Work Experience at Lanyon Bowdler : Edward and Miles Rees.

If you haven’t heard previous shows there’s plenty of content for you if you’re going through a divorce, want to know more about claiming for injuries or you’re training to be a lawyer. You can listen to these shows on your favourite podcast app and get more information by visiting lblaw.co.uk forward slash knowledge. In this podcast of the Legal Lounge, work experience student Miles Rees chats with Edward Rees and yes he is my little dad. about how his week at Lanyon Bowdler is going, his work experience journey and what someone should expect of applying for work experience at Lanyon Bowdler.


[00:00:47 – 00:01:11] Edward: Hello, I’m Edward and a real treat today. I’m joined by a really special guest. He’s laughing already. I don’t know why he’s laughing already. I’m joined by a very special guest. Normally, I’m joined by a colleague or some professional from outside the firm who I work with. So today I’m joined by, well, he’s a colleague for this week.


[00:01:10 – 00:01:11] Miles: Yeah,


[00:01:10 – 00:01:12] Edward: I’m joined.


[00:01:11 – 00:01:13] Miles: only this week though.


[00:01:12 – 00:01:14] Edward: Okay, never again.


[00:01:13 – 00:01:15] Miles: No, never.


[00:01:14 – 00:01:16] Edward: Okay,


[00:01:15 – 00:01:16] Miles: Never.


[00:01:15 – 00:01:17] Edward: it’s never going


[00:01:16 – 00:01:17] Miles: Never


[00:01:16 – 00:01:17] Edward: to happen again.


[00:01:16 – 00:01:18] Miles: gonna happen again.


[00:01:17 – 00:01:29] Edward: Okay, so for this week, my colleague, Miles Rees, who is a relation, we shall pull on that strand again in a bit, but Miles Rees, why are you here today, Miles?


[00:01:28 – 00:01:30] Miles: Work experience.


[00:01:30 – 00:01:52] Edward: Okay, so Miles is here for one week doing some work experience with Lanyon Bowdler, so we thought it’d be a good idea to talk with Miles about his… his Lanyon Bowdler work experience journey have a conversation about that we’ve told the listeners that you’re Miles Rees we’ve immediately spoiled things for you by saying you’re my son


[00:01:51 – 00:01:52] Miles: Yeah.


[00:01:51 – 00:02:05] Edward: but other than that do you want to give set the scene introduce yourself tell us a bit about yourself where you are in terms of education at the moment if indeed you are in education are you in education


[00:02:04 – 00:02:06] Miles: I am in education.


[00:02:06 – 00:02:07] Miles: Education.


[00:02:06 – 00:02:08] Edward: Okay. Or are you in need?


[00:02:08 – 00:02:11] Miles: No, I am in education.


[00:02:10 – 00:02:11] Edward: Okay.


[00:02:10 – 00:02:16] Miles: I am in year 10. I will be going into year 11 to do my GCSEs very soon.


[00:02:15 – 00:02:17] Edward: Okay. How old are you then?


[00:02:16 – 00:02:20] Miles: I am 15 as of Monday.


[00:02:19 – 00:02:26] Edward: Yes. So on Monday, you turned up at Lanyon Bowdler for your first day of work experience


[00:02:25 – 00:02:26] Miles: On


[00:02:25 – 00:02:26] Edward: on


[00:02:25 – 00:02:27] Miles: my birthday.


[00:02:26 – 00:02:28] Edward: your birthday.


[00:02:27 – 00:02:28] Miles: Yeah.


[00:02:27 – 00:02:31] Edward: Did anybody make it a thing of this?


[00:02:30 – 00:02:32] Miles: I was wished a happy birthday,


[00:02:31 – 00:02:32] Edward: Okay.


[00:02:31 – 00:02:33] Miles: but it wasn’t a whole thing.


[00:02:32 – 00:02:34] Edward: Okay.


[00:02:33 – 00:02:34] Miles: So.


[00:02:33 – 00:02:37] Edward: Did you bring in cakes for everybody? Are you going to bring in cakes for everybody?


[00:02:37 – 00:02:39] Miles: We’ll have to see.


[00:02:38 – 00:02:54] Edward: Okay. I think you could bring in something towards the end of the week. I think that’d be quite nice. So you’re here for one week’s work experience. So in terms of year 10, are you studying your GCSEs?


[00:02:53 – 00:03:08] Miles: Yeah, so we started the GCSE courses at start in September and we’ve just done our mock exams, getting ready, just seeing where we are so we can get. a gauge of where we’re at and what is


[00:03:07 – 00:03:10] Edward: is it trying to tell me you’re not going to get distinctions


[00:03:09 – 00:03:11] Miles: no no


[00:03:10 – 00:03:13] Edward: in every subject? where’d you get your results


[00:03:12 – 00:03:14] Miles: I don’t know


[00:03:13 – 00:03:19] Edward: okay all right anyway so you’ve just done that you’ve literally finished those last week


[00:03:18 – 00:03:19] Miles: last


[00:03:18 – 00:03:22] Edward: so you’ll do actual GCSEs what?


[00:03:21 – 00:03:23] Miles: May time next year I


[00:03:22 – 00:03:23] Edward: okay


[00:03:22 – 00:03:24] Miles: believe


[00:03:23 – 00:03:32] Edward: great okay how was it that you came to be doing work experience at Lanyon Bowdler? Tell us how that happened And why that happened?


[00:03:31 – 00:03:35] Miles: Well, you are my father, so,


[00:03:34 – 00:03:35] Edward: Okay,


[00:03:34 – 00:03:38] Miles: and you’ve worked here for my whole life, I’m pretty sure.


[00:03:37 – 00:03:38] Edward: yes.


[00:03:37 – 00:03:57] Miles: Yeah, so I had year 10 work experience coming up at school, they informed us of that last year, so we could get our applications in early, so we could get the placements we wanted, or try to. So I applied here because I hear lots of stuff about it all the time.


