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How The Crown Estate found their first ever legal trainee

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Rebecca H - Flex Lawyer

At Hammonds LLP (now Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP) there was a six-seat training contract, with four months spent in each of the six chosen teams. I worked for one seat in each of the Corporate, Pensions, Employment, Property, and Property Litigation teams, as well as in the general corporate and commercial team in the Hong Kong from December 2006-May 2007.

Upon qualification, I joined the Commercial Property team in London and acted for major corporate landlords, supermarkets and pension funds advising on leases and tenancy agreements, licences, drafting reports on title, surrendering leases, managing rent reviews and dilapidations.

My practice focused primarily on UK and international finance and insurance litigation in Squire Patton Boggs’ London office, including:

<ul>
	<li>Financial Services Litigation advising banks and other financial institutions on all aspects of finance and banking litigation including commencing and managing High Court claims on a regular basis, summary judgment actions, set aside applications, and appeals; conducting mediation and settlement meetings; disclosure reviews for an international bank in relation to sanctions; advising an international money lender defending a claim for procurement of breach of contract; and conducting and supervising teams carrying out large-scale e-disclosure reviews. </li>
	<li>Insurance Litigation including working with the UK branch of a major French based insurer on all their major litigation matters, in particular, advising on the merits of their defence to a £13m claim by an insured party, which included defending proceedings, an extensive disclosure exercise, preparing witness statements, experts’ reports, and achieving a very satisfactory result through mediation. I also regularly carried out detailed claims analyses for fraudulent breaches of insurance policies, as well as merits advice and claims assessments.</li>
	<li>International Arbitration acting for insurance clients in relation to ICC and LCIA arbitrations against international respondents, obtaining awards and enforcement.</li>
	<li>Public Procurement and Judicial Review advising a large private defence company in respect of a public procurement challenge against a government body, including commencing proceedings, disclosure applications and mediation.</li>
	<li>Fraud investigations involving civil fraud actions against financial institutions, including conducting a reconciliation review for a large Irish bank of a customers’ ledger in a multi-million-pound fraud; conducting proceedings on behalf of a large bank for client fraud under a lending facility; and advising a Sheik in respect of several multi-million-pound claims and injunctions brought by creditors.</li>
	<li>Restrictive Covenant actions and employment litigation representing patent attorneys in defending an injunction action for breach of restrictive covenants. I have also advised companies upon injunction actions by former employees, and claims by recruitment agencies.</li>
	<li>Property Litigation advising on surrendering leases and preparing a successful summary judgment in a Part 20 claim for a vesting order,</li>
</ul>

In my role as Senior In-House Legal Advisor, I work within an in-house legal team of 9, and advise all the group businesses across the legal, medical and motor companies on a wide variety of commercial, contract, litigation, insurance, property and employment issues including:-

<ul>
	<li>Commercial contracts: drafting, reviewing and negotiating a range of contracts including referral contracts from law firms, case management companies and third parties, which involved advice on data transfer and LASPO (Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012) issues; charity partnership agreements; sponsorship agreements, including liaising with the media and marketing departments on IP and reputational issues; supplier contracts; termination letters; advising on the risks of standard terms and conditions; consent forms; and consultancy agreements.</li>
	<li>Group Projects: coordinating, drafting and negotiating a suite of documents for a new work stream, including drafting referral agreements with claims management companies, litigation funding agreements, insurance membership agreements and policy schedules, engagement documents including retainer letters with accompanying CFAs and DBAs, liaising with IT on data protection issues for new document platforms, and advising the relevant stakeholders on the risks to the business.</li>
	<li>Litigation: providing strategic advice on a £630m fraud claim (as claimant) including negotiating with Administrators, managing external counsel, and advising on internal data reviews. I have also advised upon negligence claims against the firm relating to engagement documents, funding and insurance issues, as well as liaising with counsel on costs assessments. In addition, I would review all new claims issued against the group companies to send to the appropriate stakeholders , assess the risk and financial impact on the group, and continue to monitor their progress or settlement.</li>
	<li>Insurance advice: I was the main point of contact for the insurance team advising on new policies and contracts as well as historic disputes, including premium claims. I also drafted settlement agreements and policy amendments, and provided regulatory advice liaising with the compliance team.</li>
	<li>Property: advising the facilities team in relation to disputes with landlords in the group property portfolio, including advice on inherent defects and repairing obligations which involved reviews of leases and historic documents, as well as experts reports. I also assisted in relation to dilapidations disputes, break notices, vacant possession and serviced charge issues,</li>
	<li>HR/Employment: advising HR on breaches of employee restrictive covenants and drafting cease and desist letters; negotiating undertakings; and advising on cases of potential defamation on social media platforms.</li>
	<li>Developing a clear litigation strategy to ensure consistency of approach across the group, including an assessment matrix based upon the claim value, projections and success criteria, to ensure claims were referred to the appropriate level of authority, and taking into account the group’s appetite for risk.</li>
	<li>Developing a central litigation tracker document to record claim values, group exposure, prospects of success, current status and CCJs.</li>
	<li>Advising on the proposed reorganisation of the group structure, including striking-off dormant companies and liaising with the tax department.</li>
	<li>Reviewing and drafting standard terms for all the group websites, including terms and conditions of use, privacy policies and cookie policies.</li>
	<li>Drafting precedent contracts and a variety of documents for an internal database.</li>
	<li>Advising on regulatory and data protection issues, including data protection clauses in contracts and data protection impact assessments.</li>
</ul>

