Survey Results - Trainee feedback on Leathes Prior

The lowdown - Trainees (in their own words) on Leathes Prior

Why did you choose this firm over any others? ‘The welcoming approach and social life across the whole firm’, ‘it supports the local community and had a great social life’, ‘I was lucky enough to be approached by more than one firm with an offer of a training contract. What made LP stand out for me was the level of difficulty they promised. My interviews with LP were incredibly refreshing, as they promised to throw me into the deep end and, while they wouldn’t give me more than I could handle, they wouldn’t be afraid to push me’

Best thing about the firm? ‘Culture – approachability of staff, atmosphere of trust and respect, location’, ‘the social life and the community-feel between every member of the firm’, ‘the culture’, ‘without a doubt the social life’, ‘the quality of work and the social life’, ‘the social life and the supportive environment’, ‘the friendly atmosphere’, ‘the responsibility we are given at an early stage of the training contract’

Worst thing about the firm? ‘If anything, then the pay’, ‘the hybrid-working policy and the lack of transparency regarding pay ‘, ‘the lack of flexible working offering’, ‘the IT’, ‘the trainee rate of pay is lower than that of larger firms in the area, which was certainly a factor I took into consideration when deciding between LP and other firms’, ‘the pay and the lack of hybrid working/flexibility around working from home’

Best moment? ‘Being given responsibility in the build-up to an arbitration and then being able to observe the outcome of that hard work’, ‘managing completions on quite large matters and leading two client meetings under a partner’s supervision’, ‘attending a hearing with counsel at the Royal Courts of Justice in London’, ‘being able to have a lot of control over my own files, and have a client personally thank me for the work I have done. I have also really enjoyed all social events I have experienced’

Worst moment? ‘Spending a long time on a piece of work only for it to be redrafted and most of it was not ultimately included’, ‘feeling over-pressured when covering for fee earners on their annual leave and not being able to control property transactions not completing’, ‘working my way through a document which had 10,000 duplications in it’, ‘making routine errors on files – your supervisors may not come down hard on you, as you are a trainee, but it is always embarrassing’

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Leathes Prior

Leathes Prior is ‘well respected in Norwich’, and offers ‘really interesting work, despite being a bit smaller than other firms in the region’. The East-Anglian outfit has a ‘family feel’, and a prominent ‘presence in the local community’. Leathes Prior is full-service, which leads to a collaborative way of working, and allows trainees to work with and get to know a variety of people across the firm. Recruits get ‘more in-depth involvement with files from an earlier stage’, ‘work very closely with partners during their training’, and are ‘trusted to interact with clients’. Better still, ‘if I want to take on a new challenge or get myself out there, I have always been fully encouraged to give it a go, which has done wonders for my confidence, both in my job and in networking situations’ said one respondent. Best moments include ‘winning a three-day trial with my associate colleague after weeks of prep and many long evenings (and, of course, the champagne immediately after the judgment…!)’. Several respondents complained about the lack of hybrid working opportunities. Some trainees also consider the pay to be lower than at other (larger) firms in the area. But at least Leathes Prior has a buzzing social life; ‘everyone is very close knit, and, as a result, having plans with friends from work feels like having plans with friends’. For a ‘truly welcoming’ firm in Norwich, where ‘trainee involvement and responsibility are far and above other firms’, consider Leathes Prior.

A day in the life of... Alex Robinson, Trainee

Alex Robinson, Leathes Prior

Departments to date: Commercial dispute resolution team (first seat); Employment team (second seat).

University: Durham University

Degree: BA and MA History Degree

I started my training contract with Leathes Prior in September 2023. I am currently sitting in the employment team, having previously sat in the commercial dispute resolution team. The work at Leathes Prior is interesting and varied, with the employment team acting for both employees and employers in the employment tribunal, while also offering ad hoc legal advice for our Employmentor clients. Working in the team also provides the opportunity to get involved in sports law, which has included working on an FA arbitration, a motorsport intellectual property dispute and a football-related defamation dispute.

Following a short walk to work, I typically arrive at the office at around 8.30am and start my day by checking my emails. I will then head to the kitchen to grab a drink and use this as an opportunity to say hello to the other members of the team. I will also update them on the progress of any work that I am doing for them and see whether there is anything else with which I can assist. When I get back to my desk, I go through my list of tasks and prioritise them.

The employment team at Leathes Prior is a very busy team and today is looking no different.

I start my day with a grounds of claim I have been drafting for a case involving disability discrimination and constructive unfair dismissal. This is the second claim I have drafted during my time in the seat, with the claims here being more complicated, so it is a good opportunity to test myself and see how I am progressing. I get some constructive feedback from the partner leading the case, which we talk through and she gives me some helpful guidance on how to structure and set out the various claims. I take this feedback on board and prepare a second draft.

