19 Dec 2023
A look behind the scenes of the St Albans-based law firm’s in-house training facility with partner Michael Lewis to find out what it offers the legal talent of tomorrow…
The Sherrards Training Academy was introduced earlier this year, in order to support the journey of our aspiring lawyers.
We aim to welcome at least four ambitious legal enthusiasts per year, providing them with dedicated support and mentorship from Associate-level lawyers and above, with the ultimate goal of guiding our trainees through the path to qualification.
Our training programme offers a distinct learning experience, allowing our trainees to explore different areas within the legal practice. Some might find themselves in our St Albans office contributing to lease agreements for a prominent household retailer, or participating in an international arbitration in our London Office. The diversity of the experience offered is carefully considered to enrich their learning, training and development.
Throughout this period, and perhaps unusually for most professional service firms, our trainees will undergo training on financial, marketing, and business awareness. They are encouraged to join our teams at networking, and firm-wide and client events, to ensure they get a fully-rounded experience of life at a law firm.
The Sherrards Training Academy Team
We currently have 10 young professionals on the academy, split across our departments, and our St Albans and London office. They are a fantastic group with diverse backgrounds and interests; one is an international tennis player, another a regional rugby player, there is a competitive cross-fitter, and language linguists too, with several speaking languages including Mandarin, Spanish, German and French.
I am the Training Partner, and am also a Partner in our Dispute Resolution team, heading up the Real Estate Litigation department. I really am passionate about helping those start their journey into a law career and have worked hard alongside my colleagues in HR and Marketing to help to shape the future of Sherrards.
We want to embrace an unconventional approach in the realm of law firms, we find value in doing things differently. That includes asking our Training Academy to write articles that we can publish (to help further their learning), have monthly lunches and get togethers, join department client meetings and present to clients.
We encourage our trainees to pursue their personal objectives (tennis, rugby, language) and work to provide flexibility around the work life so they can do so. And above all, we encourage them to collaborate with each other, and to start building that vital group of peers that they will need as they develop. Put simply, we view the Training Academy as the future partners of our firm.
Some of the team’s recent articles:
Break Clauses: Balancing Business Aspirations and Tenant Rights
Exploring the Intermediate Track: A path to Efficient Case Handling
The Powers of Attorney Act 2023
Michael Lewis, Partner and Head of Real Estate Litigation, Training Academy Partner
michael.lewis@sherrards.com
