Date post: | 07-Apr-2016 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | fjg-solicitors |
View: | 213 times |
Download: | 0 times |
The third generation of FLoCC is here! Now officially The Future Lawyers of Colchester and
Chelmsford, our aim remains the same; to provide an insight to the profession and to provide
assistance and support to those taking their first steps on the legal ladder.
We have been handed the reins by Ashton, Cate and Emily, who are now qualified and progressing
through the next steps of their legal careers. Our profiles, in the “Meet the FLoCCers” section in
this issue, tell you who we are and a little bit about our interests. Remember to keep an eye out for
our “Little FLoCCers” who will be making an appearance in the next issue.
As well as the introduction to the FLoCCers, this welcome issue also contains an insight from
Charlotte Knappett, a founder member of FLoCC, on life as a Partner. Charlotte also touches on
the transition from Solicitor to Partner and the importance of FLoCC.
The legal laughs in this issue include various bizarre judgments from across the globe to brighten
up your day.
The FLoCC newsletter will be published each
quarter and will advertise a social evening on the
last Friday of the following month. These social
evenings will alternate between Colchester and
Chelmsford, with this months event being held at
the Three Wise Monkeys bar on Colchester High
Street at 6:30pm on Friday 27th February - so put
the date in your diaries! Each newsletter will be full
of interesting and informative articles, useful
information and legal laughs.
FLoCC was originally founded in 2007 by a group
of Trainee Solicitors under the name of the
“Future Lawyers of Colchester” (FLoC). The aim
was to unite the Trainees, Paralegals, Legal
Executives and Legal Secretaries of Colchester by
providing support and opportunities for networking. Due to the progression of its founding
members, FLoC was disbanded in July 2009 and re-established in summer 2012 by our
predecessors, bringing with them new aspirations and visions for the organisation. FLoC continued
until summer 2013, when once again career progression and development meant that FLoC
needed to be passed on to the next generation of future lawyers.
We are that next generation of future lawyers. We aim to re-establish the organisation,
maintaining the principles upon which it was originally founded. In taking the reins from Ashton,
Cate and Emily, we hope that FLoCC can continue to thrive, by not only providing support and
information but also as a way to meet likeminded people and establish connections.
Please pass the details of FLoCC on to all the future lawyers in your firm. We look forward to
meeting you on Friday 27th February and hope you find the newsletter useful!
Don’t forget to check the FLoCC website at www.fjg.co.uk/site/floc for future events, contact
details and previous issues of the newsletter.
A Fresh Start for FLOCC
Contents
2 Welcome
3 Sarah Rankin
3 Leon Pascal
4 Lawrence Adams
5 The life of a Partner
7 Legal Laughs
8 Useful Information
2
Who Am I? - Sarah Rankin
Sarah graduated from Essex University with a 2.1 honours degree,
she then went on to Anglian Ruskin University to do her LPC for
which she received a commendation. Sarah joined the firm in 2012
originally working in the Family Department as a Paralegal.
Sarah started her training contract in January 2014 and went on to
join the Private Client Department, she also completed a training
seat within the Conveyancing Department and then re-joined the
Private Client team in January where she will stay and qualify in June
2015.
Sarah specialises in drafting Wills, the preparation and registering of
Lasting Powers of Attorney and the administration of estates. Sarah has two children and is an
active member of the Colchester Buddhist Centre where she is a trustee and regularly teaches
Meditation and Buddhism.
Leon joined Fisher Jones Greenwood as a paralegal in February
2013 after graduating with a first-class honours degree in Law in
2012. Whilst working as a paralegal, he completed the Legal
Practice Course part-time at the University of Law, London
Bloomsbury.
In September 2014, Leon started his training contract and is
currently completing his first seat in the Commercial Real Estate
department in the Firm’s Billericay office. He deals with a wide
range of matters including sales and purchases, landlord and
tenant work, development and plot sales, and business sale and
purchases.
When asked about why he is involved with FLOCC, Leon explained “FLOCC is a great way to
meet people in positions that you have been in, are in, or will be in. You also get to meet people
doing slightly different types of work (i.e. barristers or in-house solicitors) and I think that it is
important to build relationships with these people as, ultimately, most of us will be working
together in and around the same field for the rest of our careers!”