[00:03:56 – 00:03:57] Edward: Okay.


[00:03:56 – 00:04:07] Miles: So thought, let’s see what happens in a law firm. It is, it’s really interesting to see all the different sides of it and what happens.


[00:04:06 – 00:04:23] Edward: Well, before we talk too much about that, let’s just let’s just carry on talking a bit about the application process. So when you applied, how did you go about that? Is there do you have to do it by a certain time? Do you have to do it by a certain method? Is there something on our website that that tells you what to do


[00:04:22 – 00:04:28] Miles: There is a thing on the website that tells you when the deadline is,


[00:04:27 – 00:04:29] Edward: uh-huh


[00:04:28 – 00:04:31] Miles: so I was making sure I applied before that.


[00:04:30 – 00:04:31] Edward: okay


[00:04:30 – 00:04:33] Miles: So I wrote up my CV.


[00:04:32 – 00:04:34] Edward: uh-huh okay


[00:04:33 – 00:04:42] Miles: You helped me with a covering letter because I wasn’t quite sure what to do with that, but now I know and that will help me in life.


[00:04:41 – 00:04:46] Edward: okay that’s true with the cv so you didn’t have a cv before


[00:04:46 – 00:04:47] Miles: oh no


[00:04:46 – 00:04:49] Edward: okay because you’ve not been employed before have you really


[00:04:48 – 00:04:50] Miles: no


[00:04:49 – 00:04:57] Edward: okay this is reasonable given your age so with your CV and your covering letter I did help you a bit with the covering letter


[00:04:56 – 00:04:57] Miles: yeah you did


[00:04:56 – 00:04:59] Edward: that is true did I dictate it for you


[00:04:58 – 00:05:03] Miles: no it was it was an effort between both of us I’d say I


[00:05:02 – 00:05:11] Edward: that’s good with your CV did you do that from scratch did you use AI I mean be honest about this did you use AI to assist you in that


[00:05:10 – 00:05:15] Miles: used AI AI to assist me with the formatting of it, making it look decent, instead


[00:05:14 – 00:05:16] Edward: Uh-huh.


[00:05:15 – 00:05:17] Miles: of just a bunch of writing


[00:05:16 – 00:05:17] Edward: Uh-huh.


[00:05:16 – 00:05:22] Miles: about me. Other than that, it was all it’s all from me.


[00:05:21 – 00:05:46] Edward: Excellent. Okay. So you then submitted the CV and a covering letter to Lanyard Bowdler following the process that’s laid out in the website in the relevant area. Yes, you have to do that via a certain point. So what happens then? Do they say, oh, Oh, it’s Miles Reese. I can’t have Edward Reese. We must immediately give him a placement or does it not work like that?


[00:05:45 – 00:05:48] Miles: No, it’s different.


[00:05:47 – 00:05:48] Edward: Good.


[00:05:47 – 00:06:08] Miles: I don’t get any special treatment. I go through the same application procedures as everyone else. So I had an email confirming that they’d received my CV and then a few months later I got an invitation to an interview. For it, which was very interesting. That was about December time.


[00:06:07 – 00:06:08] Edward: Wow.


[00:06:07 – 00:06:13] Miles: So I spoke about my CV, what was on there.


[00:06:12 – 00:06:16] Edward: There is actually an interview as part of the application process


[00:06:15 – 00:06:16] Miles: Yes, there is.


[00:06:15 – 00:06:39] Edward: because we get quite a lot of applications, I think. So we have to filter things out and there are not limitless places available for work experience for obvious reasons. uh well maybe it’s not obvious but we like to encourage people and we want people to come and experience it but we can’t be doing that every day throughout the entire year can we


[00:06:38 – 00:06:39] Miles: No.


[00:06:38 – 00:06:47] Edward: okay so so you’re invited for an interview and then you talk through your cv so so who was interviewing you excellent


[00:06:46 – 00:06:50] Miles: I believe it was Alex Banner and Lucy Speed.


[00:06:50 – 00:06:58] Edward: okay so with that uh with having gone through an interview because you’ve Because you have you ever been interviewed before?


[00:06:57 – 00:06:59] Miles: No, I haven’t.


[00:06:58 – 00:07:06] Edward: Okay, so what what would you what what were the standouts for you from that interview process?


[00:07:06 – 00:07:24] Miles: Well, it’s difficult and it’s a bit intimidating because you are being asked questions and it is to try and get a place. There’s an air of stress to it, but they’re really nice and they just ask you about your CV because you can’t lie on your CV.


[00:07:23 – 00:07:25] Edward: Well, I suppose that’s the point,


[00:07:24 – 00:07:26] Miles: Yeah,


[00:07:25 – 00:07:26] Edward: isn’t it? If you did lie


[00:07:25 – 00:07:27] Miles: if you


[00:07:26 – 00:07:27] Edward: on your


[00:07:26 – 00:07:27] Miles: did


[00:07:26 – 00:07:27] Edward: CV,


[00:07:26 – 00:07:29] Miles: lie, you wouldn’t know what you were talking about.


[00:07:28 – 00:07:29] Edward: yeah.


[00:07:28 – 00:07:38] Miles: So they ask you what you’ve put on there, your school. what you’ve chosen for GCSE stuff like that don’t


[00:07:37 – 00:07:44] Edward: Okay. So there’s a useful pointer for anybody listening who’s doing a CV. Do not lie.


[00:07:43 – 00:07:45] Miles: lie yeah yeah


[00:07:44 – 00:07:54] Edward: Absolutely. Don’t lie on your CV. You will get found out. So did they ask you about other stuff outside of your school career, your interests, that sort of thing?


[00:07:53 – 00:08:02] Miles: yeah that was a big part of it because I put that I’m very interested in computers, I_T_ stuff like that.


