How would you rate your amount of client contact?

Gaining exposure to clients early on is good practice for when you qualify. Most solicitors interact with clients every day, so having the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with clients during your training contract ensures that you are experienced and confident to communicate with, advise and provide solutions to the challenges clients face. As a general rule, the smaller the firm, the higher the level of client contact, although this can vary. New recruits at these Lex 100 Winner firms report high levels of client interaction, including phone calls, direct contact during meetings and some trainees are lucky enough to have celebrated case wins and deal closings with their clients. Trainees at Blaser Mills ‘aren’t hidden away’, instead they are ‘encouraged to meet with clients and are often a client’s first port of call’. ‘Learning rates seem quicker’ at Fladgate where trainees have the opportunity ‘to be involved with extremely interesting matters and clients’. A Payne Hicks Beach newbie enthusiastically reports: ‘I love meeting clients. I went to a client meeting on my very first day and always find them extremely interesting’. Recruits at Osborne Clarke are ‘trusted to go the client’s office alone’. Similarly, recruits at Hodge Jones & Allen ‘have a lot of responsibility and client contact’ and ‘frequently visit or make phone calls to clients to take witness statements’.