Anthony Barlow, Trainee Solicitor

"There were two main reasons why I chose Irwin Mitchell (IM) over other firms. Firstly, I was attracted to IM because of the expertise the firm had in the field of Personal Injury. Secondly the firm’s broad portfolio of expertise also provided me with the opportunity to complete my legal training in diverse practice areas and removed the pressure of having to specialise too early in my career.

A further reason was that IM really was ‘different’ and non-conventional unlike many other law firms. With no rigid academic requirements for new trainees, the firm was more concerned with my potential to contribute its aims and ethos rather than with my exam results.

I am currently in my second seat in the firm’s Multi-party Action and Abuse department, based in Sheffield. This close-knit team has specialist expertise in class-actions, product liability, claims against the MoD and child abuse. As a result, my workload as a trainee is as varied as the litigation handled by the department. I am also given the opportunity to assist on numerous high-profile cases which are both legally and technically challenging.

The opportunity for responsibility has been integral to my training from the outset. I have attended court hearings alone and through a varied and well-supervised workload, have had the opportunity to train doing real work on multi-million pound cases. As a named contact for clients, I have continued to practise my client care skills by building and maintaining client relations. The firm’s open-door policy, regular reviews with my supervisor and the close network of IM trainees have ensured that throughout my training, I have been supported to overcome many of the challenges faced as a trainee.

I am thoroughly enjoying my training contract with IM and the firm has lived up to my expectations. The firm’s rapid growth and practice development means that it is an exciting time to be a trainee and provides the opportunity to work at the forefront of a leading national law firm. I am looking forward to the rest of my training contract and continuing my career with the firm".