We caught up with Rhiannon to chat about career progression at Swits. Rhiannon joined the firm as a secretary and is now on our solicitor apprenticeship programme.

"If I was asked 10 years ago when I left university about where I thought I would be at this point of my life, I never would have guessed that I would be living in Leeds and training to be a solicitor. I’m proud to be part of the apprenticeship scheme, and think it’s important that people are aware that there are many ways to qualify as a lawyer and that there’s likely to be a scheme that can work for you."

Question:

Have you always wanted to be a lawyer?

Answer:

The short answer is no! I always thought I would have a career in the sciences. I hadn’t thought about a career in law at all whilst I was at school, and I studied all science and maths subjects when I was at college.

I was so fortunate to start working in a law firm when I was still a student. That firm gave me so many opportunities to meet different people in the legal field and learn about areas of law that I never even knew existed. It made me realise that there was so much more to being a lawyer than I had thought and, looking back, it is then that I started to think I could be a lawyer one day.

Question:

What's been your career story so far?

Answer:

I studied chemistry at university, and worked in a law firm as a secretary during the summers when I went home. After I finished university and knew that I didn’t want to pursue chemistry any further. I continued to work in that same law firm in Surrey until I moved up to York in November 2015. I was a float typist in a firm in York until I moved to Switalskis in the summer of 2016.

I joined Switalskis as a secretary in the Court of Protection department based out of the York office. I learned so much during that time, and eventually moved into a paralegal role around 18 months later. From there, I moved to the Wakefield office and was a paralegal in the Mental Health department for a year before transitioning back to Court of Protection.

I now work in the Leeds office. I continued as a paralegal until I started my solicitor apprenticeship in September 2021 with the aim of qualifying as a solicitor.

Question:

Tell us about a typical day as a solicitor apprentice

Answer:

There’s not a typical day in the Court of Protection, and that’s what I love most about it. Each client is so different and so we need to be able to take each client as they come to try and work out what will be best for them and how best to achieve it. I love travelling and meeting the clients but there is also lot of time in the office - preparing advice, drafting documents, and attending court, as many of our hearings are still being heard remotely.

Court of Protection can be a very collaborative area of law, and I like working with others to try and get the result the client wants or needs. It can also be a very emotional area to work in as you are really immersed in clients' lives, but I am lucky enough to have colleagues to share the good and bad times with.

I'm able to walk to work so generally can’t complain about the commute! I prefer to work in the office than at home so tend to spend most of my working days in the office. For my apprenticeship, I have one study day once a week, so do spend this day working from home.