“I learnt about the different routes that there are into law. Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP offer a variety of apprenticeship schemes and training contracts for young lawyers. There is a lot of diversity in the backgrounds of each solicitor here, and it was eye-opening to recognise how everyone’s path to becoming a solicitor varies.”
Lara Perez, student

We were delighted to welcome sixth-form student Lara Perez to our offices last week. She tells us all about her week in a busy law firm and some of the highlights.

“As a sixth-form student with limited previous knowledge of the different aspects and types of lawyers as well as the law itself, my week’s work experience at Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP has helped me tremendously to discover what being a solicitor is really like.

There are preconceived ideas about solicitors that I have found to be untrue; everyone at the offices in Chelmsford and Colchester, which I visited, were extremely helpful in answering my questions, and very approachable and friendly. It is not the sort of environment where everyone is isolated and only involved in their work- there is a lot of cooperation and teamwork involved in all the departments I have visited.

During my week here, I spent time with five different legal teams at FJG:

  • Commercial Property
  • Conveyancing
  • Private Client (Wills, Life Planning & Probate)
  • Family
  • Corporate and Commercial

It was very intriguing to realise how many different types of solicitors there were and how distinct the roles were too. The Commercial Property team had me looking at drafting leases, while the Wills and Probate solicitor allowed me to attend an initial meeting with clients to discuss wills and LPAs. These were both practices that were unheard of to me, and it was fascinating to learn about how much expertise and work truly goes into the practice. I was grateful for such hands-on experiences.

With the Family and Corporate solicitors, I was assigned fictional scenarios where in both instances I had to draft different types of contracts: for family law it was to send to the court to request a hearing, and in corporate law,  it was a lot of ancillary documents. Again, I had no previous knowledge of any of what I was doing so each solicitor went through and explained everything so carefully and kindly to ensure I understood. Additionally, I had the opportunity to sit in two notary meetings, which was intriguing as I had no idea that this was a career or necessary, for example, for marriage outside of the UK.

Moreover, I also learnt about the different routes that there are into law. Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP offer a variety of apprenticeship schemes and training contracts for young lawyers, and it is no longer the case that you must go through the university system. There is a lot of diversity in the backgrounds of each solicitor here, and it is very eye-opening to recognise how everyone’s path to becoming a solicitor varies.

Overall, I have very thoroughly enjoyed my time here. This was an experience which I will not forget and will be extremely useful in determining what I want to do with my post-18 studies, as well as giving me a taste of what being a solicitor is really like. I would like to thank everyone for being so kind and accommodating and hope to visit again soon!”

Lara Perez.