BAR WORK C
ox Hallett Wilkinson (CHW) is recognised as one of the leading commercial law fi rms on the Island.
Our goal is to provide the highest-quality legal advice to both Bermuda-based and international clients in a responsive and cost- effi cient manner, so as to enable them to meet their commercial needs. In order to achieve this, it is essential that we recruit, train and retain attorneys who are very bright, but also commercially minded and hard-working.
CHW has committed itself to the recruitment, training and professional development of law students by implementing two programmes—an annual scholarship awards scheme and a pupillage training programme.
CHW provides scholarships to Bermudian students enrolled in a law degree or other higher education course that will lead to legal qualifi cation and subsequent admission to the Bermuda Bar. Financial support, currently up to $25,000, is offered to a student who displays exceptional academic ability and a keen interest in legal practice. CHW’s Scholarship Committee also makes smaller awards to Bermudian students to assist them with the costs of their studies. In summer 2010, the fi rm gave awards to six students for the 2010/11 academic year.
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and joint ventures, advising investment funds and insurance and reinsurance companies, mergers and acquisitions of businesses established in Bermuda, and debt fi nance transactions. The fi rm’s client base is extremely varied, and includes both local businesses and large international companies located across the globe, meaning that the nature of the work that the pupil experiences is constantly changing.
CHW’s litigation department offers its pupils the opportunity to advise clients on a wide range of disputes, including corporate and commercial, property, employment and matrimonial matters, and insolvency and solvency restructurings of companies.
In the private client & real estate department, pupils are given an insight into the skills required to advise on wills and probate, trusts and estate planning, and commercial and residential conveyancing on the Island.
We believe that the fi rm’s annual scholarship awards are an ideal way for CHW to develop strong connections with aspiring students.
As well as receiving funding for their studies abroad, our students have the opportunity to work at the fi rm during breaks from their legal studies so that they are able to see what a career in the law involves and how a fi rm operates, as well as gaining an invaluable understanding of what it really means to practise law in Bermuda.
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It is the fi rm’s hope that the most promising of our scholarship winners will, as a result of having fi rst-hand experience of the fi rm and its attorneys, want to join CHW’s pupilage training programme so that they can qualify as an attorney and be admitted to the Bermuda Bar.
The programme lasts for one year and, during this time, our pupils work in each of the key practice areas of the fi rm: the corporate & commercial, litigation, and private client & real estate departments. In each department, the pupil will share an offi ce with a ‘pupil master’—a senior attorney with extensive practice experience, who will be responsible for ensuring that each pupil receives an opportunity to develop an academic understanding of law and sees how this is applied to working as an attorney in a commercial environment.
In terms of specifi c experience, pupils in the corporate & commercial department will be exposed to a wide range of matters, including the formation of companies, partnerships
WWW.FASTTRACKBERMUDA.COM FAST TRACK / Careers module / 2010-2011 41
During the pupillage, pupils will develop essential legal skills such as drafting, research and advocacy, as well as personal skills and transaction management skills, so that they have the tools and experience necessary to interact with and advise clients on a daily basis. CHW’s aim is to provide a stimulating and supportive environment for pupils, with all departments operating an ‘open door’ policy, which encourages dialogue between all those working within the fi rm; questions are encouraged and welcomed so that pupils are given the best opportunity to learn.
Once our pupils are called to the Bermuda Bar and invited to become associates of the fi rm, they will have a further year of supervised practice in two departments, selected following discussions between them and the fi rm. This enables the attorneys to further develop their legal practice skills as well as their understanding and confi dence.
CHW has a proven track record of enabling Bermudian law students to fulfi l their ambition of becoming an attorney in Bermuda. In recent years, eight CHW pupils have completed their pupillage and been admitted to the Bermuda Bar.
We believe that the fi rm’s annual scholarship awards are an ideal way for CHW to develop strong connections with aspiring students. The pupilage training programme enables us to build on those relationships and develop attorneys who understand the fi rm and, more importantly, what is required of an attorney who wishes to practice commercial law in Bermuda.
The development of Bermudian talent is key to the ongoing growth and success of the fi rm. CHW is very proud of its achievements to date in the recruitment, training and support of Bermudian law students, and we will continue our approach in order to help us achieve the business goals of the fi rm.
Jonathan Betts is a senior associate at Cox Hallett Wilkinson. He can be contacted at:
jbetts@chw.com
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