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Career Timeline
September 1998
Went to Manchester University to study Law and French Law.
September 2000
Went to France for the year, as part of my degree.
June 2002
Graduated with a degree in Law and French Law. I then came here for a 3 week summer placement, after which I applied for a training contract.
September 2003
Studied the LPC at BPP in London.
September 2005
Finally started work here after having a year off after the LPC.
TRAINING
Seat 5...
"A real plus of the six seat system is that it allows you that bit more time and exposure to different departments before you need to make any decisions about qualification."
Juliette Vaughan
Employment
By the time you get to your fifth seat you have a good idea of the type of law that you enjoy and also which areas suit you less. It's good to have a wide range of experience so that you can make a really well informed decision as to where you would like to qualify. A real plus of the six seat system is that it allows you that bit more time and exposure to different departments before you need to make any decisions about qualification.
By your fifth seat you'll have done all of the core seats, which include banking, corporate finance and dispute resolution. Your fourth and fifth seat provide the opportunity to gain more experience in an area you've enjoyed or to branch out completely and try something new. I'm currently in my fifth seat and sitting in the employment department. The work here is a real mix between legal research and corporate support work and it is useful to have all the background knowledge that I've gained so far in previous seats and to put this into practise.
As a fifth seat trainee you can be given more responsibility and, as a result, you can become more involved in a wide range of matters. Since I have been in this department, I have researched various different points of law and have drafted notes of advice to clients. It's very satisfying to research new regulations and be able to give advice on tangible problems. For my next seat, I have applied to go abroad to Athens or Singapore to do another dispute resolution seat. You tend to get more responsibility in international seats and I'm looking forward to the opportunity for further development and more client contact.