I am a Senior In-House Legal Advisor at Slater Gordon Group, a multi-disciplinary national group of companies, with a strong private practice background as a highly experienced commercial litigator at Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP. 

My current position advises a variety of companies in the Slater Gordon Group, which employs c2000 people, on a wide range of issues, including negotiating commercial contracts, sponsorship deals, referral arrangements, group-wide litigation cases and litigation strategy, insurance advice, employment disputes, advice on the property portfolio, engagement documents, and data protection and regulatory issues. More recently, my role has concentrated on drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts. As part of my position, I have to advise stakeholders throughout the business on the risks involved, and take a commercially minded approach to managing legal and commercial risk. I have therefore learnt to evaluate and understand the strategic priorities, operational constraints and risk appetite of the various businesses in the group. 

Prior to moving in-house, my background is as a commercial litigator from a well-respected international City firm, with extensive expertise in a very wide range of general commercial litigation matters, as well as commercial arbitration, across multiple disciplines. I specialised in international financial services litigation, in particular advising banks and other financial institutions. I also have particular specialist experience in insurance litigation, as well as public procurement litigation, fraud investigations, property litigation and employment actions. 


Rebecca

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Bhavina Kotas - Flex Lawyer

French

English

First class in dissertation- Women as Company Lawyers

Legal Counsel for a large, high-profile corporate project, with corporate and commercial legal responsibility, working alongside the Western Europe General Manager and Nissan Executives.

Joined a law services company, providing consulting, technology and other services to law departments and law firms globally. Initially, as Senior Commercial Lawyer, then promoted to Senior Manager in 2019 and Director in 2020. Established senior relationship management with key customers, and secured repeat business.

<ul>
	<li>Developed team capabilities; built and oversaw a team of 20 across the UK, USA and India. Included five direct reports with responsibility for legal support to six high-profile customers with annual revenue of over $1M.</li>
	<li>Grew strong relationships to deliver business outcomes; accountable for strategic alliances and legal relationships with key customers, including Equinix, Seattle Genetics, Spotify, Rio Tinto and 10x Banking. Engaged with senior clients to resolve issues, and expedited resolutions as required.</li>
	<li>Resolved complaints and disputes; remedied customer’s dissatisfaction, delivered insight and issue resolution, and provided executive-level client reporting, which resulted in client increasing services and retainer by 200%.</li>
	<li>Increased new business and reduced company risk; demonstrated high client retention rate, and increased retainers and revenue streams across all clients due to timely and accurate completion of tasks, as well as responsive and approachable manner.</li>
	<li>Brought practical and commercial perspective to legal teams; provided legal support on procurement, consultancy, technology, supply, corporate law, competition law, anti-money laundering, anti-bribery, anti-corruption, antitrust, anti-competition laws, data protection and retention, data security and privacy regulation.</li>
	<li>Executed best practice compliance; prepared standard operating procedures, playbooks and process manuals, attended weekly internal and external stakeholder meetings, and conducted quality control checks of junior and mid-level lawyer project deliverables.</li>
</ul>

Broadened commercial and corporate experience with complex £2m cross-border contracts, including licensing and distribution agreements for television, content and transactional services within EMEA, Russia / CIS and France.