Who Am I? - Leon Pascal
3
Lawrence is a Trainee Solicitor at Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP,
currently sitting in the Dispute Resolution team. Lawrence graduated
from University of Kent with a Law Degree in 2011 and gained his
LPC at College of Law in 2012 before joining Fisher Jones Greenwood
as a Paralegal in October 2012.
Lawrence started his career in the Commercial and Corporate
department. He later moved to Civil Litigation and on to the
Employment department. Lawrence began his training contract in
January 2014 and has since gained experience in Litigation,
Employment and Property matters, both contentious and
non-contentious.
In June 2014, Lawrence moved from Fisher Jones Greenwood’s Colchester Charter Court office to
the firm’s new office in Baddow Road, Chelmsford.
Lawrence says: “The core principal behind FLOCC has always been to bring together Trainee
Solicitors, those undertaking Pupillage, Paralegals, Legal Executives, newly qualified Solicitors and
other support staff. FLOCC provides those starting out in the legal profession with an opportunity
to network and generate connections within the local legal environment. With the 2015 relaunch
and rebrand, FLOCC will be better placed to achieve this goal than ever before.”
Who Am I? - Lawrence Adams
4
FLOCC Drinks
Three Wise
Monkeys
Colchester
High Street
6:30pm
Friday 27th
February
Life as a Partner - Charlotte Knappett
Aged 13, I decided that I wanted to be a Solicitor in the Armed Forces. Growing up in an Army
town, with my father working for the Armed forces and with my love of sport it seemed the
obvious option. I had my army careers meetings with Major Tucker who quizzed me on my
interests and broadsheet newspapers.
Whilst at university I decided that I would prefer to work in private practice as opposed to joining
the army. I took a year out of study and worked at FJG firstly as an office junior and then 2 months
later as conveyancing assistant. Over Eccles cakes one morning David Jones informed me I had a
training contract. After completing my LPC in 2003 I ecstatically commenced my training contract
qualifying in February 2005.
FJG has been all I have known. It is a firm I hold in great
esteem and for my colleagues and my peers I have immense
respect. As a young solicitor I could never quite imagine
being a partner, it seemed so distant a prospect! I did my
best over the coming years to work incredibly hard to prove
myself. I did all I could to develop my ability as a solicitor
and an advocate with the help and support of talented
mentors.
Outside of the general fee earning environment I did all I
could to promote the firm and develop my own skills such
as marketing, speaking at careers fairs, participating in
sponsored events, assisting with the outreach projects and
the setting up of FLOC. It is my view that this is what you
should do as a young solicitor/lawyer.
After being asked to open the flagship office in Chelmsford
in 2010, I was then tasked with assisting with the Budd
Martin Burrett Merger in July 2011 and then shortly after
was appointed the Chelmsford office manager. I became a
trustee at the YMCA and did all I could to promote FJG. My
desire to become a partner developed over time and at this
point I made it clear I would wish to be considered.
In 2012 my husband and I were on holiday in Morocco when I received a telephone called from our
managing partner. It had been agreed that I would be made a partner. That evening was a
complete blur of happy tears and mojitos! Sitting around the table with all those lawyers I had
looked up to and signing the partnership agreement was a moment that I relished and will never
forget.
I feel honoured to have the responsibility of being a partner of FJG, helping it grow in strength and
supporting and developing the young talent that we see coming up through the firm…….
Charlotte’s Factfile
Completed LPC: 2003
Founded FLOC: 2004
Qualified: 2005
Became Partner: 2012
5
……. Life as a partner can be tough at times, juggling fee earning work, meetings and working hard
on new ventures, but it is certainly worth it. FJG is my 24/7.
FLOC was invaluable to me. It enabled me to forge career long links with other firms and solicitors
that still assist today. We were/are able to call on one another for support and guidance and a
friendly face at court is always a positive thing. Judges Molle and Mitchell were a great support
when we set up and to them which I will always be grateful. I cannot advocate FLOC enough!
I used the skills learnt from developing FLOC to help build a social scene for lawyers in Chelmsford
ultimately resulting in me becoming president of the Mid Essex Law Society.