[00:08:01 – 00:08:02] Edward: Uh-huh.


[00:08:01 – 00:08:04] Miles: And eventually I got the placement


[00:08:03 – 00:08:04] Edward: Uh-huh.


[00:08:03 – 00:08:11] Miles: and the f first day I was with I_T_ because I put that on my C_V_ and they’d asked me about it. I said I really liked it.


[00:08:11 – 00:08:12] Edward: Uh-huh.


[00:08:11 – 00:08:16] Miles: So that’s how I got an I_T_ thing for the first day.


[00:08:15 – 00:08:31] Edward: So having gone through that process, the application process and being successful, uh is there any advice that you give to anybody else who’s thinking of applying for work experience? experience or any observations that you think might be useful for somebody who’s going through that application process.


[00:08:31 – 00:08:34] Miles: The big one, we’ve said this,


[00:08:33 – 00:08:34] Edward: Mm


[00:08:33 – 00:08:34] Miles: do


[00:08:33 – 00:08:34] Edward: -hmm.


[00:08:33 – 00:08:37] Miles: not lie on your CV because you will get found out.


[00:08:36 – 00:08:37] Edward: Right.


[00:08:37 – 00:08:55] Miles: And if you’re going to apply, if you’re thinking about applying, just do it because even if you don’t get the placement, the experience of the interview and that is good experience in itself to have and take with you in life. So I just… I’d say just apply even if you think I might not get this.


[00:08:54 – 00:08:58] Edward: Okay. Well, that’s, you know, that’s very true because you’re never guaranteed of anything,


[00:08:57 – 00:08:58] Miles: No.


[00:08:57 – 00:09:08] Edward: are you, when you apply for anything. So it’s worth, don’t start out with a, I might not succeed. So what’s the point in doing it? You’re always going to learn something valuable from the process, aren’t you?


[00:09:07 – 00:09:09] Miles: Yeah.


[00:09:08 – 00:09:22] Edward: Okay. And I’ve got a question. How do you respond to the suggestion from your sister that you are a nepo baby, that you only have this? this placement because of terrible nepotism how do you respond to that allegation


[00:09:21 – 00:09:30] Miles: I would say that’s completely ridiculous and it’s lies because I went through the same procedures as everyone else that applies.


[00:09:29 – 00:09:54] Edward: yes okay well well done and well done for standing your ground there against that appalling suggestion from your own flesh and blood so you arrived on Monday we’re recording halfway through the week so Wednesday, so you haven’t had the full experience yet, but what were your initial observations, impressions of your placement?


[00:09:53 – 00:10:01] Miles: It’s very calm here and everyone’s really friendly. That’s really nice because everyone’s lovely here.


[00:10:00 – 00:10:01] Edward: Right.


[00:10:00 – 00:10:11] Miles: You’re not going to get shouted at or anything unless you do something really bad but everyone’s really nice. and they tell you what to do and yeah it’s


[00:10:10 – 00:10:11] Edward: okay so


[00:10:10 – 00:10:12] Miles: good yeah


[00:10:11 – 00:10:30] Edward: they tell you what to do in a positive way they don’t want you to be out on a limb not knowing what you’re doing okay when you say nobody shouts at you and everybody’s really nice is that not a common experience for you in your everyday life at home at school are you always being shouted at


[00:10:29 – 00:10:32] Miles: no but you do see it happen


[00:10:31 – 00:10:32] Edward: Okay,


[00:10:31 – 00:10:33] Miles: you know,


[00:10:32 – 00:10:33] Edward: yeah,


[00:10:32 – 00:10:33] Miles: in school,


[00:10:32 – 00:10:34] Edward: yeah,


[00:10:33 – 00:10:34] Miles: you know, yeah.


[00:10:33 – 00:10:38] Edward: yeah, yeah. So, okay. So you’re treated with respect here.


[00:10:37 – 00:10:38] Miles: Yeah.


[00:10:37 – 00:10:40] Edward: Okay, that’s nice.


[00:10:39 – 00:10:40] Miles: Treat us as


[00:10:39 – 00:10:40] Edward: Lovely.


[00:10:39 – 00:10:40] Miles: an equal.


[00:10:40 – 00:10:42] Edward: Treated as an equal.


[00:10:41 – 00:10:42] Miles: Yeah.


[00:10:41 – 00:10:44] Edward: Lovely. Are you not treated as an equal at school?


[00:10:43 – 00:10:46] Miles: The teachers don’t really treat you as an equal because


[00:10:45 – 00:10:46] Edward: I’ll


[00:10:45 – 00:10:47] Miles: they’re,


[00:10:46 – 00:10:50] Edward: suppose not, they can’t, can they really? No, fair enough. What about at home?


[00:10:49 – 00:10:52] Miles: no, not at all.


[00:10:51 – 00:11:11] Edward: No, okay. That’s lovely. And that’s really positive. Was that? I mean, I don’t know how much you thought about it in advance, what it would be like, what the atmosphere would be like, what your first impressions would be. But did that accord with what you were thinking or what you were hoping or was it different from what you were expecting?


[00:11:11 – 00:11:20] Miles: I mean, I have, I’ve been here before, not to work, but to wait for you to finish and take me home.


[00:11:19 – 00:11:22] Edward: Waited for hours, yeah.


[00:11:21 – 00:11:27] Miles: On occasion that will happen. I see the environment here,


[00:11:26 – 00:11:27] Edward: Yeah.


[00:11:26 – 00:11:36] Miles: I’ve seen it before, I know what sort of happens but in a way I also don’t because I’m not really a part of it


[00:11:35 – 00:11:36] Edward: Yeah.


[00:11:35 – 00:11:37] Miles: if I’m just sat with you.


[00:11:36 – 00:11:37] Edward: Yeah.


[00:11:36 – 00:11:42] Miles: Whereas if I’m actually gaining experience by working, then I am.


