Nicole da Silva, Newly Qualified Solicitor was a trainee at the firm 2005 - 2007

"I was attracted to Irwin Mitchell (IM) when research revealed that IM is one of the few large law firms where you can experience such a diverse range of areas of law, from commercial to Personal Injury to private client. This was ideal for a person like me who was not sure which area of law they wanted to specialise in, but wanted the advantages of working for a big firm. I undertook a vacation placement in the firm's Birmingham office in 2004, everyone was very approachable and willing to offer advice should I ask, is something which has continued throughout my training contract and is one of the firm's biggest strengths. This experience confirmed to me that Irwin Mitchell was the place where I wanted to train.

My first seat was in the Commercial Legal Expenses Insurance department in Sheffield. This exposed me immediately to working in a fast paced environment and gave me a great introduction to litigation, particularly property consumer disputes. Because the cases are relatively straight forward, I was entrusted with a relatively high level of responsibility, being given autonomy on some files towards the end of my seat. I always felt however that I was given tasks that although challenging, suited to my level of skill, and I never felt that I was just "left to get on with it".

I then spent a year in the Leeds office, spending my second seat in Pensions and my third seat in Corporate. In both of these seats I experienced a lot of client contact, advising clients both face to face and on the telephone fairly regularly. In
both I also gained experience of advising individuals and businesses.

For my final seat I returned to Sheffield to work in the Commercial Litigation department, and I am pleased to say that I will be qualifying into this team. I assist solicitors in breach of contract issues, some property claims, and claims against insurance companies for refusal to pay under the terms of the insured's policies.

One of best things about the firm is the relationship between the trainees. I find that trainees will go out of their way to help each other. There are lots of social events to attend both trainee based and otherwise and the Professional Skills Course nights out are legendary!

Irwin Mitchell was an excellent choice for my training contract I am now looking forward to taking my career to the next level with the firm".