This story is sponsored by Harrogate Family Law.
A Harrogate lawyer says the enthusiasm of his latest three recruits has transformed the working culture of his firm.
Andrew Meehan, who is founder and director of Harrogate Family Law, has hired a solicitor apprentice and two paralegals over the last few months to help the firm service an expanding client list. He said:
“The best thing about them is their enthusiasm. They’ve come straight from school and university and their keen interest in things we take for granted is infectious. They’ve really invigorated the rest of us.”
At 19, Freddy Wharton is the youngest of the bunch. He was spotted by HFL director Laura Mounsey when she gave a careers talk at St Peter’s School in York, where he was a sixth-former. Recognising his potential, HFL offered him a contract as a solicitor apprentice, and he started the programme in January.
Andrew said:
“Freddy works four days a week on the job, and does a mix of online and face-to-face learning one day a week at the University of Law in Leeds. He’s mature beyond his years and is doing very well. In six years’ time he’ll qualify as a solicitor with a law degree. It’s a great way to enter the profession.”
Harrogate Family Law’s two new paralegals are Tija Purandere, who earned a first-class degree in law from the University of Liverpool and took a Masters degree at Durham University, and Charlie Main, who graduated from the University of Leeds last year with a first-class degree and a prize for excellence in European Union law.
Both started at HFL in November and will complete two years of on-the-job training, passing their Solicitor Qualifying Examinations (SQE1 and SQE2) before being signed off as fully-qualified solicitors by Andrew.
Andrew said:
“We find it difficult to find good, trained solicitors who are still in their 20s and want to work in Harrogate. So, we identified fresh talent straight from education and train them the way we want to.
“When we’re looking for someone new, we look for people who are very bright, personable and empathetic, and Freddy, Tija and Charlie all fulfil that brief very well.
“Taking them on makes good business sense too. From an internal perspective, it’s reinvigorated the team, and from a client’s perspective, it’s cheaper to have the more routine work done by paralegals rather than by me. Everybody wins.”
Andrew Meehan founded Harrogate Family Law in 2010. The firm has grown significantly over the last couple of years, almost doubling in size to cope with client demand. The firm is consistently ranked as a leading law firm for divorce and family law in Yorkshire by prestigious legal guides Chambers UK and Legal 500. An office move to bigger premises to accommodate the growing team is planned for the summer.
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