[00:11:42 – 00:12:17] Edward: Okay. I kind of get that. So you had an idea that it wasn’t, you weren’t going to be taken into some Dickensian. being garrett and perched behind a stack of dusty old tomes and and perching on a ledge or something um but uh but yeah but it’s it’s it’s it’s hard to know isn’t it until you actually experience it okay so you mentioned earlier uh that you have done a day in it so just So just take us through the structure because before you arrive you’re given a programme aren’t you?


[00:12:16 – 00:12:17] Miles: Yeah.


[00:12:16 – 00:12:30] Edward: You will be doing this on this day and that. So just talk us through that. What have they said? You had your first day in IT but what’s the plan? What have you experienced and what’s the plan for the other days whilst you’re here for your week?


[00:12:29 – 00:12:42] Miles: Well the plan for the other days is sent to you via email just before, I think a week before. Or you do your work experience here. So I know what I’m doing each day,


[00:12:41 – 00:12:42] Edward: Uh-huh.


[00:12:41 – 00:13:26] Miles: but you don’t really know what you’re getting into until you actually start doing it. So with IT, I went there. I was explained about all the different systems and just gained some sort of idea about what actually happens with the IT here from that. And then yesterday… I was with personal injury so I got here, was briefed about a client meeting and then I got to sit in on that meeting and that was really good and I really enjoyed it actually. Yesterday was a really good day because I got to see what happened. IT is great and I really enjoyed it but it’s very different to personal injury,


[00:13:25 – 00:13:26] Edward: Yeah,


[00:13:25 – 00:13:27] Miles: very


[00:13:26 – 00:13:28] Edward: yeah, very,


[00:13:27 – 00:13:28] Miles: different


[00:13:27 – 00:13:28] Edward: very different.


[00:13:27 – 00:13:29] Miles: yeah.


[00:13:28 – 00:13:34] Edward: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and I suppose a lot of people coming would not want to have a day in the IT department,


[00:13:33 – 00:13:35] Miles: No.


[00:13:34 – 00:13:42] Edward: would they? But you did because you’re not, you haven’t said, well you never said previously, I want to be a lawyer.


[00:13:41 – 00:13:43] Miles: No.


[00:13:42 – 00:13:47] Edward: You wanted to have some experience and I think you were thinking more about a career in IT,


[00:13:46 – 00:13:48] Miles: No,


[00:13:47 – 00:13:51] Edward: weren’t you? I would say it definitely was.


[00:13:50 – 00:14:00] Miles: I really, really was interested. It’s interested by everything that happened that day and I think it has given me a new perspective.


[00:13:59 – 00:14:18] Edward: Okay, that’s interesting. And that’s really interesting because when you got your programme through email, I think you saw because it was distraught, you know, day two with the PI department. And again, why would anybody know what PI means? So you did ask, you said.


[00:14:17 – 00:14:21] Miles: I did ask you before that happened. happen as


[00:14:20 – 00:14:21] Edward: Hmm.


[00:14:20 – 00:14:29] Miles: what what does p.i stand for what happens in personal injury so i did ask you about that before i came in yeah


[00:14:28 – 00:14:56] Edward: I’m just going to quiz you because I was quite impressed by how much you’d picked up just in a morning with the PI team. Let’s see if you can remember because one of the things that you were looking at was if somebody’s had an accident, let’s say the accident was two years ago and now they’re And now they’re coming to see you two years on from the accident. You’d already clocked that there would be a limit within which they could actually, if they’re going to have to bring proceedings,


[00:14:55 – 00:14:56] Miles: Mm.


[00:14:55 – 00:15:00] Edward: when they can bring those proceedings. So what was the time frame?


[00:15:00 – 00:15:05] Miles: Well, it says three-year limitation time Okay. between what happened and


[00:15:04 – 00:15:05] Edward: Right.


[00:15:04 – 00:15:14] Miles: you have three years to decide what you want to do. If you want to pursue the option of personal injury, then


[00:15:13 – 00:15:14] Edward: Claim.


[00:15:13 – 00:15:15] Miles: claim,


[00:15:14 – 00:15:15] Edward: Yeah.


[00:15:14 – 00:15:21] Miles: yeah, then you cannot absolutely do that, but not if it’s past three years of that happening.


[00:15:20 – 00:15:26] Edward: Okay. Brilliant. And you knew what you knew about that. And you also knew that that was called, what’s it called?


[00:15:25 – 00:15:27] Miles: Limitation.


[00:15:26 – 00:16:06] Edward: Brilliant. brilliant which i think you mentioned anyway so i was quite impressed by that so yes congratulations on knowing stuff that uh on occasion historically not this year because they were a very good round of trainee solicitor interviews but On occasion in the past when we’ve asked trainee solicitor applicants who have all gone they’re all graduates and they’ve also done extra stuff maybe post-grad on occasion not always but just on the odd occasion when we’ve asked them about limitation they don’t actually someone don’t even know what it is what we’re talking about so well done for that for half a day’s work experience. So what what are you doing today?


[00:16:05 – 00:16:08] Miles: I’m with marketing today,


[00:16:07 – 00:16:08] Edward: Excellent.


[00:16:07 – 00:16:10] Miles: so we’ve been we’ve been We’ve been doing the podcast today.


[00:16:09 – 00:16:10] Edward: Ah,


[00:16:09 – 00:16:14] Miles: I’ve sat in on two of them and now I’m in one.


[00:16:13 – 00:16:15] Edward: extraordinary.


[00:16:14 – 00:16:16] Miles: Yeah.


[00:16:15 – 00:16:18] Edward: Okay. And how’s that going for you?


[00:16:17 – 00:16:19] Miles: So it’s great.


[00:16:18 – 00:16:19] Edward: Television.


[00:16:18 – 00:16:24] Miles: I’m really enjoying it. Fellow listeners at home, I’m really enjoying it.


