International law firm Womble Bond Dickinson has welcomed its new intake of trainees across its eight UK offices.
This year's intake has seen 27 new trainee solicitors teams in key practice areas across its core business groups following a comprehensive induction process gathering the intake at the firm's Newcastle office.
The trainees, who join from a variety of backgrounds and pathways into the legal sector, gained an understanding of the firm and its core processes by meeting various members of the firm's business services, undertook their first Professional Skills Course with an external trainer, and met senior members of the firm, including managing partner Paul Stewart.
Savion Williams, a trainee solicitor in the disputes team in London, said:
"It's been a brilliant process so far in the first few weeks. The camaraderie between trainees has been great and the induction process has been really comprehensive – aiming to answer any question we may have had about the firm or its services.
Coming into the office for the first time has been eye-opening as well as everyone's been friendly and accessible, from the senior partners to our own teams and even newly qualified solicitors to get an understanding of what the contract looks like and to see how each individual contributes to the success of the firm at large.
As someone who is naturally inquisitive, it has been brilliant spending the first week in the office assisting my team with client work across a variety of areas which has included researching precedents and legislation and building a strong foundation of knowledge which I will endeavour to grow over the course of my time with the team. I was also informed that I would be able to attend a mediation in the coming weeks, which is all very exciting."
Over the coming months, the trainees will embed with their teams to gain an understanding of the specific practice area before rotating onto another seat and team. Within the individual teams, trainees are given a tailored training programme to better understand the specifics of the area and develop a rounded skillset.
Charlotte Harris, who is working in the firm's finance and investment team and based in Newcastle, said:
"It's been interesting seeing the overlap between teams and practice areas and how matters require many different inputs to ensure a smooth process.
I've really enjoyed being able to get straight into billable work and helping the team – my first week here I was able to sit in on a client call and get an understanding of the end of a matter and I look forward to building out the process further over time as we work across more transactions.
As someone who enjoys being very analytical, it's been great hitting the ground running and just keeping an open mind and learning as much as possible, and that's an approach I'm keen to continue moving across seats over the course of this contract."
WBD's trainee process folds into it's long-standing commitment to investing in professional growth of all staff members, providing trainees the development and professional guidance needed to excel in their legal careers.
Sarah Deckers, a trainee solicitor in the residential team in London, said:
"I've been amazed at how efficiently and focused the induction process has been – even stretching back to well before we all met up in Newcastle as the firm has been consistent and strong communicators with us as we headed towards the start date.
It's been a lot of information to receive in the first few weeks, but never a case of it feeling overwhelming – the team I'm working with is very conscious of capacities and ensuring we integrate with the team in a consistent and methodical manner, which makes it a lot more reassuring to gain the confidence to contribute.
It's also been quite useful having another trainee in the team with me as it's allowed a nice sense of reflection and knowledge sharing between the two of us as we get used to and undertake different matters and actions, all while building up a strong support network within the team."
Hannah Sharps, Senior Early Talent Advisor at Womble Bond Dickinson, said:
“It's incredibly exciting to be able to welcome an immensely talented group of trainees to the firm and see them settle in so well across a number of teams and offices.
Their enthusiasm and fresh perspectives are already making a strong impact and it's been pleasing to support them by providing a suitable induction process which gradually brings them into the day-to-day work they'll be tackling alongside a strong support network across the intake and the rest of the firm.
We cannot wait to see how this year's intake will develop into lawyers who excel in their fields here at Womble Bond Dickinson.”
This year's intake includes:
- Fin Boyce
- Olivia Brindley
- Niall Cameron
- Phillipa Collins
- Sarah Deckers
- Anthony Desmond
- Beth Edwards
- Helena Forster
- Ella Hammick
- Charlotte Harris
- Henry Houson
- Anna Howarth
- Shumona Hussain
- Rebecca Hutchison
- Bailey Jones
- Joshua Kear
- Felicia Khoo
- Jake Lynch
- Chetna Marwaha
- Andrew McNaughton
- Matt Nott
- Caitlin Prestwich
- Anna Punarjit
- Madina Yunis Sacranie
- Jade Wadey
- Jack White
- Savion Williams.
This year's (2024) trainee solicitor intake at Womble Bond Dickinson.
