2025

Question contained at the end of an online assessment concerning why the firm, which value you identify with the most and what you think will be the most challenging part of the role and how I will overcome this (500 words).

One reason why I would like to work for Mills & Reeve is owing to your top-ranked Family department. After studying Family Law at university and undertaking work experience in this area, I aspire to qualify into Family Law owing to the dynamic, client-facing work involved. I am particularly interested in mitigating relationship-generated disadvantage following divorce. To enhance my understanding of this topic I joined Resolution, where I learnt the importance of balancing this with the risk of double counting. Since your firm advises on high net-worth cases, where compensation and sharing (and thus double-counting) are more often relevant, I believe that Mills & Reeve will enable me to explore this topic further. Furthermore, the firm’s focus on customer satisfaction stood out because I have experience working in client-facing roles, where customer service is very important. For example, over summer I worked in a café where, to ensure good customer service, I frequently sought feedback from customers and built relationships with them by being friendly, understanding and attentive. When working at Mills & Reeve I will harness this experience and my communication and interpersonal skills to contribute to achieving a 95% satisfaction score in the Fearless Feedback survey by 2025.

The company value I identify with most is ‘Achieve more. Together.’ because I am an ambitious, tenacious individual who is constantly pushing towards the goals of myself and others. This year, having embarked on an exchange year in Spain, I aim to become fluent in Spanish. One step that I am taking to achieve this is teaching English to native Spanish students. Each student has different abilities and learning styles, so I work in a bespoke way to suit their level of understanding and support them reach their goals. Seeing us all progress towards our goals with each other’s help brings me a strong sense of personal fulfilment.

I think the most challenging part of the role will be managing the demands of competing deadlines. To overcome this challenge, I will apply the skills I learnt when balancing the commitments of high-performance sport with those of my degree. Over the past year I broke into the top 100 female table tennis players in England. In doing so, I have mastered time-management and organisation by managing my academic calendar with my intensive training. To do so, I frequently reviewed my schedule to ensure that I was working efficiently and set personal deadlines in advance of official ones so that if any unexpected tasks arose, or one took longer than anticipated, I could adapt without having to sacrifice training. One challenge that I faced was failing to qualify for the national championships. To overcome this, I remained resilient and used the setback as an opportunity to learn and develop. Together, my coach and I created a long-term training plan, and I continue to communicate with him about my progress so that we can make changes to maximise future outcomes. From this experience, I learnt how to problem solve, communicate effectively and collaborate.

2024

What has attracted you to our trainee role over similar opportunities you may have considered, and what do you think will be the most challenging aspect of the training contract? (500 words) 

I am drawn to a career at Mills and Reeves due to its standing as a full-service law firm. While my primary interest is in contentious matters, I approach my training contract with an open mind. Mills and Reeves's diverse areas of expertise, including its well-renowned sports law team, offer me the opportunity to explore various legal areas that I may not have previously considered, helping me determine the specific area in which I would like to practice.    

Mills and Reeve's distinctive six- seat structure attracted me to the trainee role as not many firms offer you the chance to undertake as many seats. This unique approach appeals to me as it will allow me to experience a mix of private client, contentious and non-contentious work, and aligns with my open-minded approach to my training contract. The chance to immerse myself in diverse areas provides not only exposure to high-quality work but also the opportunity to broaden my skill set and try new things.   

Next, my journey through [redacted] has instilled in me a moral obligation to give back to the community. Learning about the impactful work of the Mills & Reeve Charitable Trust, and the [redacted] Office's collaboration with 42nd Street, aligns with my values of making a positive impact. The prospect of collaborating with members of the firm in such initiatives aligns with my value to make positive change.  

Furthermore, I recognise that a successful legal career places a strong emphasis on relationship building—a facet of the profession that resonates with me as I'm a people person. At Mills and Reeves relationships are not confined to the immediate team but extend throughout the entire firm. Creating and maintaining strong relationships with clients cannot be overstated, often being a catalyst for word-of-mouth promotion and client retention. As a trainee at Mills and Reeve, I look forward to participating in business development activities, seizing opportunities to expand my professional network and growing my brand. My experience volunteering to [redacted] demonstrates my genuine enjoyment of connecting with people and forming meaningful relationships.    

Finally, I anticipate the transition between the seat rotations will be the most challenging aspect of the role. Adapting to different teams and practice groups can be challenging, especially as everyone has different working styles. While I anticipate the transition between seat rotations to be challenging, I am confident in my ability to adapt. I would approach this by proactively arranging handover sessions with former seat occupants to learn from their experiences and gain insights.   Additionally, I will engage in available training sessions to enhance my knowledge. Lastly, I will rely on the firm's support network, including my seat supervisor, trainee buddy and trainee principal to provide guidance and assistance.