[00:16:23 – 00:16:29] Edward: Okay, good, good, excellent. Alright, and then so what have you got mapped out for the rest of the week?


[00:16:28 – 00:16:32] Miles: So tomorrow I am with private client.


[00:16:31 – 00:16:33] Edward: Okay.


[00:16:32 – 00:16:36] Miles: So… Am I going to see you tomorrow at any


[00:16:35 – 00:16:36] Edward: You


[00:16:35 – 00:16:36] Miles: point?


[00:16:35 – 00:17:28] Edward: might do, it depends, because one of the things that we wanted to do is one of the things we like to do if we can is get you into meetings with clients. Now, not all clients would want the work experience person to come into it. Most would be quite happy for the work experience person to come in, but not all will. Some days it can be that we just haven’t got any appointments. that’s in the diary for you to go to a meeting even if the client’s happy as it happens i think we have got a couple tomorrow and I’ve got one as well if if need be so you might be with me for a bit of the day but most of the day uh you will you will probably be with with Amy in in our Shrewsbury team and you should be able to do meetings um with her because I think she’s got more than more than one lined up clearly with pi being able to actually see


[00:17:27 – 00:17:28] Miles: Definitely.


[00:17:27 – 00:18:09] Edward: how it works when you’re interacting with clients that was quite formative for you wasn’t it okay but other things you might look at when you’re with private client apart from you know if you can get in a client meeting might be good to see our systems and how those work it’d be good to well we have you know if you’re at all bored during that you’d never be bored but if there was a if you’re at a quiet moment And we’ve got a series of tasks and research things that work experience people can have a go at looking up and researching and then coming back to us with the answers. And I’d be quite keen for you, if you’re with me, to be looking at, say, our will writing software,


[00:18:08 – 00:18:09] Miles: Mm.


[00:18:08 – 00:18:55] Edward: which I think is really, really smart. And actually even having a go. with with that because it’s such a nice workflow and it’s so well presented it’s so user-friendly I actually think you could give that to most people whether they’re 16 years old 15 years old 33 80 provided they can follow a process they could actually have a go I’m pretty confident at drafting something within within an hour or so of having been introduced to the to the software it’s it’s that it’s that good so it’d be good if you could do that So that’s Thursday, that’s tomorrow, isn’t it? And then Friday, what are you doing on Friday?


[00:18:54 – 00:19:14] Miles: Friday, I am with legal services, which again, when I was sent the email a week before I came here, I had to ask you, well, what is that? So now I’ve got slight understanding, but I’m still not too sure. So I think tomorrow will be good so I can understand what it actually is.


[00:19:13 – 00:20:25] Edward: Yeah. OK, well, no, fair enough. So legal services. This is, well, actually they help and assist all of us, whichever department we might be, whether we’re a person injury, private client, commercial, they’re doing loads of stuff that keeps the whole show on the road, rather like the marketing, rather like the marketing team who keep the show on the road. The legal services keep the show on the road as well. So they do a load of stuff, ID, compliance checks, file opening. file closing digital dictation whilst that is now all voice recognition which is brilliant uh they do a lot of proofreading so that you know they pick up these digital files and then they’ll do the proofreading and let you have a proof read draft back for final checks so loads and loads of reception that’s part of uh the legal services room booking there’s There’s loads and loads of things that aren’t necessarily a legal department, a legal discipline specifically related. They help us with all of that. So we can’t really function without them. But don’t tell them.


[00:20:24 – 00:20:25] Miles: Okay.


[00:20:24 – 00:20:37] Edward: OK, right. OK, so here’s a question I wanted to ask you. During your time so far with Lanyard Boudler, has anybody asked you? you if you can beat your father in a fight okay


[00:20:36 – 00:20:38] Miles: Hasn’t happened yet,


[00:20:37 – 00:20:39] Edward: right


[00:20:38 – 00:20:39] Miles: but


[00:20:38 – 00:20:40] Edward: that’s


[00:20:39 – 00:20:42] Miles: there’s still a chance of it happening.


[00:20:41 – 00:20:49] Edward: okay all right and and has that ever happened in any of your interactions with anybody with the firm in another context oh


[00:20:48 – 00:20:50] Miles: It has, yeah.


[00:20:49 – 00:20:55] Edward: my goodness my goodness and who was it who asked you if you could beat your father in a fight


[00:20:54 – 00:20:56] Miles: It was David.


[00:20:55 – 00:21:00] Edward: David they name and shame him fully David’s not sufficient


[00:20:59 – 00:21:01] Miles: David Pugh.


[00:21:00 – 00:21:48] Edward: David Pugh appalling so David Pugh is an experienced veteran of this podcast asked not you weren’t even 15 asked a 14 year old whether he could beat his father in a fight okay I’ve asked other people who’ve done work experience with us one of whom subsequently became a trainee and worked with David whether he’d asked her if she could beat her father in a fight she got quite confused about it she was He wondered whether it meant whether he could he could beat her father in a fight, which I’m almost sure he wouldn’t be able to, even though I’ve not met her father. But this is like a level of discourse that you get. So, yeah, top podcaster, top podcast insights. Right. I think you might have touched on this already, but what’s been the most interesting thing you think you’ve learned so far?


[00:21:47 – 00:21:51] Miles: Probably, well, everything actually,


[00:21:50 – 00:21:51] Edward: Right.


[00:21:50 – 00:22:00] Miles: because I think… This is really great because I can learn what it’s like, so first thing have a sort of job,


[00:21:59 – 00:22:02] Edward: Yeah okay so actually be usefully


[00:22:01 – 00:22:03] Miles: be a member


[00:22:02 – 00:22:03] Edward: usefully engaged,


[00:22:02 – 00:22:04] Miles: a member of the working force,


[00:22:03 – 00:22:10] Edward: be a useful member of society yes, but remember everybody would like you to become useful member of society,


[00:22:09 – 00:22:10] Miles: but


[00:22:09 – 00:22:11] Edward: we’re keen on that.