<ul>
	<li>Protected interests through clear drafting; prepared detailed documentation for high-value contracts and suppliers, including Sky, TF1, Canal+ and Multichoice, provided contract interpretation, and resolved related legal issues in litigation.</li>
	<li>Advised on regulatory compliance to deliver solutions; conducted research and produced guidance on licensing and media legislation across multiple different countries, and liaised with operational teams on required changes.</li>
</ul>

 

<ul>
	<li>Reduced company costs, improved consistency, and gained efficiencies; drafted contract templates, implemented new playbooks, managed contract management system, and trained junior lawyers in contract interpretation.</li>
	<li>Brought a practical, legal perspective to support new sales; identified process issue causing new sale delays, analysed options, and set up Powers of Attorney for agents in CIS regions. Resulted in faster sign off of new contracts.</li>
</ul>

A bilingual Senior Legal Counsel with more than ten years’ practical in-house and private practice experience across a broad range of industries, principally specialising in cross-border contracts. 
A collaborative communicator who understands competing drivers, the regulatory landscape, and the delicate balance in maximising opportunities and protecting interests.
	Leverages opportunities and achieves goals; delivers flexible legal solutions with strong research, drafting and negotiation abilities to achieve planned objectives. Gains stakeholder buy-in, resolves disputes, and flexibly adapts to fast-moving, regulated environments.
	Identifies and mitigates risks; reduces legal, compliance and reputational threats with a deep-rooted knowledge of industry sector trends, competition, and cross-border legislative and governance frameworks.
	Demonstrates initiative; able to work independently, supports legal and commercial negotiations with cross-cultural agility, and analyses complex documents with meticulous attention to detail.


Bhavina

Tessa Ingram - Flex Lawyer

English Literature B

Geography B

Economics C

General Studies B

Trainee then Assistant Solicitor in a City firm.

Sole litigator in the Sherborne office undertaking a broad range of commercial and civil litigation.

School admission appeal panel members perform a judicial function. I have sat as a panel member for in excess of 50 appeals in relation to schools nationwide.

I am the Governance Professional (formerly know as Clerk to the Governors) for 2 secondary schools (both Single Academy Trusts), a maintained primary school (part of a Multi Academy Trust) and a maintained nursery school.

Tessa_

Nathalie Ramrutton - Flex Lawyer

I worked in a small legal team (4) alongside the wider risk and compliance teams (18) advising on commercial contracts, intellectual property, data protection, regulatory, litigation and corporate governance. I also co-founded and effectively led the first company diversity &amp; inclusion council where I implemented initiatives and changes to policies and processes.

Intellectual Property 

<ul>
	<li>Working collaboratively with the Brand and Strategy Director on the management of the brand portfolio.</li>
	<li>Advising on intellectual property contentious matters, drafting and reviewing IP licenses and contracts.</li>
	<li>Preparing and agreeing with relevant stakeholders’ policies and procedures in connection with the brand portfolio.</li>
	<li>Advising on and assisting with marketing campaigns and internal and external communications.</li>
</ul>

Commercial

<ul>
	<li>Experience in drafting, negotiating and advising on a wide range of commercial contracts, confidentiality agreements, corporate guarantees, with global third party suppliers, IT suppliers and on other commercial projects, providing advice on legal and commercial risks, potential impact and proposing mitigating actions.</li>
	<li>Assisted in the successful implementation of the contract risk framework including the preparation and delivery of staff training and guidance notes, making these available online for staff and participating in ongoing monthly committee meetings.</li>
	<li>Advising Sales, IT, Procurement, Risk and Marketing teams in connection with the negotiation of commercial contracts, legal queries and issues.</li>
	<li>Identification and escalation of legal and commercial issues in a timely manner.</li>
</ul>

Data Protection 

<ul>
	<li>Legal representative for data privacy queries and projects following the implementation of the GDPR, participating and developing processes as a result of legislative changes.</li>
	<li>Effectively work alongside the DPO in the ongoing preparation of training on GDPR, subject access requests, drafting and updating relevant policies and reviewing and drafting internal and external communications.</li>
	<li>Successfully reviewed, drafted and negotiated GDPR amendment agreements for circa 200+ suppliers including implementing standard contractual clauses for suppliers based outside the EEA including the US.</li>
	<li>Provide effective in-house legal advice on data privacy issues including but not limited to; marketing permissions, campaigns for specific financial products, data-sharing, transfer of data outside the EU and advising on new products and initiatives.</li>
</ul>

Regulatory 

<ul>
	<li>Provide client focused regulatory advice on consumer credit related queries and the launch of any new credit-related products in the UK and Ireland.</li>
	<li>Responsible for ensuring that appropriate policies and procedures are maintained and well documented.</li>
	<li>Analyse changes to regulatory requirements and developments such as the Breathing Space Regulations advising on the impact with suggested changes alongside Credit Risk and Recoveries teams.</li>
</ul>

Corporate Governance &amp; Company Secretarial

<ul>
	<li>Respond to audit and due diligence requests from auditors and periodic refinancing exercises collating detailed information relating to policies, procedures and board packs. </li>
	<li>Advise directors and senior management on their powers, responsibilities and obligations. </li>
	<li>Responsible for drafting legal reports within specified timeframes including tracking and reporting on actions and key legal matters and risks.</li>
	<li>Responsible for maintaining accurate group statutory books and company filings.</li>
	<li>Experience in drafting board minutes in connection with director appointments and terminations, statutory accounts and resolutions passed by the board.</li>
</ul>

