I joined Herbert Smith as a trainee in September 2007 and qualified into the employment group in September 2009. I studied English and philosophy at Nottingham University.
Training and support
The support throughout my time at Herbert Smith has been excellent. Before you step through the door, you visit the firm several times as a LPC student for LPC days where you learn about the different departments at the firm and meet some of the team and current trainees. As a trainee you have an extensive training programme as part of the induction programme and then every time you move seats.
Since I qualified I have had the opportunity to attend many courses on the different areas of employment law. There’s a real emphasis here on continual professional development - not only with regard to legal skills but also soft skills which are also very important.
Corporate responsibility
Herbert Smith has a very strong corporate responsibility programme. When I qualified as a solicitor I was offered a period of unpaid leave and decided to spend six weeks taking part in ‘Advocates for International Development’. This was was something that Herbert Smith both sponsored and encouraged. The programme involved me going to Bangalore in India where I volunteered for a womens’ rights NGO campaigning for domestic workers rights.