[00:22:10 – 00:22:22] Miles: also to see what it’s like to be in an office environment is very valuable and then Yeah, just everything has been useful to me.


[00:22:21 – 00:22:34] Edward: Great. Okay. Well, that’s good. Okay. And obviously it’s different to being at school, but can you draw out what you think are the major contrasts with being at school?


[00:22:33 – 00:22:35] Miles: Not really, no.


[00:22:34 – 00:22:35] Edward: Oh, okay.


[00:22:35 – 00:22:38] Miles: I don’t know. You’ve put me on the spot.


[00:22:41 – 00:22:49] Edward: Well, okay, put it this way. Would you… It’s a very honest response. Would you…


[00:22:48 – 00:22:50] Miles: I don’t know.


[00:22:49 – 00:22:55] Edward: Well, it’s… Alright, so yeah, you said it was karma.


[00:22:54 – 00:22:56] Miles: It’s a bit


[00:22:55 – 00:22:56] Edward: Is


[00:22:55 – 00:22:56] Miles: calmer,


[00:22:55 – 00:22:56] Edward: is calmer?


[00:22:55 – 00:22:56] Miles: yeah.


[00:22:55 – 00:22:57] Edward: than school?


[00:22:57 – 00:22:58] Miles: Yeah.


[00:22:57 – 00:23:02] Edward: What’s going on at school that I didn’t… I thought it was karma at school.


[00:23:01 – 00:23:05] Miles: Well, it is, but lots of stuff happens at school. Anything can happen at school.


[00:23:04 – 00:23:06] Edward: Yeah.


[00:23:05 – 00:23:08] Miles: But again, anything could happen here.


[00:23:07 – 00:23:15] Edward: Okay, at school. School? There are people patrolling the corridors presumably at break time. Are there people patrolling the corridors at Lanyon Bowdler


[00:23:14 – 00:23:17] Miles: um not that I’ve seen no yeah


[00:23:16 – 00:23:27] Edward: I suppose we’re open plan aren’t we? It is a bit different. Would you rather be at school or would you rather be doing work experience with Lanyon Bowdler?


[00:23:26 – 00:23:28] Miles: I’d rather be here.


[00:23:27 – 00:23:36] Edward: OK. What if you really were employed here? Would you rather be here or would you rather be at school? at school


[00:23:35 – 00:23:36] Edward: Given


[00:23:35 – 00:23:36] Edward: okay


[00:23:35 – 00:23:39] Edward: that being at school is the best days of your life.


[00:23:38 – 00:23:55] Miles: Yeah you hear that a lot from older people so well going off that I guess if I was to be employed here maybe eventually I might get a bit tired of it and maybe want to go back to school.


[00:23:54 – 00:24:07] Edward: all right and that point about being tired did you find that after your first first day or even after your second day actually it was quite tired it’s quite a long day isn’t it compared with school


[00:24:06 – 00:24:13] Miles: Not too much longer, but it’s more tiring because you’re doing more than you would at school really.


[00:24:12 – 00:24:15] Edward: I suppose you’re doing new stuff as well


[00:24:14 – 00:24:15] Miles: Yeah,


[00:24:14 – 00:24:16] Edward: aren’t you


[00:24:15 – 00:24:25] Miles: learning new stuff, taking lots of new information tired me out, but it was also my birthday, so that was tiring as well.


[00:24:24 – 00:24:28] Edward: well yeah that’s true did we do anything for your birthday or did we


[00:24:27 – 00:24:32] Edward: I mean, just your birthday present is your work experience as


[00:24:31 – 00:24:33] Miles: What a good


[00:24:32 – 00:24:33] Edward: an adult.


[00:24:32 – 00:24:34] Miles: present.


[00:24:33 – 00:24:35] Edward: Oh,


[00:24:34 – 00:24:35] Miles: It’s


[00:24:34 – 00:24:35] Edward: well, that’s


[00:24:34 – 00:24:35] Miles: good.


[00:24:34 – 00:24:35] Edward: good.


[00:24:34 – 00:24:36] Miles: It’s good experience.


[00:24:35 – 00:24:37] Edward: It is good


[00:24:36 – 00:24:37] Miles: It’s


[00:24:36 – 00:24:37] Edward: experience.


[00:24:36 – 00:24:37] Miles: in the name,


[00:24:36 – 00:24:38] Edward: Yeah.


[00:24:37 – 00:24:39] Miles: work experience.


[00:24:38 – 00:24:44] Edward: Okay. Excellent. Excellent. Okay. But did you do anything else? That wasn’t it.


[00:24:43 – 00:24:45] Miles: Yeah, we went to Beefy Boys,


[00:24:44 – 00:24:46] Edward: Okay.


[00:24:45 – 00:24:46] Miles: didn’t


[00:24:45 – 00:24:46] Edward: Well, yeah,


[00:24:45 – 00:24:46] Miles: we?


[00:24:45 – 00:24:48] Edward: I know. I know that and you know that,


[00:24:47 – 00:24:48] Miles: Well,


[00:24:47 – 00:24:50] Edward: but the podcast listeners don’t


[00:24:49 – 00:24:50] Miles: I’m


[00:24:49 – 00:24:50] Edward: know that.


[00:24:49 – 00:24:55] Miles: sure the listeners aren’t too interested in what I did for my birthday and where I went to eat. Sweet.


[00:24:54 – 00:25:22] Edward: They will be. It’s all about the journey, the personal experience. That’s what the podcast world wants. Okay, right. More specifically, let’s move on to some specifically father and child or father and son related topics. So obviously, you’ve heard me banging on about work, Lanyon Bowdler, most of it positive, some of it maybe less.


[00:25:21 – 00:25:24] Edward: being less positive throughout the years.


