Irwin Michell

Interview with an apprentice... Rosie O’Brien, Serious Injury Solicitor Apprentice

How did you get started?
I left school after completing my GCSEs and decided to go and study Law, Policing and Criminology at college. At college I developed a real interest in law, but I knew university wasn’t for me and that I wanted to do something practical. My college tutor made me aware of the apprenticeship route and I instantly knew I wanted to look into this route further; after doing some research I knew this was the route I wanted to pursue.

Why did you choose Irwin Mitchell?
Many things attracted me to Irwin Mitchell but one of the biggest factors for me was their dedication to the early careers scheme, having a manager dedicated to apprenticeships and seeing how you are supported throughout your time with them. I love the fact Irwin Mitchell care about my wellbeing and prioritise having a work life balance. When I attended interviews, I felt welcome and everyone at the firm was very friendly; it just felt like somewhere I could see myself working.

What first attracted you to Irwin Mitchell?
Initially on researching the firm I saw all the awards they had won and how they had been voted a great place for women to work, as well as having a large number of female partners. While diving deeper and looking specifically into apprenticeships and reading apprentices stories and seeing their progression, this really attracted me to the firm.

What do you like best about your job?
I think there are two elements I like most about my job. Firstly, being based in serious injury I like seeing how the work I am involved in helps support clients get back to a position they were in pre-accident. I find it really rewarding knowing I’m part of a team that is making a difference. I also find the work and cases in serious injury extremely interesting – every case is so different! I think the second thing I like best about my job is being able to take part in careers/business development events and educate people on this fairly new route into law.

What do you do on a day-to-day basis?
My day-to-day work can vary, however some of my most common tasks include: reviewing medical records; requesting medical records; taking and drafting witness statements; attending new client appointments; attending conferences with counsel and clients; and legal research.

How does the apprentice scheme work?
No matter what apprenticeship scheme you are on at Irwin Mitchell you will have four days working and one dedicated day to study towards your qualification with your training provider. The Solicitor Apprenticeship six years long with the University of Law. We spend the first four years studying towards our Law degree, where our exams are made up of a mixture of written exams, course work and oral exams. The final two years we spend studying towards and sitting the Solicitor Qualifying Exams (SQE).

How have Irwin Mitchell invested in you as a person?
Irwin Mitchell have invested in me professionally and personally. At such a young age I have had opportunities I simply would not have been able to have until much later in my career had I not taken the apprenticeship route. I am always pushed to try new things and feel well supported in my learning. Personally, I feel looked after at work and we have a ‘better health at work’ scheme giving us access to things like discounted gym sessions and teaching us how to look after our wellbeing while being busy apprentices.

What skills are important for your role?
I think as an apprentice there are a few key skills for me which have helped me settle in to my first year. Definitely being organised – at times it can be a struggle balancing university and work, having deadlines which fall around the same time. I’d say resilience has also been a really key skill for me – things will go wrong whether that be in work or academically and you have to be able to try again with a different approach. I think willingness, hard work and dedication are the final skills – they play a really important role and as long as you have all these things I believe you will find what works for you to manage different elements in this role.

How are you supported in your role?
Firstly, starting out as an apprentice everyone is assigned a buddy who is a previous apprentice and is there to answer any of your queries. We have an apprenticeship manager who has regular catch-ups with us on a on-to-one basis and with your cohort and is on-hand all the time should you need him for anything. You have your line manager who you will have regular catch-ups with and who monitors your progress at work; they are the person you have the most contact with. Finally, in the solicitor apprenticeship, we get a coach at university who catches up with me every couple of months to see how we are getting on with the university work and if we need any extra support. You also have all your colleagues and team members to support you!

How is the work/life balance?
The work/life balance is really good at Irwin Mitchell. We have a policy called flexible by choice which gives us the option to work from home/alter our usual working times to fit in things like doctor appointments etc. It’s really nice to know the option to be flexible is there for when we need it and I really like having a hybrid working pattern, doing a mix of going into the office and working from home.

What makes it such a great place to work?
Definitely the people – everyone is just so friendly and willing to help each other out when needed. It really has that team environment which just makes it a nice place to work. There are so many opportunities to get involved in, whether you want to progress professionally, be involved in helping charities or be your office social committee organiser, there’s something for everyone to get involved in.

