Surrey Junior Lawyers Division Report

Surrey Junior Lawyers Division Report

Every junior lawyer should feel supported in the same way they work hard to support their clients and their employers. Surrey Junior Lawyers Division is here to help.

One of the best things about local JLD groups is being part of a community, so we are still running our Martin Whitehorn’s Cocoa With The Committee every fortnight to provide you the opportunity to connect and have a chat with your peers. Cocoa allows you to meet other junior lawyers, discuss career and professional development opportunities, updates in the world of law and more, all in a relaxed environment.

All you have to do to keep up to date with our events is send an email asking to be added to our mailing list to: surreyjuniorlawyersdivision@gmail.com.

The Law Society’s main Junior Lawyers Division has recently been holding a number of valuable careers forums for junior and aspiring solicitors. We are happy to discuss the various forum topics at Cocoa including:

■ Making an impact as you work from home

■ How to structure your career to become a judge

■ Becoming an in-house lawyer

■ How to fail – dealing with mistakes, bad feedback and ethics

■ Managing life away from your desk

■ Finding your voice – managing people and delegation

We have also continued Martin’s Surrey JLD on Tour initiative (named by our Chair Yasmin Curry), meeting with other local JLD groups to share ideas, resources and explore how we can best provide mutual support. Since meeting with Cheltenham and Gloucester JLD and Hertfordshire JLD, we have met with JLD Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire (pictured), Cardiff and South East Wales JLD, South Hampshire JLD, Cheshire and North Wales JLD, Manchester Young Solicitors Group, Merseyside JLD, Sheffield JLD and Northants Bucks JLD. JLD Berks, Bucks & Oxon (JLD BB&O) is a prime example of how our JLD is working with other JLDs. When Martin got us enrolled on the University of Law’s virtual law fair on 23rd September, he asked if there would be a place for JLD BB&O, as Surrey JLD would be provided a virtual booth accessible to aspiring solicitors from both the Guildford and Reading campuses. It made sense for our friends at JLD BB&O to have a place on the law fair too and the invitation was duly extended to and gladly accepted by our neighbouring JLD.

Both of our JLDs are keen to support not only junior lawyers but aspiring ones too. None of us had ready-made paths into law, so readily relate to the struggle to find a training contract. Do get in touch with any of your questions about progressing through the legal profession.

At the time of writing our elections are underway, with the deadline being midnight on 16th October. We look forward to welcoming our new committee members, including but not necessarily limited to:

■ Events Representative

■ Media & Communications Representative

■ Social Media & Publications Representative

■ Student Representative

To apply, simply send an email telling us a little bit about you, which position you would like to apply for, why you want to be on the Surrey JLD committee and what you can add to the committee. Drop us a line to learn more about what it’s like to be on the committee and what the positions involve. ■