[00:25:23 – 00:25:24] Miles: I’d


[00:25:23 – 00:25:28] Edward: Has being here given you a different perspective on that?


[00:25:27 – 00:25:29] Miles: say it has a bit.


[00:25:28 – 00:25:41] Edward: Have you felt more pressure or less pressure, do you think, because you’re working somewhere where your dad works? Do you think it’s, yeah, do you think it’s been a more stressful thing or less stressful?


[00:25:40 – 00:25:44] Miles: less stressful but it’s because i know people


[00:25:43 – 00:25:44] Edward: Yeah,


[00:25:43 – 00:25:45] Miles: there I’ve


[00:25:44 – 00:25:45] Edward: that’s


[00:25:44 – 00:25:45] Miles: met people


[00:25:44 – 00:25:46] Edward: true.


[00:25:45 – 00:25:47] Miles: before through you


[00:25:46 – 00:25:48] Edward: Yeah.


[00:25:47 – 00:25:58] Miles: but i i think that even if Your father worked here and you applied for work experience. You wouldn’t be stressed because it’s very calm and nice.


[00:25:57 – 00:26:10] Edward: okay good i wonder what that would be like if you didn’t know me and you’d been doing podcasts and then they made you do a podcast with a complete well they wouldn’t be a complete stranger would they but how do you think that would have been It it


[00:26:09 – 00:26:12] Miles: wouldn’t be as good as this podcast will be.


[00:26:11 – 00:26:14] Edward: could never No. be as good could it


[00:26:14 – 00:26:20] Edward: Okay. Oh, that’s very good.


[00:26:20 – 00:26:34] Edward: One further thing on this threat. Is there anything that you’ve seen here this week that made you think, I didn’t realise that that was part of being a lawyer or part of life or the experience of a law firm?


[00:26:33 – 00:26:45] Miles: Yeah, I’d say the IT department really is beneficial to here as a whole because if something wrong happens… happen with any of the systems, then you’d struggle.


[00:26:44 – 00:26:46] Edward: Yeah.


[00:26:45 – 00:26:47] Miles: You wouldn’t be able to work.


[00:26:46 – 00:26:47] Edward: Mm.


[00:26:46 – 00:26:50] Miles: So if one thing happens to someone,


[00:26:49 – 00:26:50] Edward: Mm-hmm.


[00:26:49 – 00:26:52] Miles: they can’t work, so that has to be sorted.


[00:26:52 – 00:26:53] Edward: Mm.


[00:26:52 – 00:26:54] Miles: If you didn’t have an IT department,


[00:26:54 – 00:26:55] Edward: Mm.


[00:26:54 – 00:26:56] Miles: that that wouldn’t happen


[00:26:55 – 00:26:56] Edward: Yeah.


[00:26:55 – 00:26:57] Miles: quickly.


[00:26:56 – 00:27:38] Edward: Yeah, no, absolutely. Big shout out for the IT  team. So I should have said when we talked about marketing we couldn’t function without that and the legal service is actually the IT team as well. They’re at absolutely key aren’t they that without the IT infrastructure which you’ve seen now and you’ve got some idea of of the what’s going on and the complexity of it and the amount of interlocking systems and processes that that again that you couldn’t do it without them could you staying on that point about the IT one of the things that you were looking at was emails coming in and what they have to filter coming in so that must have been a bit of an eye-opener I guess


[00:27:37 – 00:28:01] Miles: It was because there’s lots, lots and lots of junk and spam comes in and not much of it is malicious, but they’re trying to get away in. So you’ll have one company and they’ll email you. For example, the other day it was waste management. For eight pounds in Shrewsbury


[00:28:00 – 00:28:01] Edward: Right.


[00:28:00 – 00:28:21] Miles: and they they’d emailed and it come to this list where it could either be accepted or denied. It was denied because they had applied for different domains so they were just sending it over and over again and if that had gone through that would have cut. caused problems for people’s emails because


[00:28:20 – 00:28:22] Edward: Yeah.


[00:28:21 – 00:28:23] Miles: it’s just junk coming


[00:28:22 – 00:28:23] Edward: Yeah.


[00:28:22 – 00:28:24] Miles: through over and over.


[00:28:23 – 00:28:24] Edward: Yeah.


[00:28:23 – 00:28:25] Miles: Yeah.


[00:28:24 – 00:29:11] Edward: No, it absolutely is. Again, it’s difficult to quantify that over the course of the day or the week or the year. If you had all the junk, all the spam that’s being sent through, if it all came through, I mean, apart from the risk of something coming through that is malicious. So again, the job they do is invaluable. I mean, not just in terms of In terms of keeping the show on the road, in terms of keeping all these plates spinning with all these systems, but actually the massive risk to the firm is in terms of cyber attack and what they being the guardians of the systems that are trying to protect us from that and they themselves trying to protect us. That is so, so important because that is such an important, such a significant risk area.


[00:29:11 – 00:29:12] Edward: There we


[00:29:11 – 00:29:12] Miles: Very


[00:29:11 – 00:29:12] Edward: go.


[00:29:11 – 00:29:13] Miles: important.


[00:29:12 – 00:29:19] Edward: Okay. Has this placement made you more interested in law, less interested or simply more informed?


[00:29:18 – 00:29:23] Miles: I’m more interested and more informed, actually.


[00:29:22 – 00:29:36] Edward: So we’ve exhausted that thread, that line of questioning, that line of interrogation. Before we wrap things up, and I should have done this earlier, I’ve been asking lots and lots of questions. Have you got any questions for


[00:29:35 – 00:29:36] Miles: I


[00:29:35 – 00:29:36] Edward: me?


[00:29:35 – 00:29:43] Miles: do have a question for you. actually and that question is why do you think people should do work experience here and


[00:29:42 – 00:29:44] Edward: Right.


