A trio of young lawyers have shared tips to help other emerging talent as their firm counts down to the deadline for this year’s work experience applications.
Rollits, which has offices in Hull and York, is planning to invite aspiring lawyers to complete two-week placements in the summer.
Candidates must apply for a place on the scheme by Friday 31 March and can get help with their submissions by reading the experiences of Zaneta Andraszczyk, Molly Bloom and Josh Hobson.
Zaneta completed her work experience in 2018 and joined Rollits in 2021. She said: “It was incredibly helpful to get genuine insight into what kind of work trainee solicitors are expected to do, which also helped me to decide whether I wanted to pursue it as a career.”
Molly and Josh did their work experience in 2019. Josh joined the firm in 2021 and Molly followed in 2022.
Molly said: “I spent time in Property, Company and Commercial, Dispute Litigation, and Private Client and this allowed me to learn how the law firm works as a whole, as well as on a departmental level.”
Josh added: “It was very different to what we were learning at university and what you see on TV. You probably won’t know which area of law you want to work in to begin with, so being able to sit in a specialised department and tap into the knowledge of experts gives you a clear idea of what’s required.”
Candidates must be available to join the team in Hull for two weeks this summer and by then should have completed the second year of a law degree, or the third year of an academic non-law degree or have some form of equivalent academics. They should be looking to start their period of recognised training in September 2025.
Caroline Neadley, Partner and Training Principal at Rollits, said: “Above all we are looking for candidates with the right attitude. We expect our people to be motivated and enthusiastic, and we look for these qualities in our work experience students too.
“We do not believe that work experience should involve photocopying or making tea! During the placement students will work on real client matters alongside our trainees, solicitors and Partners by getting involved in drafting documents, conducting research and meeting clients.
“It’s a great opportunity to get a real insight into a career in law, find out what we do and if the firm is a good fit. Many of the participants go on to secure a training contract with us, and even progress to senior positions in the firm. We are particularly proud of the fact that many of our solicitors started their journey with us from the work experience programme.”
Full details of the work experience scheme can be found at www.rollits.com