Meet Dami - a trainee solicitor

University attended : Liverpool
Degree qualification and year of graduation: Law, 2017

I started my time at the firm in 2019, as an inexperienced aspiring solicitor, fresh out of the LPC which I completed straight after my undergraduate studies. I joined as a paralegal in our Leeds office and it quickly became obvious to me that this was a place I could see myself at for the rest of my legal career.

It’s the consistent description whenever anyone asks about AG – 'the culture is second to none' – but that is just the reality of it. From my early days as a paralegal, and even more so now, it was apparent that this wasn’t like other firms. The collegiality, between offices and between teams, is so intrinsic to everything we do here, and the people here really own and embody that ethos.

It is best exemplified with an anecdote: I was about 6 months in as a paralegal and had been working on a project with a legal director in a different office. I didn’t have much experience, but I was beginning to grasp the concepts and wanted to try something new, so I asked if I could draft an ancillary document for the real estate part of a large corporate deal. The fee earner didn't hesitate to allow me to try, but they challenged me to draft the main lease, based on our precedent. I was apprehensive, but their trust in me gave me the confidence to try, so I did. The result was far from perfect, but they sat me down afterwards to review and gave me so much useful feedback to build from. They didn’t have to do this, they had no responsibility to do so, especially amid such a large, time-sensitive deal, but they did. This is just one recollection, but I have so many other stories that mirror this sentiment, and when you're exposed to this attitude every day, it's impossible for you to not project that same philosophy.

I have certainly felt this even more so as a trainee, allowing me to work on such a variety of tasks as a result, which leads nicely to another seemingly unavoidable cliché of as a trainee "no two days are the same". But you learn quickly that these cliches exist because they are so true - a day in my life as a trainee can vary so vastly. There are days when I am drafting extensive legal documents on international deals and working to very strict deadlines to avoid serious financial consequences for our clients. There are other days when I am preparing 1000-page bundles to deliver to court and then attending the hearing to take note of the verdict And there are some days when I'm meeting clients, discussing their business and potential future workstreams that we may become involved in. And some days, I'm doing all of the above in some capacity or another!

I say this all to say there isn’t a 'trainee task' here, and you get whatever you can (reasonably) take on. Yes, I have drafted my share of research notes and articles, but if anything, they have helped build my understanding of what will be for most trainees, a novel area of law. There are prerequisites to being a trainee: attention to detail, resilience, having good communication, but if you have that basis, there are very few tasks that are beyond you. That really is one of the best parts of the job - watching your ability and confidence grow in that field through the experience you gain from those workstreams.

Things can be very difficult to grasp at first. Personally, having been a real estate paralegal for many years before starting my TC, I was very comfortable and assured in my knowledge, but joining a new team and starting a square one was quite unnerving. However, keeping an open mind has helped me work through that, and appreciating that this is a "training" contract and that 'I am "training" to be the best lawyer I can be' keeps me grounded through the tougher times.

Diversity in law is also important to me. There aren't many people who look like me or who have come from a similar background to me in law, and I didn’t have anyone to lean on for those wise words early in my career. So, it has been a commitment of mine for as many aspiring lawyers to find that person in me as possible and hopefully in turn, they can be that person for someone else, and we can build that network. AG has allowed me to do that through their genuine commitment to improving awareness and understanding of the issues around D&I, and through that, I have met some real committed allies myself, so I have been incredibly grateful to have had that opportunity.