Give a brief overview of your role at the firm now, when you joined and your background before joining .
My role at the firm now consists of completing the same work as paralegals as well as now starting to prepare for my end-of-course assessments and interviews that I will do in May/ June. When I joined, I had smaller tasks and worked on the GFM team as my first seat, but now I have moved onto the Litigation team and through the past 6 months, have gained a lot more responsibility. Before I joined, I did 3 years at A-Levels studying Maths, Law, Business, and Criminology as well as working full-time for three years at McDonald's.
What made you choose an apprenticeship?
I did apply to 5 universities and got 5 offers, 2 being unconditional. But even though I had these, I just wanted to work and earn money without having the university debt later in life. I still work at McDonalds as a crew trainer on weekends alongside my apprenticeship. I also thought that with the two years of extensive experience, it would give me the skills I needed to further my career in the legal sector.
What is it that attracted you to your career within the legal sector?
I was interested in law from around the age of 14 and when I studied it at A-Level I absolutely fell in love, and it was my absolute favourite subject. From then I wanted to just try any type of law I could, and I felt that Clifford Chance was perfect for me as I had the opportunity to complete seats on different practice areas as well as completing tasks for other practice areas on top of that.
What advice would you give to someone considering a career at Clifford Chance?
I would say having confidence and putting yourself out there to network and speak to people has helped me progress massively socially and in work. I think also getting your personality across in the interview process was vital for me and my integration into the firm. Something else I would also suggest is having an open mind to practice areas and tasks, especially as an apprentice you don't have 100% guarantee your first choice of practice area. You could be surprised at how much you end up loving a practice area you initially had less interest in!
What does working at Clifford Chance feel like? What has been your favourite part about working at Clifford Chance?
Working at Clifford Chance makes me feel like I can achieve something. I have been given opportunities to lead tasks and train fully qualified paralegals on these tasks which I did not think an apprentice would ever have had the opportunity to do. My favourite part has been being able to work across multiple practice areas, completing vastly different pieces of work, as well as communicating directly with clients daily.
What is the most enjoyable part of your role? The most enjoyable part of my role is the amount of people I am in contact with and the networking I do every day, both inside the office and working from home. I also feel that being constantly challenged is enjoyable, as I want to be progressing constantly.
What was it that first struck you about the people you met at Clifford Chance? When I started, I found people very friendly, but especially when I joined the finance team, I found everyone to be so welcoming, kind and helpful, and I never felt out of place. I found that a lot of people have profuse respect for apprentices and the work we contribute to tasks, and we are treated the same as qualified paralegals, completing the same work and even leading tasks with others. This attitude is amazing to be around and is something that I really appreciate in the office.
Tell me about the most exciting matter/project you have worked on recently? Recently I have been working on a case from the New York and London office offering embedded support involving over 350 witnesses, each needing all of their files updated and cross referenced, we then further have created chronologies for witnesses which will be further used in the cross-examination process.
What motivates you? I am quite a self-motivated person, and always have been to try and do a good job in every task I complete, and I have found that being praised and recognised for my work massively motivates me and makes me want to challenge myself.
