Hannah James - a Trainee in waiting

I recently started work for Morgan Cole in their Swansea office in the insurance practice area. I work with a team of twelve legal assistants in one large spacious office overlooking the yachts on the Swansea marina. I completed my legal practice course in June 2009, graduating from Cardiff University in October.

The job is in the specific area of credit hire. I did not know what to expect for my first week at Swansea as I had never studied insurance law during my law degree, nor my legal practice course, and especially knew nothing of credit hire.  This made me wonder whether the LPC would provide me with the skills and experience I would require for the job.

The only knowledge I had gained of what to expect as a fee earner at Morgan Cole I had gathered from a two week vacation placement I participated in during the summer 2007.  This was when I made the decision that this was both the firm and the route I wished to go down.

My first day at the office consisted of information technology training, getting up to speed with the various computer systems I would be expected to use daily in the insurance department.  The rest of the week was spent getting a feel for what the fee earners in my department do and how they conduct themselves whilst keeping on top of their busy schedules.

What surprised me in my first week was the amount of responsibility given to each member of my team.  This may scare some people, and in the first few days it may have been a worrying thought for me, however, as the weeks have passed I am glad to have been given the opportunity and challenges I now have.

Three weeks in and I have my very own file load. I conduct each one myself, following each claim from the very beginning to the end when a settlement can be reached, whilst being able to rely on my supervisor for any advice and assistance I may need along the way.

Apart from the amount of responsibility, the other unexpected factor to my job is how much I have been able to utilize the variety of skills I acquired from the LPC during my day to day challenges in the office.  The LPC, as well as teaching me about different areas of law in practice, also taught me how to manage my time appropriately, organise my workload depending on what is to take priority and how to be efficient.  These are the skills I now use daily and have used from the day the first file landed on my desk.

With a large file load, being organised and efficient whilst prioritising tasks in order of importance is paramount. Failing to prioritise effectively could result in mistakes being made and the optimum service not being provided at all times.

Further skills I acquired during my LPC are researching, client care and drafting various legal documents correctly and knowing when each is appropriate.  Thankfully Morgan Cole so far has provided me with a chance to exercise nearly all the skills I learnt whilst studying my LPC at Cardiff, meaning that the tough year of work, work, work is finally paying off and was certainly worthwhile.

So far, the variation of work and many challenges within my role as legal assistant have provided me with the high quality of training and experience I aimed to achieve from this role and will continue to prepare me for my training contract which commences in September 2010.