After the new draft is complete, I sit in on a meeting led by one of the partners who is seeing a new client. The client has been dismissed and has been subjected to sex discrimination. After the meeting, the partner and I discuss the merits of the client’s claims, particularly as the client does not have the necessary two years’ service to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. We explore the possibility of an automatic unfair dismissal claim. After our discussion, the partner asks me to draft a letter before action and I add this to my list of tasks.

My next task is to review and update a contract of employment for a client. It has been some time since the client last updated its employment contracts, so it is important to go through the entire contract to ensure that the statutory requirements have been met. As part of this review, I draft amend the existing holiday and sickness absence clauses, and add new clauses relating to training and paid leave. When I finish the review, I send a tracked change version across to the lead partner along with some of my comments and draft an email to the client.

At around 1pm, I head out for lunch. It is a hot, sunny day and on days like this it is nice to wander through the Cathedral Close down to the river. We are lucky at Leathes Prior to be located in such a scenic and peaceful part of the city. On my walk, I bump into a couple of colleagues and have a catch-up before heading back to work.

On my return to the office, I turn my attention to some comments on a witness statement I have drafted on behalf of a client. I discuss the client’s comments, how best to incorporate them into the statement and how they affect the case more generally with the partner leading the matter. I note down the partner’s suggestions and incorporate them into a new draft of the statement. Once the draft is complete, I send an email to the client attaching the updated statement. This email explains the changes we have made and asks him whether he has any further comments.

Once this email is sent, I turn my attention to a disclosure exercise for a respondent client. I start by reviewing the pleadings to identify the issues in the case and what sort of documentation may exist that supports or goes against both our client’s case and the claimant’s case. After this review, I go through the file, including the preliminary documentation we have had from our client and the employment tribunal, and pull everything relevant together into a bundle. I then compare what I have found against what I need to have based on my earlier review and draft an email to the client explaining what further documentation I need from them.

At the end of the week, the team meets in one of the offices to have a chat about our weeks and catch up ahead of the weekend. After this, we will head to the pub for the firm’s Friday drinks. Leathes Prior prides itself on being a very sociable firm and the turnout for Friday drinks is always good. Here I can chat with people from across the firm and catch up with my fellow trainees who I do not always have a chance to see during the week with us all being in different teams and buildings.

About the firm

The firm:  Leathes Prior is a leading East Anglian full-service law firm providing a comprehensive legal service to a variety of organisations and private clients, both locally and nationwide. We are a traditional law firm (established over 140 years ago) with a very modern and collaborative approach to our work. We are growing and currently have over 120 staff in total.

The clients: CVS (UK) Ltd; Angling Direct; Suffolk New College; Rainbird Technologies; The Great Hospital; Norwich University of the Arts; Alex Albon; Hitech Grand Prix Limited; Norfolk Broads Direct; British Horseracing Authority.

Senior partner: Paul Warman

Managing partners: Dan Chapman, Richard Guthrie, Darren Bowen

Other offices:  Four offices in central Norwich, either in the Cathedral Close or Tombland, with a fifth small office hub in Ipswich

Who we are: Leathes Prior is a traditional full-service law firm with a modern and collaborative approach to our work.

What we do: Employment, corporate and commercial, litigation and dispute resolution, family, commercial property, residential conveyancing, wills, trusts and estates.

What we’re looking for: Our trainees are self-motivated and proactive with their learning. While academic qualifications are important to us, we also ensure the right fit with the firm.

What you’ll do: We aim to design training contracts according to the individual trainee solicitor. Our trainees normally complete four seats across the firm, spending six months in each seat.

Perks: Healthcare cash plan, firm-wide bonus scheme, wellbeing support in-house and via an employee assistance programme, annual flu vaccination, free eye tests, free breakfast and fruit, free railcard, enhanced parental leave, discounted bus travel, subsidised city centre parking, pension based on full salary, corporate discounts, interest-free SQE loan.

 

Sponsorship

All our future trainees are offered financial support for their SQE studies. This comes in one of two ways (or as a combination):

    • Interest free loan repayable during the training contract.
    • Contribution payment with no requirement to repay unless certain circumstances arise

Seat options

Employment, corporate and commercial, litigation and dispute resolution, family, commercial property, residential conveyancing, wills, trusts and estates.

Tips from the recruiter

  1. Problem solving - our trainee solicitors are expected to learn how to identify appropriate advice for our clients’ needs.
  2. Organisation - ability to prioritise work and the ability to speak up when more support is needed is crucial.
  3. Self-motivation - we seek candidates who will take a very proactive and driven approach to their development.

Diversity and inclusion

Percentage of female associates: 50%

Percentage of female partners: 30%