Litigation 

<ul>
	<li>Effectively assisted on a £2 million cyber insurance litigation claim working collaboratively with Senior Legal Counsel in the preparation of supporting evidence, drafted correspondence to defendant insurers, case summaries, chronology of the claim, participated in without prejudice meeting, prepared instructions and court documentation in accordance with the pre-action protocol.</li>
	<li>Gathered evidence and witnesses in support of litigation claims and developed case strategies with Senior Legal Counsel. Issued court proceedings for small claims and advised on alternative dispute resolution with suppliers in respect of intellectual property infringement, breach of contract and insurance claims.</li>
</ul>

Other responsibilities

<ul>
	<li>Member of the workplace Diversity &amp; Inclusivity Council where I participate in roundtable discussions and implement new initiatives to improve diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.</li>
	<li>Develop and implement new systems, processes, policies and tools to enable more effective legal risk management.</li>
	<li>Provide legal advice to the UK and Ireland office in a pragmatic, problem solving and commercial approach.</li>
	<li>Support, coordinate and liaise with insurance brokers and key stakeholders on the renewal of the group insurances.</li>
	<li>Undertake in-depth legal research and attend seminars to develop technical knowledge.</li>
	<li>Manage external legal spend liaising with external legal counsel where necessary.</li>
	<li>Track and monitor legal developments and report to the risk committee advising on the impact and potential changes that should be made.</li>
	<li>Maintain legal team precedent bank on an ongoing basis.</li>
</ul>

In-house paralegal supporting a small team of lawyers (6) in commercial contracts, company secretarial, and data protection.

Supported a small in-house legal team (team of 3) on a wide range of matters including litigation relating to aviation finance for clients based in the U.S, Canada and Europe, U.S and Russia, reviewing and drafting commercial contracts, NDA’s, GDPR amendments, and supporting the team on strategic projects.

Prepared and negotiated a variety of legal and commercial issues including commercial contracts, NDAs and associated documentation.

A fixed term contract as a paralegal in the corporate and commercial department of a medium sized law firm. I assisted a large (6 partners, 4 associates &amp; 15 support staff) corporate and commercial department on M&amp;A for large, capital markets, banking and commercial work undertaking fee-earning work and time recording. Work consisted of assisting in the delivery of advice, drafting training material and assisting in the delivery of webinars, drafting shareholder agreements, carrying out verification exercises, due diligence and compiling post-completion bibles.

A fixed-term contract as an in-house paralegal for an investment platform. I supported a medium sized (team of 15) in-house legal and compliance department relating to the group companies, investor queries, FATCA certifications, worked independently and collaboratively on data protection matters and private client matters relating to deceased portfolios.

Newly qualified solicitor with 6 years’ legal experience overall in commercial contracts, IP, data protection, corporate governance and litigation looking for a new opportunity to further develop as a lawyer.  

An understanding of the culture of small and large multinational corporations, building strong relationships with key stakeholders and exposure to a broad range of legal work. 

After graduating from university and completing the LPC I worked for a large consumer credit firm in their loan administration department dealing with customer queries, complaints and managing the life cycle of a customer's loan.

This experience really helped me understand the ways that a consumer credit firm operates and was instrumental in shaping my legal career at Premium Credit as a paralegal, trainee and NQ lawyer.

Nathalie

Leading the IR35 project for News UK Group covering Editorial, Wireless,Newsprinters, Commercial and Corporate functions. Since April 2020 providing ongoing ad hoc support.

Technical lead on development and delivery of legal technology product. Using AI to support processing and analysis of Data Subject Access Requests.

Leading the development and delivery of dental compliance programme.

FCA Regulated business. A member of the HR Senior leadership team responsible for the strategy, management and delivery of Employee Relations, People Policy, People Risk and Employment law. Managing and leading teams and working closely with the Executive and Senior Leadership teams to manage key People risks, manage union and representative body relationships, maintain legal and policy compliance and support the delivery of organisational objectives. 

