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Candidate 14021231
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Professional Profile
Trainee Solicitor qualifying in June 2015 with experience in private client, personal injury, commercial, conveyancing and civil litigation. Looking for a diverse and challenging position as a newly qualified Private Client Solicitor which will fully utilise existing skills and experiences, while enabling further career development and an opportunity to work towards the STEP qualification.
Education and Qualifications
LPC University of Law, Guildford Electives include Private Client, Personal Injury and Employment Distinction 2013
LLB University of …………… Law and Criminology 2:1 2011
4 A Levels Business Studies, Law, History and Mathematics AACC 2007
AS Level Sociology A 2006
In this section I would be tempted to leave off the Criminology part of the degree. It takes the eye away from the Distinction at LPC and the 2.1. I have an LLB with the word EU after it, but very often I left this off when applying for jobs. It never really added anything to the roles I was applying for.
Legal Career Summary
July 2013 – Present Trainee Solicitor, Solicitors, Location
• Seats in Private Client, Personal Injury, Commercial, Conveyancing and Litigation
It is worth adding a sentence or two about the firm you are working for. For example, you could say something like “Smith Solicitors are a firm based in Newtown dealing with a mixed caseload of private client, property and litigation. The firm, who have a strong connection to the agricultural sector, comprises of 5 partners and 8 support staff.”
Private Client
• Handling Grants of Probate/Administration and distribution of estates
• Preparation of estate accounts and IHT forms
• Advising on and drafting will, deed of variation and power of attorney
• Assisting in the management of care for a client under an enduring power of attorney and designing a system for managing the client’s bank account and investments
• Drafting Deed of Appointment and Retirement and preparing trust records
You indicate in the top section that you want to do private client work on qualification. As a result I would expect to see about 3/4 page if possible on your experience in private client work to date. It isn’t hard to do. I want to see the following as a minimum – number of files worked on, typical values of estates, types of will drafted, how much probate you have undertaken, whether there has been any tax work, any trusts work, and any particularly complex cases. It is always worth keeping a diary as a trainee because this gives you an easy reference guide when putting the CV together. Typo of singular wills above.
Personal Injury
• Experience in dealing with RTA, employers liability, disease and public liability claims
• Drafting letter of claim, claim form, particulars of claim, witness statement, schedule of special damages and standard disclosure list
• Negotiating interim payments and the settlement of claims
• Preparing trial bundles and attending trial
Claimant or defendant work? Typical values and how were the cases funded?
Commercial
• Drafting shareholder agreements, partnership agreements, terms and conditions, policy documents, board minutes, articles of association, shareholder resolutions and various Companies House forms
• Advising a client at their offices on the roles and responsibilities of a director
• Assisting in all aspects of the sale and purchase of a company to include drafting a disclosure letter, fee proposal letter, list of documents for disclosure, resignation letters and amending share purchase agreements
• Drafting and filing documents for voluntary striking off of dormant subsidiary companies
Civil Litigation
• Drafting Court documents to include claim form, witness statement and particulars of claim
• Attending initial consultations with clients
• Preparing letter of claim for various breach of contract and negligence claims
• Reviewing, listing and compiling documents for disclosure
• Advising clients in relation to debt collection
January 2013 – July 2013 Paralegal, Solicitors,
• Worked as a paralegal in the Personal Injury department assisting a managing partner with all aspects of a personal injury claim.
October 2011 Placement, Blacks Solicitors, Leeds
• Legal research on employment regulations and shareholder investments
• Produced a blog for the firm’s website on the Government’s green deal
September 2011 Placement, Burke Niazi Solicitors, London
• Drafted letters to clients to enclose final order forms, Application 5 forms and Scott schedules
• Prepared the document bundles to be sent to Counsel
• Attended Court with Counsel and documented the dialogue of the hearing
August 2011 Placement, Henshaw-Pratt Solicitors, Wakefield
• Researched quantum for an RTA which resulted in a young individual becoming permanently disabled
• Attended meetings with Counsel and client to discuss quantum and the options for progressing the case
• Considered the claims and liability for a brain and spinal injury case, prepared letters regarding the claim and reviewed all medical records pertaining to the accident to ensure comprehensive compilation and usage of information
Additional Roles – Career Summary
these dont really need much info. Perhaps a line about each, if that.
June 2011 – January 2013 Product Coordinator, Basingstoke
• Established, researched and produced content for products to be sold through nationwide retailers and distributors including Amazon, Argos and ShopDirect
• Responsible for liaising with buyers from international retailers
June 2010 – September 2011 HR Assistant, Sainsbury’s Depot, Basingstoke
• Compiled and produced memos containing the minutes of meetings concerned with investigations, disciplinary hearings and grievances
• Provided assistance with resolving disputes between the company and employers, organised meetings in conjunction with line management and HR team diaries
• Logged absences and produced reports to analyse patterns of behaviour to management
2006 – 2011 Payroll Assistant / Administrator, One Stop Accounting, Basingstoke
• Responsible for calculating payroll in accordance with company procedures, created monthly reports using specialist software, ensured all tasks were completed in accordance with deadlines
2008 – 2009 Customer Services Advisor, GAME Stores Group Ltd, Basingstoke
• Identified and resolved customer complaints and provided effective resolutions to problems as and when they arose
• Trained and developed new staff to be part of the team and to ensure a quality service to customers
2007 Sales Assistant, GAP, Basingstoke
2007 Carer, Echoes Community Care, Basingstoke
Additional Information
only include details of activities you are undertaking now, not anything you did at school or university. It is not relevant.
Young Professionals:
• Restarted the Young Professionals networking group in 2014
• Organising regular networking events to include quiz nights and cheese and wine evenings
• Designing invitations, compiling guest lists, recruiting new members, finding venues and arranging food and drink for the attendees
• Managing the networking groups finances and calculating the costs of events
Voluntary Roles:
• Worked with the homeless and the underprivileged
• Assisted children with their reading and writing in schools
At University:
• Managed and organised functions as the Korfball Club Social Secretary
• Researched, designed and negotiated pricing for a new sports Kit as Kit Officer
• Led seminars and answered questions as Student Tutor, established goals and provided direction
• Run workshops for Law students on the importance of Citation as a Student Ambassador, gave presentations and monitored students’ progress on practice examples
Interests and Achievements:
• Tennis, aerobics, eating out and travelling
• Thrives on a challenge and has successfully completed the London to Brighton bike ride for the British Heart Foundation and the Basingstoke Half Marathon for Alzheimer’s.
Not a bad CV as it goes – much more information needed on your private client seat, but apart from this it is fine.
As a percentage I would grade it at about 60%. Slightly Above Average.
Jonathan Fagan, Managing Director of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment. If you want your CV reviewing publicly please visit our website for details.
