Mentor scheme is helping hand on path to law career


Making the leap from university to the world of work can be a daunting prospect – particularly if the path you’ve chosen leads to a career in law


Fortunately for aspiring solicitor Laura Barrett, then in her final year of a law degree at the University of Portsmouth, there was somebody on hand to show her the way.


Blake Lapthorn, a proud sponsor of the Women in Business awards, is a partner with the University in its mentoring scheme. The scheme works with local businesses to help students make the transition from the lecture theatre to the workplace.


The University’s mentoring scheme is among a variety of initiatives that Blake Lapthorn takes part in to help young people and promote diversity – one of the core values of the Women in Business Awards


It was through this scheme that Barrett, who grew up and went to school in Portsmouth, met Natalie Coates, a banking and finance solicitor at Blake Lapthorn.


In a regular series of meetings, Coates was able to guide Barrett through the steps she needed to take to begin a career in law.


The advice proved invaluable – and Barrett is now training to be a solicitor with Blake Lapthorn. As part of the process, trainees spend time in different parts of the business in four “seats“, and Barrett was delighted to be placed with Coates for the first one.


“As part of the mentoring process, Natalie reviewed my CV and gave advice on how to apply for training contracts,“ says Barrett, now 24.


“These were very useful – but most valuable was her life experience. As someone who had been through the same process relatively recently, she was able to understand it from my point of view.


“At that time I’d never worked in a full-time job before, let alone one in the legal profession. It was good to be able to pick the brains of somebody who had been through it all.“


Offering a helping hand was a rewarding process for Coates, who could remember what it was like to be taking that great step into the unknown.


“I could empathise,“ says Coates. “Getting a training contract these days is very, very difficult. The standards among students are getting better and better and it appears to get harder every year.


“Having the right advice at the right stage can make all the difference to securing a job after university and I’m pleased to have been in a position to work with Laura on the mentoring programme. While universities


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MAY 2014 Natalie Coates


tend to have career advice services, understandably any feedback and advice a student receives may not always be tailored to that individual’s situation. That’s where we come in.


“Having an external mentor already placed in the legal sector, we hope, helps students to gain a deeper understanding of how to become a solicitor at an early stage when they are still making career choices and it provides a chance for the students to learn first-hand what they should be doing to maximise their chances, especially in this increasingly competitive marketplace.


“Mentoring also helps students build contacts that they might not otherwise have in the early stages of their career and helps open doors for them.


“As a regional law firm, one of our objectives in working with the mentoring programme, is to target those students who want to work and live locally.


Laura Barrett


through mentoring schemes like this. She is proactive, diligent, hardworking and friendly.


“It was a pleasure to work with her and I was delighted that she secured a training contract at Blake Lapthorn, and that her first seat was with me in the banking and financing team.“


Blake Lapthorn also leads PRIME, an initiative to deliver work experience places to young people, often from underprivileged backgrounds, who might not otherwise get the opportunity to get involved in law.


Blake Lapthorn also runs an annual Sixth Form Challenge and hosts mock trials that students from local schools take part in to get a taste of life as a solicitor.


Kevin Chard, training manager at Blake Lapthorn, says: “Work experience is a vital tool in today’s career marketplace, but placements often rely on personal contacts.


“We’re proud to be playing our part in promoting diversity by supporting young people and helping to open doors that might otherwise have been closed to them.“


It’s about helping to spot the


talented young people from the region, and giving them opportunity to stay and develop in the region.“


Trainee solicitors spend six months each in four “seats“ so that they learn about different aspects of the business as they go. Barrett was delighted when she was told her first seat would see her working with Coates in the banking and finance team.


Coates adds: “Laura is an excellent example of the type of trainee who can succeed


www.businessmag.co.uk


Details: Natalie Coates 023-8085-7092 natalie.coates@bllaw.co.uk www.bllaw.co.uk


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