Key achievements in role: 

<ul>
	<li>Effectively implemented major business transformation programmes. </li>
	<li>Responsible for industrial relations strategy, managed relationship with unions (UNITE, PCS) and chaired collective consultation meetings with the Unions and Employee Representative body. </li>
	<li>Redesigned operating processes and procedures within the Employee Relations Team, significantly increasing efficiencies and quality of delivery of ER advice to the business. </li>
	<li>Led the design, build and delivery of a new case management tool to the Employee Relations team to increase efficiencies and strengthen governance. </li>
	<li>Technical lead on major M&amp;A transactions including acquisition of Wells Fargo shareholder registration business in US. </li>
	<li>HR and technical lead on key projects including SMCR and IR35.</li>
	<li>Established the People Risk and Policy function to deliver oversight and governance on people risks.</li>
	<li>Developed and implemented new policies including redundancy, global mobility, enhanced maternity and homeworking.</li>
	<li>Established issue identification and remediation process driving much needed improvements to people processes.</li>
	<li>Reduced Employee Relations case volumes by a third and employment litigation by c.50%, despite transformation/redundancy projects, by establishing technical review and support function for the HR team.</li>
	<li>Offshored administrative and technical elements of Employee Relations work to an operations team in India.</li>
	<li>Increased employee engagement within areas of responsibility.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Established an in-house employment law function. The role was responsible for servicing all the employment law needs across the Equiniti Group (UK, Netherlands, Poland, India and the US) including extensive support to the Executive and senior management teams.</li>
	<li>Provided legal advice on multiple disposals, acquisitions and high value and complex TUPE transfers arising from insourcing or outsourcing activity.</li>
	<li>End to end employment advice, including management of litigation including advocacy, management of external lawyers, corporate support, exit agreements, complex disciplinary and grievances, public sector terms, pensions, restrictive covenants, FCA regulations/SMCR, restructuring, policy development and training.</li>
</ul>

Developed and implemented a compliance governance programme for the business (national and international). Provided commercial and employment law support to the legal team. Key responsibilities:

<ul>
	<li>Drafting and implementing compliance policies, conducting risk assessments and developing implementation plans for rollout through the employee and supply chain network.</li>
	<li>Drafting and advising on commercial contracts including supplier agreements, international distribution agreements, international data transfer agreements and media contracts.</li>
	<li>Handling employment tribunal claims, reviewing employment policies and procedures for compliance and advising the HR team improvements to policies and procedures.</li>
</ul>

FCA &amp; PRA regulated businesses. Established an in-house employment law function. Responsible for end to end employment law advice across the Group (UK and ROI), including at Executive level.

<ul>
	<li>Company Legal representative in a major HMRC investigation into employment status (primary business risk).</li>
	<li>Worked closely on the business’ transition to FCA authorisation including redesign of agency contract and process design.</li>
</ul>

Established a legal risk function with responsibility for developing and implementing the legal risk governance framework.

<ul>
	<li>Member of the Enterprise Risk Oversight Committee, accountable to the business for legal risk issues.</li>
	<li>Established processes within the legal team to improve compliance with the Solicitors’ Regulatory Authority rules.</li>
</ul>

Day to day employment law support to the business including management of all employment litigation including advocacy, training and policy development. Employment lead on major disposal programme.

Delivery of all employment law advice and HR project management for the international restructuring of the NBC Universal Home Entertainment business (EMEA).

Senior Employment Solicitor (UK Qualified)

Georgina

A-Level 
Business Studies (B)

Geography (C)

English Literature (D)

 
AS-Level 
Geology (B)

