Bond Pearce

Informal Training & Mentoring

7.5 / 10
13 reviews
How accessible are solicitors and partners at your firm? Do they make good mentors?
How much performance feedback does your firm offer?
Do you receive praise and recognition for your work?
2012 Reviews

  • Partners and solicitors are very accessible and you can always get help if required.

    Helpful?

  • Varies from team to team. I have really had to drag it out of some, in fairness largely due to their busyness, others have been more forthcoming. But generally I'd say there is not much in the way of explanation & guidance on a day to day basis. You are generally left to try to figure things out for yourself often by referring to a previous example.

    Helpful?

  • Depending on the teams you are in most solicitors and partners are readily accessible and provide great insight on top of your formal training. We have a values scheme which recognises work that goes above and beyond.

    Helpful?

  • We have monthly informal catch ups with our training supervisor and all trainees are assigned a trainee in the year above as a mentor, who you can go to with any of the questions you might not want to ask your supervisor.

    Helpful?

  • Solicitors and partners are always accessible and willing to give feedback and advice. Sometimes they might need prompting due to busy schedules but trainees are actively encouraged to seek feedback.

    Helpful?

  • Solicitors and partners both make great mentors. Although we are assigned a supervisor in each department, (usually a partner or senior associate), feedback usually comes directly from the fee earner you are working from. Feedback is constant and, although we do get told if there are things to improve on, if we have done a job well, we get told.

    Helpful?

  • All solicitors and partners are very approachable.

    Helpful?

  • Support from supervising partners is very good and support from HR is first class.

    Helpful?
2011 Reviews

  • Colleagues are always happy to help with queries on a day-to-day basis. We are also assigned a trainee buddy, who is usually from the trainee cohort in the year above. This is good because most of the problems you encounter early on in the firm are ones which your buddy has already been through. I have learnt to improve my general professionalism from being at the firm and from taking tips from supervisors. My writing skills have also improved through my work being supervised, to make it more commercial.

    Helpful?

  • In all of my seats I have received excellent informal training and supervision. Lawyers are generally available and will make time for you, unless there is an urgent business need which means meetings have to be cancelled. I have learnt to pick my moments when to ask for guidance as the supervision will be more useful if there is more time to go through my work thoroughly.

    Helpful?

  • We have great access to people at all levels within the firm. I would have no concerns asking senior partners for their advice on an issue and never feel that they resent my imposition.

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  • The supervision structure is such that all supervisors have extensive training before they supervise trainees. My experience has been that supervisors invest a considerable amount of time in a trainee's learning and development. There is always an opportunity to ask questions, and if I need informal training on a topic, I have always found that this can be easily arranged at a time to fit around a supervisor's workload. I have found the people that I have worked with to be great mentors and show a real commitment to developing my skills. The formal appraisal process assists with this as I have monthly review meetings, and three-monthly appraisals which means there are regular intervals at which to review my work and progress. Lessons and skills learnt have been extensive – ranging from communication skills both in contentious and non-contentious seats, drafting skills, client care skills and case and transaction management skills (for example finance/billing) which will become more relevant upon and after qualification.

    Helpful?

  • There are department-led training sessions concentrating upon legal updates in that area of law. These are generally one hour long and are held once a month. Trainees are encouraged to prepare training topics for these sessions. We are encouraged to highlight areas that we feel we need to focus upon. The partners and solicitors are easily accessible and are happy to listen to any problems or areas of concern. I am always aware that people have a lot of work on and I therefore don't want to be constantly asking questions. It is often about picking the right time and asking the right questions. We have monthly reviews and appraisals every three months with our supervisors (who are often partners) and that is the ideal time to raise any areas in which we feel we need more support.

    Helpful?

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