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I attended the Shrewsbury and Telford offices to undertake a work experience placement in the Family Law, Clinical Negligence, Marketing, Personal Injury and Court of Protection departments.
I am in my third year of an LLB Law undergraduate degree, considering a career in Personal Legal Services, and the departments assigned to me for the placement week accommodated the areas of interest I had expressed in my interview. Prior to this experience I had not studied any of these areas of law, therefore I arrived with an open-mind. The educational and detailed tasks that had been prepared for me offered invaluable insight into how cases in these departments are navigated in practice, and the different responsibilities assigned to roles within a law firm. Both offices fostered friendly and welcoming environments, and the staff were always supportive and attentive; I am especially grateful for the career advice I have received about the various pathways to qualifying as a solicitor.
During my time in the Family Department in Telford, I attended client meetings, prepared documents to support a C2 form application, and made preparatory notes for a client with an upcoming Cafcass meeting. Family law cases are extremely complex, however, Sue, the head of department, took the time to explain the facts of the individual cases and give thorough briefs before client meetings so that I could raise any questions and have a full understanding of the legal issues. Reading through a court bundle clarified the structure of family legal proceedings and the relevant evidence used by solicitors. Observing Sue’s approach to advising her clients and applying her legal expertise has strengthened not only my practical knowledge of family law, but also the ways in which solicitors communicate effectively and professionally with clients, particularly in emotional and challenging situations. This experience confirmed I would like to study family law in my final year of university and apply for further opportunities in this area.
On my second day, I shadowed solicitors and legal assistants in the Shrewsbury Clinical Negligence Team. I had a folder of tasks designed to follow the process of a clinical negligence claim from the initial breach of duty through to determining the appropriate funding for a claim. I attended a screening meeting where the solicitors and an expert doctor examined enquiries that had been sent in, looking for possible evidence of causation. Having studied the tort of negligence before, I was aware of the causation requirement for a successful claim, however I was surprised by how difficult it is to establish this in a medical scenario. I found it particularly useful to observe how solicitors are guided by expert opinion to balance the probability of causation.
The Marketing Team is central to Lanyon Bowdler, in managing communications around and outside of the firm. I attended a meeting discussing the media arrangements for an upcoming networking event, and I had the chance to observe the team producing engaging PR, such as job advertisements and social media posts.
In the Personal Injury Department, I researched a broad range of interesting (and quite unusual!) cases. Like clinical negligence, causation must be proven which involves intricate and investigative work from the solicitors and experts. I attended a meeting with Alex, an associate solicitor, to discuss the findings of an expert report with the client. It was eye-opening to see the attention to detail required in these cases, from both solicitors and the experts, to gather accurate and empirical evidence in support of a claim. For example, I read a case bundle that contained an expert report from a trampoline specialist, analysing the intricate design of park trampolines versus Olympic trampolines to support a claim against a trampoline park.
In the Court of Protection Department, I read a variety of case law, and I learnt about the practical application of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. It is a very niche area of law that I had never learned about before, however after my experience at Lanyon Bowdler I am interested in exploring this area further. I particularly enjoyed seeing its interplay with the other areas of law that I had engaged with during the week.
I also had the opportunity to talk to trainee solicitors and apprentices at the firm about their experience with the SQE. It was reassuring to receive advice from people who had been in my position as an undergraduate law student, and to hear about their positive experiences at Lanyon Bowdler.
My work experience week was well-structured and organised to provide me with a thorough insight into potential career opportunities. I highly recommend Lanyon Bowdler to any students looking for legal work experience, as you will leave with enriched practical knowledge and an understanding of how the firm supports the local community with their legal expertise on a daily basis.
For more information about work experience at Lanyon Bowdler visit https://www.lblaw.co.uk/about-us/careers/work-experience/
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