9 GCSEs – 2 x A’s; 5 x B’s; 1 x C; 1 x D

<ul>
	<li>Solicitor working within a small team.</li>
	<li>Acting on behalf of International and National companies, SMEs, land owners, professional partnerships, individuals, pension funds and banks.</li>
	<li>Commercial landlord and tenant work acting on behalf of landlords and tenants.</li>
	<li>Sales and purchases of commercial property with bank lending or into a pension fund, some with leasebacks.</li>
	<li>Refinances due to company restructures, some involving pension funds.</li>
	<li>Acting on behalf of tenants on the Right of First Refusal under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.</li>
	<li>Acting for tenants to extend their leases of residential flats both using the statutory procedure under Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and informally.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Associate Solicitor working within a small team.</li>
	<li>Acting on behalf of International and National companies, SMEs, developers, pension funds and banks.</li>
	<li>General commercial landlord and tenant work acting mostly on behalf of tenants.</li>
	<li>Sales and purchases of commercial property with bank lending or into a pension fund.</li>
	<li>Acting on behalf of a high street bank and a niche bank where separate representation is required.</li>
	<li>Advising both landlords and tenants on Right of First Refusal Notices and the procedure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.</li>
	<li>Acting for tenants to extend their leases of residential flats both using the statutory procedure under Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and informally.</li>
	<li>Acting on behalf of developers to purchase land with Option Agreements and Conditional Contracts subject to private lending.</li>
	<li>Acting for land owners and developers in negotiations on JCT Contracts and Collateral Warranties.</li>
	<li>Acting on behalf of developers to agree Planning and Infrastructure Agreements with Local Councils, Highways Authorities and Water Companies.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Solicitor working within the Commercial Property department.</li>
	<li>Acting on behalf of SMEs, individuals with commercial property portfolios, management companies, charities and parish councils.</li>
	<li>Commercial landlord and tenant work acting on behalf of both landlords and tenants.</li>
	<li>Acting for lenders in relation to private legal charges over leasehold properties, including dealing with facility letters, legal charges documents and personal guarantees.</li>
	<li>Advising on conditional contracts, option agreements and transactions involving overage.</li>
	<li>Acting for farmers and owners of agricultural land in relation to sales, purchases, refinancing and advising on rights of succession under various agricultural tenancies.</li>
	<li>In addition to the types of work which I had previously carried out at Harvey Ingram Borneos.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Initially, trainee solicitor working within the Company Law department and qualifying into the Commercial Property department.</li>
	<li>Acting on behalf of SMEs, farming partnerships, trustees, landed estates and individuals and assisting colleagues with transactions involving major companies.</li>
	<li>Leases of commercial properties acting on behalf of both landlords and tenants including negotiating and agreeing new leases, assigning, varying and surrendering leases, dealing with licences to alter and assisting surveyors with schedules of dilapidations and rent reviews</li>
	<li>Sales and purchases of commercial properties.</li>
	<li>Acting on behalf of tenants in leasehold enfranchisements, residential lease extensions and rights to manage using the statutory procedures and privately negotiated arrangements and advising clients on which procedure can and should be used.</li>
	<li>Acting for residential flat management companies dealing with enquiries and changes of members/shareholders and directors.</li>
	<li>Purchases and sales of public houses and restaurants including dealing with the assignment or granting of the lease and transfer of the premises licence.</li>
	<li>Drafting, advising on and registering legal charges of properties, acting on behalf of lenders and borrowers. Dealing with large lending institutions and private lenders and ensuring compliance with company and charity legislation.</li>
	<li>Assisting colleagues with agricultural transactions.</li>
	<li>Assisting senior colleagues with renewable energy transactions involving wind farms, anaerobic digestate plants and solar farms.</li>
	<li>Assisting colleagues with development work on freehold and leasehold land including option agreements and conditional contracts.</li>
	<li>Assisting the company department with due diligence of the property aspects of large business purchases and reorganisations.</li>
	<li>First registrations of large areas of agricultural land.</li>
	<li>Sales and purchases of small unincorporated businesses including complying with TUPE regulations.</li>
	<li>Advising clients of SDLT requirements of transactions.</li>
	<li>Successful adverse possession of leasehold land and rectifying titles which had been incorrectly registered.</li>
	<li>Draft a statement of case for a successful Land Tribunal trial.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Trainee solicitor working within the Commercial Property department for 18 months.</li>
	<li>Training contract included 3 months in Personal Injury and 3 months in Private Client.</li>
	<li>Drafting and advising on commercial leases and residential tenancies, including sub-letting and leases to concessions within a local garden centre.</li>
	<li>Some clients were SMEs or family businesses in financial difficulties who needed a quick resolution, often to sell or lease a property usually requiring negotiation with lenders to obtain consent.</li>
	<li>Acting on behalf of local developers on the sales of their newly built properties, including bulk sales to investors and individual sales; mostly off-plan. Obtaining estate plan approval from the Land Registry.</li>
	<li>Sales and purchases of plots of land for development. Frequently land is agricultural and unregistered with lost deeds or incomplete titles.</li>
	<li>Drafting partnership agreements.</li>
	<li>Due to unforeseen events within the Commercial Property department I was given a great deal of responsibility very early in my training contract and that continued throughout. It was also necessary for me to adopt a large number of files from colleagues at very short notice. Often these files had clients who were initially quite difficult and needed to be handled carefully and with understanding.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Legal secretary to a partner and a senior associate within the Commercial Property department.</li>
	<li>Audio and copy-typing correspondence and documents.</li>
	<li>Preparing bills, administrating accounting matters and dealing with money transfers.</li>
	<li>Managing diaries for both fee earners.</li>
	<li>Undertaking an increasing amount of paralegal work within the Commercial Property Department.</li>
	<li>Assisting fee earners with transactions involving major and blue chip companies.</li>
	<li>Working to strict time constraints and deadlines.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>⦁ Worked with another student under a supervisor from Wragge and Co Solicitors.</li>
	<li>⦁ Handled a case from the preliminary interview to writing a letter of advice.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>9 weeks work experience.</li>
	<li>Became a point of contact for 10 clients involved in an insolvency case where I was responsible for drafting letters and filling in forms.</li>
	<li>Regularly attended court with Counsel to take notes.</li>
	<li>Spent time carrying out extensive legal research.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Work shadowing for one week.</li>
	<li>Attended cases in both the Magistrates Court and Crown Court.</li>
	<li>Clarified my ambition to be a solicitor rather than a barrister.</li>
</ul>

I qualified as a solicitor in 2008 specialising in Commercial Property and Residential Leasehold Enfranchisement.  I have worked for a few high street firms, so have experience of most aspects of property law and acting on behalf of most types of client, including charities, pension funds and banks.

