We caught up with Hasini, a trainee solicitor in the Kennedys London office. Hasini has been in role for around nine months now, so we sat down to find out how the experience has been so far, and Hasini's advice for anyone looking to secure a Training Contract with Kennedys.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
I am a second seat trainee currently sitting in the Crime & Regulatory team. I had a fairly traditional route into law, completing my LLB and then working as a paralegal for a while before completing my LPC. Following my completion of the LPC I started at Kennedys.
What inspired you to apply to Kennedys?
The global presence of the firm was a major attraction in terms of applying. I was keen to apply to a firm which offered the prospect of working in a foreign office. The Kennedys Connect Leave Programme offers the opportunity to work from a Kennedys Host Office in another country for up to five working days, and this appealed to my desire to experience working in a foreign jurisdiction.
I was also drawn to the large breadth of sector specialisms offered by Kennedys, with the firm offering trainee seats across a wide range of industries such as travel, marine and aviation. I was therefore inspired to apply to a firm which would provide the opportunity to experience working across a number of various and diverse sectors.
Lastly, the trainees I spoke to prior to applying and who kept in touch throughout my application process proved to be uniquely generous with their time and insights. They were responsive to my queries and always happy to answer any follow-up questions I had, reaffirming my gut feeling that I was a right fit for the firm.
What's the single most important thing you've learned so far?
I have learnt the importance of ‘asking’ and not being afraid to put yourself forward for various opportunities offered by the firm.
This could range from applying to be involved in firm committees/events, volunteering to present to your team on a recent development or a case relevant to the team’s practice area, or simply taking the initiative to reach out to team members and querying whether there is scope for you to assist with certain matters or projects you have a particular interest in.
Your team and the wider firm are always receptive to the suggestions and ideas put forward by trainees, and if possible, they will try to accommodate your requests. However, I have learnt that the onus is on you as a trainee, to actively seek out those opportunities that will enhance both your career and personal development, albeit whilst being supported by Kennedys throughout your career journey.
What would a ‘normal’ day look like for someone in your role?
There is no ‘typical’ working day as a trainee and each day will be different in terms of the tasks you undertake. However, I tend to start the day by checking my inbox for any emails received and then updating my task list to account for any new tasks/changes in deadlines.
Typical tasks I undertake in my current seat include drafting, such as drafting witness statements or attendance notes of meetings, reviewing where I review and collate documents and researching, involving researching a point of law or recent cases that are relevant to a matter. My current seat also provides many opportunities to ‘get away from the desk’, such as accompanying colleagues on site visits to view incident locations, attending court to sit in on inquest proceedings and even attending police stations to observe colleagues representing clients at police interviews.
As a trainee you will often work on multiple tasks a day, allocating your time accordingly.
The tasks you undertake will be subject to factors such as team capacity or sudden developments, which often means that the order of priority in which you initially allocated your tasks may quickly shift.
As I near towards the end of the working day I wrap up my time recording entries for the day and update my task list, flagging anything pressing that requires my attention the next morning.
What do you find most interesting about the industry?
Working in the legal industry has allowed me to make interesting and varied connections whilst also providing exposure to a wide range of different types of work, encompassing different sector specialisms. However, what I value most, is that every day I am intellectually challenged, having to apply my legal and critical reasoning skills, amongst others, to solve technically complex questions of law.
In my current seat, I particularly value the fact that nearly all the matters the team work on, concern tangible, real life issues that most individuals can relate to, regardless of whether they have a legal background. The team often works on high profile public inquiries concerning areas of public life that most, if not all, individuals would be aware of and follow in the news. This therefore means that I feel more closely connected to and have a greater appreciation of the subject matter concerning the cases I work on.
What is the company culture like?
The firm’s culture is one that is open and supportive, with all colleagues I have interacted with being extremely approachable and easy to talk to. All members of the firm, including more senior figures, have always proven to be generous with their time and more than happy to informally chat with junior lawyers.
HR and Early Careers play a key role in shaping company culture and they have always been supportive in terms of fostering the personal development of trainees and accommodating any individual needs. The environment at the firm is definitely one which prioritises pastoral care and as a trainee lawyer I would have no qualms about sharing my worries or asking for additional support.
‘Inclusive’ and ‘action-led’ are two words I strongly identify with the firm. The firm is not only cognisant of the need to support and encourage female leadership in more senior positions, but in recognising this need, champions flexible working for female colleagues, who often times are the primary caregivers in their households. This can be seen through initiatives such as the firm’s Women’s Network, which supports and champions female colleagues across the business.
During my time as a trainee so far, I have witnessed first-hand the extent to which fellow colleagues will accommodate the needs of colleagues who are subject to the pressures of balancing work life with childcare duties. The firm also has a specific network, the PACT (Parents and Carers Together) network, which offers support to colleagues with caring responsibilities (not just caring for children), and is a reflection of the firm’s understanding and appreciation of the various domestic situations individuals may have.
How important is diversity to you and what is Kennedys doing in this space at the moment?
Diversity is incredibly important to me. I am part of the EMBRACE network at Kennedys which aims to foster a greater understanding of the lived experiences of those from various cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds and aims to empower ethnically diverse individuals to successfully navigate corporate spaces. The network runs a host of different events, ranging from virtual panel discussions which feature members from different religious communities sharing their insights on the commonalities between different faiths and particular religious customs observed, to in-person ‘drop-in’ events, whereby colleagues have the chance to sample traditional dishes and learn more about how their ethnically diverse colleagues celebrate particular cultural holidays.
The firm has also relaunched its reciprocal mentoring scheme which I am excited to be involved with later on this month. I will have the opportunity to act as a mentor to a more senior figure within the firm and through the provision of structured materials tackle important conversations regarding the challenges that ethnically diverse individuals may encounter in the legal sector. This also allows junior members of the firm to gain a senior mentor outside of their usual career contacts.
Kennedys also has a number of other networks, including Rainbow (LGBTQ+) and DANDI (Disability and Neurodiversity). The firm is continually looking to improve and expand its D&I initiatives and I am very excited to be part of the firm’s drive to achieve this.
Finally, any tips for anyone who’d like to applying to Kennedys?
Speak to as many people as you can from the firm, whether that be through in-person careers events organised by the firm itself, virtual careers fairs or even sending a brief LinkedIn message to a trainee.
I personally benefitted greatly from proactively following up with a then trainee who spoke at a virtual Kennedys careers event. I reached out to her and she kindly gave up her time for a number of scheduled calls where I was able to gain a greater understanding of the ‘Kennedys culture’, the type of work I might be expected to undertake and also the particular clients Kennedys work for- something which proved very useful in my interview!
Lastly, think carefully about the values the firm champions and how those values are reflected in your application. Legal work experience, whilst definitely beneficial, is not a pre-requisite. Most applicants would be surprised as to how easily you can demonstrate the firm’s values through other areas of your life, such as part-time jobs, volunteering, hobbies or even team sports. I would strongly encourage anyone applying to consider those values in detail and how they can demonstrate throughout the application process, that they truly embody the ‘Kennedys values’.