A day in the life of a Paralegal Apprentice

This week the trainee solicitor blog caught up with Lauren Manwaring, second year paralegal apprentice, who talks us through a typical day. No day at Cripps is the same, that’s for sure!  As expected though, there are some things which will always be the same like checking emails, checking our staff intranet and attending meetings.

I usually start my day by getting a drink and sitting down to check my work emails, just so I am up-to-date with anything that may have changed since I left the office the day before.  On Mondays we have our BPP study day, so I quite often come to work on a Tuesday with a few emails to catch up on.  I would then usually complete my to-do list for the day, ensuring if anything is urgent then it is prioritised.

I sit on three committees at the firm: the Events, Wellbeing and Charity Committee so I do tend to have quite a few meetings.  These will mainly just be a 30-minute catch up on how the committee is doing and what things we have lined up for the future.  Apprentices are encouraged to join these groups and take part in things so you get to see the wider firm and introduce yourself to other staff.

My day-to-day work is very varied and depends on which team I am working for. So far, I have worked in a debt collection team, a compliance team and various property teams and I might be drafting emails or legal documents or carrying out legal research. Whilst working in the debt collection team I was able to attend court in London as an observer. This was very exciting and really put into context some of my day-to-day litigation work.

Lunch time is a great chance to catch up with the other apprentices.  Here at Cripps we have a fantastic ‘Sky Lounge’ where we can all sit, have a relax and be away from our desk for a while.  It is really recommended that we take a full-hour lunchbreak so we come back for the afternoon ready to go.  We are also only a short walk away from Tunbridge Wells town and lots of staff head down to the town for a walk and some fresh air, or to do some shopping or grab a sandwich.

Our working hours are 9-5:15pm with one hour for lunch.  However, all staff including apprentices are able to take advantage of our agile working policy so some apprentices will sometimes vary their start and finish time, for example 8-4:15pm (with the agreement of their line manager).

In the afternoon I try to look back at what I have done in the morning and see what else I need to do and manage my time effectively.  I also find that the afternoons are the best time to complete my admin-based tasks.  At around 5:15pm I will start to tidy up loose ends and shut down my computer for the day and head back home.