<ul>
	<li>Administrator for 5 inspectors of care homes, children’s homes and boarding schools.</li>
	<li>Carried out receptionist duties, including answering the telephone and dealing with the post.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Trained and supervised new colleagues.</li>
	<li>Worked with a large range of people, both customers and colleagues.</li>
	<li>Worked on the fresh food counters and checkouts.</li>
</ul>

Ruth

Tri-lingual French qualified Lawyer and in January finished acting as Interim Head of Litigation for Cushman & Wakefield

candidate-vas

Greek

Italian

<ul>
	<li>Handled several high-profile international financial and commercial law cases.</li>
	<li>Appointed as Money Laundering Investigation Officer in a multimillion dollar case on fraud and money laundering. Successfully analyzed and reviewed contractual documentation to complete payment reconciliation and recommended significant corrective measures to our client (FCA regulated authority).</li>
	<li>Performed strong analytical research on matters of fraud during the issuance and transaction of a multimillion dollar case</li>
	<li>Developed contract templates and golden rules for contracting best practices for several international clients.</li>
	<li>Led training workshops and provided presentations to commercial and sales teams on key contractual terms and conditions.</li>
	<li>Supported High-tech-sector clients with complex contract negotiations (supply and acquisitions).</li>
	<li>Assisting clients with procedures implementation for the internal respect of the new European Data protection Directive.</li>
	<li>Assisted as a legal specialist in matters of companies dispute resolution and litigation.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Reviewing and analyzing commercial contracts using the Bloomberg contracts database.</li>
	<li>Managing various complex contracts between Bloomberg and merged or dissolved companies.</li>
	<li>Acting as a liaison between different departments across Bloomberg's international footprint to facilitate contract negotiation.</li>
	<li>Providing advice to clients on Bloomberg’s contracting terms and conditions.</li>
	<li>Proficient in the ‘’Bloomberg Anywhere’’ Terminal.</li>
	<li>Actively supporting the compliance department to ensure MiFiD II compliance for Bloomberg.</li>
	<li>Keeping up to date with financial regulations and/or Bloomberg’s responsibilities towards the FCA.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Contractual risk management in high value contracts.</li>
	<li>Trade Sanctions Investigator for purchase, sale and transport for Gas/Power operations in EMEA.</li>
	<li>Providing legal advice on the risk undertaken by Shell in matters of contractual liabilities and indemnification and limitation of liability clauses.</li>
	<li>Negotiating oil and gas (EFET), emissions trading and derivatives (ISDA) contracts.</li>
	<li>Drafting and negotiating bespoke, Master Agreements, Master Netting agreements and NDAs along with credit support documentation and other ad hoc documentation as required.</li>
	<li>Reviewing and identifying high risk contracts which are not compliant with internal Shell policies and require legal risk analysis.</li>
	<li>Support the development and maintenance of contract and clause databases.</li>
	<li>Act as a central focal point for contractual issues within Shell Europe Trade Ltd for key internal stakeholders.</li>
	<li>Provide contractual advice when needed to other parts of Shell Trading and the Shell Energy Europe sales offices.</li>
	<li>Ability to manage multiple assignments, priorities and deadlines, with demonstrated organisation and executional skills.</li>
	<li>Ability to explain complex legal matters in a business context (business mindset, practical approach)</li>
	<li>Developed an internal IT tool for Legal which greatly enhanced the coordinative actions between BusinessTrading-Legal departments and set out new guidelines and golden rules during deals negotiations as well as Contractual Risk Allocation procedures.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Contractual Risk Management &amp; Litigation</li>
	<li>Reviewing and analysing high value contracts which require an assessment of their limitation of liabilities clauses and indemnities.</li>
	<li>Assisting the Legal Department to redraft all relevant clauses on high risk contracts and operations.</li>
	<li>Monitoring internal policies that require the compliance of national and international regulations.</li>
	<li>Assisting Legal’s Litigation department by analyzing and preparing litigation documentation on an EMEA basis, as well in the coordination of actions of all E.U branches of the firm.</li>
	<li>Providing clear legal advice to various other departments of the firm</li>
</ul>

Reporting directly to the General Counsel of Cushman &amp; Wakefield on active and/or imminent litigation in relation to Professional Negligence, Commercial Litigation, Employment, Debt recovery, and Criminal matters.

