We had a chat with Molly and Emma, a couple of trainee solicitors who have hit the ground running.
Rollits is passionate about investing in the future, which includes training young talent to become the next generation of lawyers. The law firm makes a significant investment in each trainee, which leads to many of them remaining with the company on a long-term basis once qualified.
At the time of interviewing Molly Bloom and Emma Horscraft, they had only been at Rollits for one week. However, in that short time they have been familiarising themselves with a wide range of responsibilities, all while exploring the many activities that the firm runs in support of crucial charities.
Molly and Emma are both from the local area and completed their Legal Practice Course at the University of Law in Leeds. Considering how many law firms there are in the region, we asked them why they chose Rollits for their training:
Molly: “I grew up just outside of Beverley and live locally, with all of my family nearby. I did my work experience at Rollits in 2019 and was immediately impressed with the look and feel of the firm. Everyone is very welcoming and encouraging, plus the open-plan offices promote a positive atmosphere across multiple departments.”
Emma: “A family friend worked with Rollits and knew that I’d wanted to practice law since I was 14 years old, so they recommended I get in touch. When I was 17, I carried out my work experience at the firm, which had just moved into its open-plan offices in March 2016. As Molly said, having Partners sitting next to trainees and being able to easily ask people for help creates a sense of one big family.”
Although only one week into their Period of Recognised Training, we asked Molly and Emma what they had learned so far:
Molly: “The first few days were spent settling in and having inductions in IT, time recording and similar systems. We all went out to lunch too, which was a great way to have an informal chat with our co-workers and break the ice. We’re now getting a really good feel for who does what and how we’ll support them over the next two years as part of our training.”
Emma: “We’re currently both working in the Property department and it’s very interesting to see services and methodologies we’ve studied over the last four years come into practice. There’s so much going on behind the scenes, such as data protection, anti-money laundering, and lots more that you can only learn through first-hand experience.”
Molly: “Our duties are wide-ranging and there’s been a lot of research that we pass on to the lawyers, as well as checking title deeds and contracts, creating reports, and drafting documents, letters and emails. Training at Rollits makes you instantly feel that your work is important, appreciated and worthwhile.”
Emma: “We also had a chat with Pat Coyle, the Marketing Director at Rollits, about how the firm’s marketing and communications strategy sets us apart from the competition. It’s fascinating to see how much focus Rollits places on being accessible to everyone and making clients feel at ease.”
Over the next two years, Molly and Emma will work in all of the departments in order to gain experience of the wide variety of legal services the firm offers to clients. As well as Property, their training will see them work in the Private Capital, Dispute Resolution, and Company and Commercial departments prior to qualifying.
Emma: “This is a great system because it allows us to discover what our niche is. It’s a constant learning curve and a fascinating process.”
Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is very important at Rollits, with all members of staff getting involved in planning and taking part in a range of social events and charitable activities. We asked Molly and Emma for their thoughts on the matter:
Molly: “The Employee Forum plans a lot of events and there’s a pizza night and crazy golf coming up, which sounds like good fun. It’s also great to know that there’s always a fundraiser or community event on the horizon.”
Emma: “I’m looking forward to getting involved in fitness challenges for charities, especially those that promote mental health awareness and directly benefit our local community.”
Finally, we asked Molly and Emma for a quick roundup of why training at Rollits is a sound decision if you want to enter a career in law:
Molly: “Rollits is the most approachable law firm. It isn’t scary at all, as everyone is generous with their time and no one is off limits when you have a question.”
Emma: “The legal profession can seem really daunting, especially to students, and many young people don’t know the route in. If you’d like to have a chat about it, there’s always someone at Rollits who’s happy to help and offer reassurance.”
To find out more about recruitment, training contracts and work experience at Rollits, please visit the law firm’s Opportunities page.