Louise Kenward joined us as a trainee and will qualify into the family department. She completed seats in Commercial Property, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Commercial and Family Below she describes the highlights of her training contract so far…..
On my first day in our Corporate/Commercial department I flew to Hong Kong to assist a partner, with the admission of one of his clients, NetDimensions (Holdings) Limited, on AIM, a subsidiary market of the London Stock Exchange. My role was to verify the contents of the Admission Document which involved collating and checking independent documentation that proved all statements made by the directors of the company. Despite our hectic schedule of client meetings we managed to fit in a trip to the horse races, the Peak and the Big Bucket reflexology. The trip was superb – I gained a valuable insight into an AIM admission and experienced some incredible tourist attractions in Hong Kong.
My seat in our Litigation department involved drafting witness statements, instructions to counsel, without prejudice correspondence, carrying out research and liaising with clients and counsel. One of the highlights of the seat was attending a mediation involving a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. It was a great insight into how a mediator attempts to resolve the issues between the parties and the case did settle after several frustrating hours of negotiation. I also attended an injunction hearing at the High Court of Justice involving an application for an interim injunction for delivery up of our client’s equipment, to restrain the Defendant from using the equipment and to compel him to preserve it and keep it safe until delivery up. Having assisted with the preparation of the hearing including drafting the schedule of costs I was able to assist the barrister in his argument for recovery of our client’s costs. It was great to see a successful outcome for our client.
Trainees at CWJ are involved in many firm activities which is a great way to get to know everyone within the firm. As a member of our Social Committee I assisted with the organisation of our Christmas meal last year and took over the organisation of theatre trips for the firm. Trainees attend all seminars which is a useful way of gaining experience of liaising with clients and we also arrange First Friday which is a social gathering for the firm with drinks and nibbles on the first Friday of every month. CWJ has regular firm functions such as a summer ball or Family Fun Day.
