Hampshire: Eric Robinson Solicitors takes on trainee trio

Law firm Eric Robinson Solicitors has provided three training contracts that will nurture the legal talents of local young people within the firm.
After studying at Barton Peveril College in Eastleigh and completing both a law degree and LPC at Bournemouth University, Rachel McNulty started work at Eric Robinson Solicitors in 2011 as a temp for two weeks. She was asked to stay as a junior secretary to cover a six-month maternity leave and, once this concluded, offered an assistant position in the dispute resolution department where she worked until the start of this year.

She said: "In the past couple of years, I have been able to show my commitment to the firm while the partners have got to know me, so to be given the opportunity to qualify as a solicitor with Eric Robinson Solicitors feels like a great compliment to my work to date."

Emily Manley first studied law for an A-level option at Itchen College, then continued her studies at the University of Southampton. After graduating, she applied for a job as a legal secretary in the residential property department and completed her LPC at the College of Law part time by attending courses every other weekend for two years.

"I have always known what I wanted to do, but the path I chose combined studying with real-life, practical experience," she explained. "I was told in the autumn of 2013 that training contracts were going to be available this year, so I made sure the partners knew I was interested, got an interview and was delighted to be offered a training contract."

Inspired by her cousin who is a medical negligence lawyer, Aneep Tathgar, like McNulty, began her legal studies at Barton Peveril and, like Manley, continued them at the University of Southampton. While studying her degree, she also worked in a law firm part-time during the academic terms and full-time over the summer vacations. She attended Nottingham Law School to pass her LPC and began work at Eric Robinson Solicitors in August 2012.

"I knew of the firm as my family used it, so I looked on the website to discover a vacancy in company commercial. As this is an area of law I aspire to pursue a career in, I applied and was offered the position," Tathgar said. "I am looking forward the challenge my training contract will entail, gaining more responsibility and becoming a fully-qualified solicitor."

"We are delighted to be offering three such capable and talented young women the opportunity to build their careers with us," said managing partner Catherine Maxfield, who will be overseeing the firm’s trainee programme. "They will be experiencing six-month placements across all our departments and branches and, since they are already settled in the firm, they understand our culture, ethos and can hit the ground running."