<ul>
	<li>Drafting, advising and negotiating settlement agreements with external stakeholders.</li>
	<li>Engaging directly with external law firms on complex matters requiring additional support.</li>
	<li>Liaising directly with external insurers and assisting on premiums negotiations with the Global Risk Manager.</li>
	<li>Supervising a team of paralegals and coordinating the team's actions under the approval of the Global General Counsel.</li>
	<li>Mitigating risk for contractual and extra-contractual liabilities arising out of the company's commercial relationships.</li>
	<li>Initiating proceedings, mediation, alternative dispute resolution (ADR).</li>
	<li>Liaising with the Financial and Credit Control Team advising on provisions around legal expenses and costs of litigious matters.</li>
	<li>Actively supporting the business‘two main branches (Asset Management Services and Valuations Team) on litigious and/or pre-action matters of high volume and risk.</li>
	<li>Defending Professional Indemnity claims against the company.</li>
	<li>Working closely with Compliance, participating in investigations and matters arising from whistleblowing reports or corporate fraud potentially leading to litigation.</li>
	<li>Advising the GDPR team in multiple projects with a view to establishing compliant internal policies for the protection of records related to contentious or potentially contentious matters.</li>
</ul>

I am a tri-lingual French qualified Lawyer and in January finished acting as Interim Head of Litigation for Cushman & Wakefield

Vasileios

Venture Founders

AS Level/Philosophy/A
A Level/Economics/A
A Level/History/A
A Level/German/A
Advanced Extension Award/German/Distinction

German

I was seconded to BT plc, where I worked as part of the EU GDPR programme team to ensure BT’s ongoing compliance with data protection requirements. Responsibilities included: - reviewing key supplier contracts and determining whether existing terms are GDPR compliant; - reviewing and editing internal guidance ("playbook") on how to complete supplier contract amendments; - preparing contract amendments and identifying key risks; - drafting/editing amendment templates for use by the rest of my team in negotiations - leading on the contract amendment negotiations with suppliers (key areas included audit rights, costs and indemnities); - liaising with key stakeholders within BT; - proposing pragmatic commercial solutions and translating this into robust contractual proposals.

I was part of the Public Inquiry Team and represented victims and survivors in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. My key responsibilities included preparing victims’ and survivors’ applications for core participant status, meeting with victims and survivors and drafting their witness statements, drafting responses to the Inquiry’s consultations in the Accountability and Reparations investigation, preparing for and attending the Inquiry’s meetings, seminars and public hearings, liaising with the Inquiry’s legal team on a daily basis and on-going client care. I also assisted on a high profile political court case in which the High Court considered whether it was correct in law for an incumbent party leader to have the automatic right to be a candidate in a leadership election.

Training seats undertaken in:
-	Corporate and Commercial (April 2015 – September 2015)
-	Family Law (October 2014 – April 2015)
-	Education (April 2014 – October 2014)
-	Social Housing (October 2013 – April 2014)

Further information on specific tasks undertaken as trainee solicitor available upon request.

I conducted high volume contract reviews and prepared trial bundles in support of ongoing litigation.

My main task was to assist the solicitors dealing with immigration appeals. This included gathering objective information and compiling reports, which were submitted to the Home Office in support of the client’s appeal. 

I advised The English Sports Council on a wide range of legal issues and documents, including procurement contracts, data protection, commercial partnerships and regulatory compliance as part of the in-house legal team. I was also the team lead for managing the organisation’s intellectual property portfolio as well as the highly successful ‘This Girl Can’ campaign. As part of this work stream I negotiated trade mark and music licences with Disney as well as merchandising agreements with other well-known brands. Examples of recent work include reviewing and updating the organisation’s cookie policy and preparing a suite of commercial templates.

In addition to my teaching responsibilities, I supervised the social and sporting activities after lessons and taking the students on trips. I was also responsible for coordinating airport transfers for all students. 

I was involved with 16 classes on a weekly basis. I independently set up and ran two after-school clubs, which were designed to encourage pupils to find out more about British culture. I also translated letters, pamphlets and presentations for other members of staff, including a paper on environmental issues.

I taught classes of up to 18 students on a daily basis.

In this role, I supported children in their studies: planning lessons, helping with any homework and trying to make English as accessible as possible.

During my placement, I worked on several credit risk management cases, and provided administrative support to the wider department, including filing documents, and verifying customer data.

Emily

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