What has been your proudest moment so far?
The proudest moment for me personally so far has been presenting to a couple of hundred people on Irwin Mitchell’s apprenticeship webinar only a few months into my apprenticeship. I think it was at this point I really noticed just how much I had grown in confidence since I started. Professionally I would say my proudest moment has been gaining independence in my workload and seeing the work I am doing to progress a case and get positive feedback. When you start everything can feel so new and daunting, so it is really nice to see my progress and understanding develop.

What advice would you have for someone starting out?
Ask questions! Nobody expects you to know everything. Be kind to yourself – mistakes happen and can always be resolved. Try your best; all the team ask is that you have a go at tasks and take any feedback on board for next time.

What is next for you after the programme finishes?
Once I finish my programme, I’ll be a newly qualified solicitor. I think for me it’ll be getting stuck into this role and applying everything I’ll have learned over the past six years

About the firm

The firm: Irwin Mitchell are legal and financial experts.

We are one of the UK’s largest full-service law firms with offices in over 18 locations across the UK and can offer you an amazing start in your legal career.

As the leading personal injury and medical negligence practice in the UK, we are supported by a national public law team and the UK’s leading Court of Protection practice.

Our private client offering specialises in family, wills, tax, as well as trusts and estate disputes. Our business teams are composed of established experts, enabling us to collaborate with a diverse clientele on a national and regional level including corporate, litigation, commercial, real estate, and employment, across a variety of industry sectors such as media, retail, manufacturing, and education.

The clients: Puregym, Costa, Nando’s, panel for high-street banks, further education colleges.

The deals: The restructuring and insolvency team advised on a deal which has seen more than 3,000 jobs being saved at a South Yorkshire facilities management and stadium security business; the banking and finance team advised ThinCats on a funding deal; the corporate team advised on a deal which has seen £3.6m invested by YFM Equity Partners into Spotless Water’s innovative self-service ultra pure water (UPW) distribution network; the corporate and banking teams have advised Risk Capital Partners on its recent investment in luxury tour operator Simpson Travel; employment lawyers have been instructed to defend Coventry University at the Court of Appeal; the property team has advised UK property investment and management platform Praxis on acquiring Birmingham’s Brindley place; the asbestos and occupational disease team secured an undisclosed settlement in connection with a client’s mesothelioma diagnosis and death; medical negligence lawyers investigated the death of a girl following her death after a hospital visit; a former British Olympic sprinter, who suffered life-changing injuries in a crash, was supported by our serious injury team; a number of Gaines’ survivors instructed our expert lawyers to help them access the specialist support they require to try and come to terms with the abuse; on behalf of Fredreko Nowak, whose pronouns are they/them, our specialist lawyers argued that the failure to investigate the serious sexual offences they reported amounted to a breach of their rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights; human rights lawyers have supported the mum of a teenager who died after spending five months on a psychiatric intensive care unit.

Managing partner: Craig Marshall

Other offices: Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Chichester, Gatwick, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Reading, Sheffield, Southampton.

Who we are: Irwin Mitchell are legal and financial experts that care – whether it’s individual or business clients.

Founded in 1912, we’ve grown from a small building in Sheffield to being recognised as one of the UK’s largest full-service law firms. We have offices in over 18 locations across the UK and with over 3,000 staff and a variety of legal services, we’ve supported one million clients to date. Our vast experience and knowledge are complemented by our dedicated approach to client care.

What we do: We work with individual and business clients and take the time to understand what matters most to them to deliver exceptional outcomes.

What we’re looking for: Someone who is hard working and resilient to cope with working and studying at the same time. Someone who is passionate about helping our clients given the myriad of situations they may find themselves in. Also, someone whose own values align neatly with those of Irwin Mitchell.

What you’ll do: As an apprentice, you will usually be part of a specific business area where you will work with and support qualified solicitors working with a wide range of our clients on critical cases, deals and projects. Dependent upon the specific apprenticeship programme you will be enhancing your skills, knowledge and your behavior to be deemed fully competent to pass your apprenticeship and hopefully progress within Irwin Mitchell.

Perks: 25 days’ holiday and buying scheme, health plan, recognition scheme, two volunteering days a year, sports team sponsorship, season ticket loan, contributory pension scheme, death in service cover, critical illness cover, Flexible by Choice scheme.

Sponsorship

We support solicitor apprentices with the full cost of the LLB law degree and full costs for sitting SQE 1 and SQE 2 to become a fully qualified solicitor.

Seat options

We have a wide range of personal and business legal departments. Exact department options will be listed on our website when we open roles in February 2025.

Diversity and Inclusion