My advice to any young lawyer is to see the big picture and do all possible to demonstrate your
commitment. It is a profession and a career not limited to the practice area within which you
work. We are responsible to ourselves, our firms and of course our clients for ensuring the best
possible service and to ensure justice. These can only be improved by personal and professional
development.
Life as a Partner
6
Legal Laughs
You must take your wife on a date
In February 2012, a man from Florida was ordered by a judge to take his wife for a meal and
bowling. When Joseph Bray, 47, appeared in court on a minor domestic violence charge, Judge
John Hurley handed out an unexpected ruling in a bid to reconcile the couple:
"[Bray]'s going to stop by somewhere and get some flowers. And then he's going to go home, pick up
his wife, get dressed and take her to Red Lobster. And then after they have Red Lobster, they're
going to go bowling."
You must stand on the roadside wearing an
'idiot' sign
Impatient Cleveland driver Shena Hardin, 32,
mounted the kerb so that she wouldn't have to
wait behind a school bus as it dropped off
pupils. Her punishment for the misdemeanour?
Being ordered to stand at a junction for two
days with a sign saying: "Only an idiot would
drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."
She also had her driving licence suspended for a
month and was fined £155.
You must sleep in a train station
After a series of encounters with Italian
police, a homeless woman was ordered by a
court to spend her nights at a train station.
The 38-year-old was told she must stay
within the boundaries of Trastevere train
station in Rome between the hours of 9pm
to 7am in the interests of 'public security'. If
station staff asked her to leave, she was told
to show the court document that confirmed
her sleeping arrangements.
You must climb a holy mountain
In September 2010, a County Donegal judge
ordered a man who swore at a policeman to
climb up Ireland's holiest mountain - Croagh
Patrick. Joseph McElwee, 38, appeared in court
after unleashing a tirade of abuse at a police-
man from County Mayo.
After hearing all the evidence, Judge Seamus
Hughes delivered the following ruling:
"I want you to come back in a month's time with evidence that you did the four stations of Croagh
Patrick, and say a few prayers. You then might have a different impression of County Mayo and its
people".
You must listen to Barry Manilow
A Colorado judge has come up with a novel
punishment for noise polluters - forcing
them to listen to Barry Manilow. Judge Paul
Sacco says his unorthodox punishment of
forcing violators to sit in a room and listen
to music they don't like has cut down on
repeat offenders in the small prairie town of
Fort Lupton. Four times a year, offenders
troop into a room and endure one hour of
hits from Barry Manilow and Barney the
dinosaur.
7
FLOCC on
Social Media
Be sure to
check out our
twitter feed,
facebook page
and our
LinkedIn group
@future_lawyers
Academic:
www.bpp.com Website of the GDL, LPC, Degree and Legal Careers courses
provider and more!
www.college-of-law.co.uk Website of the alternative provider of the GDL, LPC, Degree
and Legal Careers courses and more!
www.lawcareers.net Very useful for the latest vacancies and training contract
information
Resource and Legal Research/Information:
uk.practicallaw.com Database for legal precedents, commentaries, reports and
many more extensive legal resources
www.lexisnexis.com/uk/legal Provider to the Legal Profession for precedents, resources
and the most extensive online knowledge repository
directlaw.co.uk Remote client access to legal documentation, including
precedents and information
www.jordanpublishing.co.uk Specialist website resources for family lawyers including
precedents, journals, commentary and more
General Legal Information:
www.lawgazette.co.uk Great for all the latest news and vacancies
www.familylawweek.co.uk The Family Law Weekly website, useful for the latest judgements and case summaries
www.lawsociety.org.uk Information on news, events, support and training for all lawyers
www.juniorlawyers.lawsociety Additional news, reviews and resources for all future lawyers. org.uk
www.sra.org.uk Useful information, guidance and explanations in relation to the regulations governing both future and lawyers
www.fjg.co.uk Useful information on a wide variety of areas of law and a selection of blogs, videos and other useful resources.
FLOC:
www.fjg.co.uk/site/FLOC Don’t forget to follow us on social media and check the FloC website for info on further socials, newsletters, events, videos, podcasts and more.
Useful Information
8
FLOCC Drinks
Three Wise
Monkeys
Colchester
High Street
6:30pm
Friday 27th
February