinkedIn.
3. How much responsibility are you given at Cleveland & Co?
As a trainee, I really enjoy the amount of responsibility I am given, I am able to have direct contact with clients. I feel my contributions matter, and even have the opportunity to lead client calls. This has helped me get hands experience whilst on my training contract, and gives me an insight into the realties of practice, whilst building rapport with clients.
4. What are the best bits about working at Cleveland & Co?
The team at Cleveland & Co is growing, and from a development perspective this gives trainees like myself a great opportunity to work with individuals from different stages in their career. The support I have received from the team has been invaluable, and it has been great to have different perspectives on my work from working with different members in the team.
As a firm, emphasis is placed on collaborative working, not just within the London office but also with our colleagues in our Sydney office. As a trainee, I have worked on a project for one of our Australian clients, with one of my colleagues in our Sydney office. The firm also has a secondment opportunity to the Sydney office, which is great!
5. Tell us something people might not expect about your or a fun fact?!
I may be among the few people in the world, but I have never watched an episode of Friends!
6. If you didn’t choose law, what other career path might you have chosen?
If I did not pursue a career in law, I would of pursued a career as a historical researcher. I really enjoyed studying History whilst at school, and was fascinated about using evidence to uncover the past several years later and understanding their significance and impact on society today.
For more information about becoming a Trainee at Cleveland & Co, please click here.
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