Ralli People

My Job Title: Trainee Solicitor

Date I Joined Ralli: September 2008 

Admitted as a solicitor: Due to qualify in September 2010

Professional Qualifications:

LPC from BPP School of Law, Manchester,
Single Honours LLB from Queen's University Belfast, 2:1
Certificate of Business Education Initiative awarded on behalf of Department of Learning and Education, Queens' University and Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth Texas

What do I do at work?

I am currently in the Corporate Department which covers a broad spectrum of areas of law. Everyday we are faced with a new challenge and work together as a team to rise to this challenge.  I have had the benefit of observing and assisting our Senior Partner Adrian Anderson and Associate Phil Hitchen in a number of corporate deals such as Pre Pack administration, Franchise Agreements, high net worth Management buy-outs, and certain Probate matters.

With the launch of the Ralli Partnership Law website, I have had the fortune of being assisting Partner Mark Briegal with a wide range of partnership disputes.  I have also been given responsibility to conduct a case load of my own which has included selling and purchasing property, drafting of wills, obtaining probate on behalf of clients and Court of Protection matters.  Each case varies and some matters which I have been involved in have provided interesting questions of law and areas of difficulty of which I feel I have been continually challenged and had the great satisfaction so far of overcoming these challenges successfully.

I have previously held a seat in the Regulatory Corporate and Serious Crime department and in this department I had the fortune to have been involved in every aspect of the department dealing with a huge range of subject areas.  I assisted fee earners, partners and attend court to assist Counsel and have been involved in the early investigations of some of our larger cases.  I have been apart of a team which draws on huge experiences and expertise in the various levels of crime from petty crime, counterfeit crime, violent crime to larger corporate fraud. 

I have, prior to this successfully completed a seat in the Personal Injury Department where I assisted various fee earners and partners.  I was involved in a wide varied selection of personal injury from whiplash to catastrophic injuries.  I have been entrusted by Fee Earners and Partners in drafting statements, attending court and conferences with clients and Counsel. 

I have gained invaluable experience at Ralli throughout my Training Contract having been given a huge amount of responsibility all the while having the support network available.  Ralli have made me feel like an important part of a very experienced team.

I have thoroughly enjoyed each of my seats to date and am looking forward with anticipation to my fourth and final seat in the Business Litigation department.

What have I done?

In my pre-final year at university I won a scholarship to study Business in the USA. I was paired with Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas, Heart of Cowboy country.  I studied American business practices.  The idea behind the scholarship was to empower students to learn from what was seen at the time the biggest business superpower in the world and come back and use this knowledge and experience in our working lives in the UK.  I had the fortune of studying various other elements such as TV and Film Script Writing, Criminal Law in the US and skill building classes on Leadership.

During the year I had many opportunities to go travelling and spent Christmas in Miami, New Year in New York, summer in California, my 21st birthday in Las Vegas and even managed to fit in Graceland to see the King himself.

Having been bitten by the travelling bug, after I finished my degree I took another year out travelling in 2005- 2006 and went to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and Fiji and even manage to work in Australia for 8 months.  I travelled through Australia and worked a number of jobs, the most notable being that as a chamber maid at the Ayer's Rock Resort!  I have recently returned to Australia (as a tourist this time!) to experience New Year under the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House once again.

I am an active member of the Manchester Trainee Solicitor Group and try not to miss an event!  I enjoy networking and making new friends and contacts.   

What do I like?

I like travelling and seeing new places and getting away as much as possible!  I thoroughly enjoy going out and spending quality time with my friends.    I try to get back to Ireland any chance I can in order to sample my mother's home cooking and of course some Irish hospitality.  I also like reading and generally relaxing activities.  I'm a big fan of live music so I try to frequent concerts and festivals any chance I can.

I took part in the BUPA Great Manchester Run in 2009 with a number of my colleagues at Ralli of which I am very proud, as I have never attempted to run any sort of lengths in the past never mind 10k.  I enjoyed it so much I have entered it again this year and hope to beat my Personal Best set last May.   We managed to raise a substantial amount of money for our chosen Charity Factor 50 and hope to beat last year's fundraising attempts. I hope to keep the momentum up and participate in many more events like this as I found my first experience quite rewarding!

Memberships:

Law Society
Manchester Trainee Solicitor Group
LinkedIn