Qualifying as a Solicitor in a Pandemic

By Katie Bond

Associate

At the beginning of my training contract the possibility of qualifying seemed like a distant goal. With each change of season and seat change my qualification date soon approached and before I could blink, I was qualified.

Qualifying in a pandemic and working from home has been challenging at times but a unique experience which has set me in good stead for my future career. We are in unprecedented times and what was ‘the norm’ has been re-written. The firm has had to adapt and so has every staff member within it.

Thankfully, I have had the support of my team and encouragement from my colleagues to thrive over the first few months of qualifying.

It is true that you do not realise how much knowledge you have absorbed over the two years training until you have you own case load and are putting the work into practice.

The law is continually evolving and developing, and consequently, so is the knowledge and experience that you gain throughout training and into qualification.

For any trainee solicitor at the start of their training contract, or those nearing qualification my advice would be the same, to ask lot of questions, get involved in a mixture of work, engage socially within the firm, and to enjoy the experience of learning.

Every solicitor remembers qualifying and how daunting it felt at the time.

Albeit daunting, it has been an exciting and fulfilling time of my career. Achieving the status as solicitor after many years of studying at university and then training at Nockolds is a great achievement and I am thrilled to have been able to continue my career at Nockolds.

Katie qualified into our Wills and Probate Team in March 2021. To find out more about Katie, please visit her profile. For more information and to find out how to apply for a Nockolds’ training contact, please click here: Training Contracts.