Last month we welcomed Trainee Solicitor, Simeon Blewett, to the team at Berry & Lamberts. His two year training contract includes three ‘seats’ in the firm where he will be learning more about three different areas of law, before deciding which area he wants to specialise in. We caught up with Simeon to find out more…
Having gone to school locally in Tunbridge Wells, I then studied Law LLB at King’s College London, graduating in the summer of 2018 with first class honours. I began the Legal Practice Course in September, completing it with distinction in summer of this year (2019), having chosen employment law, advanced commercial property law, and private acquisitions as my electives. I applied to Berry & Lamberts for a training contract while studying the LPC and went through the interviews during summer. I was fortunate enough to be accepted and am now a month into my first seat.
I am looking forward to experiencing the three different areas of law I will be practicing in during my training contract, and discovering which one I am best suited to. I go into it with some preconceived ideas, but I’m fully aware that practice is often very different to study! I didn’t study Private Client (my first seat) on the LPC, so it’s all new to me, but I am thoroughly enjoying it and have learned a huge amount in my first month here. What I most look forward to is becoming an expert in whichever area I end up in and knowing that I can really help clients through my work.
After investigating training contracts in London, I decided I wasn’t cut out for life in a big city firm and the long hours and commuting that go with it. Being a local, a law firm in the Tunbridge Wells area made perfect sense. They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but I found myself impressed by the firm’s website, particularly how client-friendly it is, breaking down how the different areas of law can impact on different areas of a client’s life. In both interviews it came across clearly that Berry & Lamberts cares about its employees, ensuring they have a good work-life balance and a friendly working environment free from stress (or as free from stress as it is possible to be in a law firm!) I remember the panel interview almost ended with me asking more questions than the partners, and I felt that this was the firm I wanted to work for.
I was always very indecisive when it came to future careers. I always thought that as long as it didn’t involve maths and numbers I would be happy (and here I am trying to wrap my head around tax law!) At various times I wanted to be a writer, an explorer, a spy and a professional ping pong player, but none of these dreams culminated in anything – and here I am!
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