Trainee Solicitor Charlotte Goodson to be Admitted as Solicitor of the Senior Courts

Posted:
27-07-2016

So the end is finally here!  After three years of training, I have received the letter that all trainees await – I am to be admitted as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts on 15^th August 2016.

My first seat was in conveyancing – I was convinced before I started training that this was the area of law I wanted to qualify into.  I enjoyed conveyancing as I enjoy work where there is a clear process and it has definitely given me the upper hand in the other areas of law I went on to train in – property law forms an integral part of most family and wills/probate work.

My second seat was in family and this was, by far, the most challenging seat for me.  I worked closely alongside a Partner at the beginning of my seat and then took on files of my own which comprised of straight forward divorce and financial matters.  Whilst running my own case load, I also assisted other fee earners with their work so I gained a good knowledge of all aspects of family work.  As we are a specialist family law firm, I worked on cases which many trainees would not have had exposure to, including high value asset financial cases, pre/post nuptial agreements and attending a final hearing with Counsel on a contested children act case.

My final seat, and the area of law I am due to qualify into, was wills and probate.  I started off with my own will and LPA files which meant a lot of drafting!  This took time to get used to but over time it became more natural and I was able to use complex clauses as well as adapt precedents to suit my clients’ needs.  I partook in many free will schemes which kept me busy as well as giving me the experience I needed to expand my knowledge in this area.  I eventually took on my own probate files including running the whole administration process from beginning to end as well as working on estates where the firm were appointed as executors.  In turn this gave me the experience to take on a few contested probate matters. Contested probate is extremely varied – there are many twists and turns and you never know what could be coming round the corner!  I absolutely love this area of law and I am so pleased that I am able to stay with the firm to practice this further – I am a bit of a numbers whizz so this seat was the perfect area for me to combine law and accounting.

Although the road may have been rocky at times, I have had the chance to work with some fantastic people and also meet many wonderful clients.  I am completely overwhelmed that my training is at an end and I am now able to focus on my career ahead – who knows what the future will hold?!