[00:29:43 – 00:29:45] Miles: not other law firms?


[00:29:44 – 00:30:00] Edward: Okay. Well, I can’t speak for exactly how it works in other law firms, but the reason why they should do it here and the reasons that I know about why they should do it here is because I know there’s a real structure.


[00:30:00 – 00:30:20] Edward: and a real process to how how it works here so I don’t know for certain but I would imagine that you might get a week’s work experience placement at another firm and if they don’t have the organisation uh the structure behind it you might end up potentially sitting twiddling your thumbs for


[00:30:19 – 00:30:20] Miles: Yeah


[00:30:19 – 00:30:42] Edward: a day or a few days or you might just be oh here’s a file read through a file uh or you might just get you know might just be put in a corner uh or i don’t know I mean they might make you go and do horrible things you might have to after going they probably wouldn’t because it’d be a risk wouldn’t it but I’m trying to think because I did work experience when i was a bit older than you well


[00:30:41 – 00:30:44] Edward: Why did you do your work experience?


[00:30:43 – 00:32:40] Edward: and well i my legal work experience i did it uh at a firm in Wrexham and i did it a firm in in i did a week in Wrexham and did a week in with a firm in in Chester and actually that was pretty good that was quite structured and i got to see clients i did read through files as well but it was it was good you know it was not it was interactive they were interested in me they were interested in showing me how things worked when I was your age or a little bit older I did work experience as a journalist with the Wrexham leader So I spent a week in the newsroom at the rec to me and that was really good Although I think I overreached myself because I was after a couple of days I was ringing stories from the newsrooms the print room because it was back in the day so they did have computers and what have you but the journalists just had typewriters and then you’d ring through the story to somebody who’d then do the setting of the store and I think I was When they found out I was doing that, they stopped it because they meant for me to be writing. reports on what’s going on in the police station and then them going straight to print but that or and no other highlights you know being sent out to buy cigarettes for everybody in the newsroom that was good um but and but it was really good and then i went to see how all the printing as well one day at the the print works so that that was excellent but I’m not doing that now so there we go knowing that you’re going to have structure there’s people who who are keen on seeing that you get a really good experience and actually the fundamental thing here is the people who are running the work experience programme here are looking at it from a number of perspectives one is it’s good that everybody out there In Shropshire or further afield knows that we’re interested in giving people work experience placements.


[00:32:39 – 00:32:40] Edward: Mm.


[00:32:39 – 00:33:27] Edward: That’s good in terms of outreach and in terms of our responsibility that we have to the community. But also, maybe it’s a bit selfish, but also we are approaching it from the perspective of. of people, of bringing people in ultimately to work here, to apply for jobs at Lanyabala, to apply for training contracts, to become solicitors, to come into other roles within the organisation. Ultimately, actually, potentially, people who might one day after a number of years after they’ve been here for a while be interested in becoming managers. owners of the business so actually in a really long-term way this is about succession management succession


[00:33:26 – 00:33:28] Edward: Yeah.


[00:33:27 – 00:33:57] Edward: planning so it’s really really important so I’m not sure that every place you might do work experience whether it’s a law firm or whether it’s not a law firm would treat it in that way but actually that’s the way that we’re we’re looking at it So I’m not involved heavily in the work experience programme, but I’m involved in the… the Chinese solicitor interview programme and that’s very much how I’m looking at it,


[00:33:56 – 00:33:57] Edward: Hmm.


[00:33:56 – 00:34:12] Edward: that it’s not so much us interviewing them for what we can get, but it’s actually for them it should be them interviewing us about in the longer term is this a firm that I’d want to be a leader of,


[00:34:11 – 00:34:12] Edward: Yeah.


[00:34:11 – 00:34:13] Edward: so yeah.


[00:34:12 – 00:34:18] Edward: But do you have many people in the trainees solicitor? It’s a programme that have done work experience here.


[00:34:17 – 00:34:54] Edward: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So I was talking earlier, wasn’t I, about Nicole, who I’d asked her whether David had asked her whether she could be in a fight and fortunately he hadn’t. She’s a trainee now in her, well, she’ll qualify soon, actually. So she’ll qualify and she’ll continue with Lanyon Bowdler, which is brilliant. But she first came to us. on work experience so I can’t I don’t know she didn’t do a day with me I can’t remember how old she was when she did her work experience she may have been a bit older than you it might have been when she was an undergraduate but


[00:34:53 – 00:34:54] Edward: Hmm.


[00:34:53 – 00:35:09] Edward: that kind of story is absolutely brilliant if we can get that and there are other people who’ve done that as well I just can’t remember them off the top of my head and then if you can plot their progress from work experience through to partner that’s That’d be even better,


[00:35:08 – 00:35:09] Edward: wouldn’t Yeah.


[00:35:08 – 00:35:56] Edward: it? I mean, that’d be brilliant. So, yeah. Right. Well, that was a brilliant question to ask, Miles. Very insightful. Thank you very much indeed for joining us today on this podcast. I know you’ve had a day or a morning of looking at how the podcast recordings work, but for you actually to join in one and be so confident and be so relaxed. relaxed and be so insightful as well not only in your answers but in your questions that takes some doing so thank you very much indeed what a treat for me to have been doing a podcast with my own with my own son so thank you very much it’s been a real pleasure to chat with you and also I’m very proud of you and to have been doing this podcast with you so thank you miles you


[00:35:55 – 00:35:57] Edward: No problem.


[00:35:56 – 00:35:57] Edward: Okay.


[00:35:58 – 00:36:16] Amanda: Thank you to Edward and two miles. If you have a legal issue you’d like me to put to our team to cover in an upcoming episode, please let me know by visiting lblaw.co.uk forward slash knowledge where you can search for all our podcasts. That’s lblaw.co.uk forward slash knowledge.


[00:36:15 – 00:36:20] Introducer: That was the Legal Lounge from Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors.