Callum

Legal Solicitor Apprentice at TLT LLP – Bristol

About Callum

Callum is a Legal Solicitor Apprentice at TLT LLP in Bristol, working towards his solicitor qualification while gaining hands-on legal experience across a variety of teams and sectors.

1. What’s the #1 thing you love about your job?

I love that I have the opportunity to work alongside and learn from experienced professionals, noticing how they interact with clients and deal with a range of situations. I also really enjoy the fact that I am given tasks and trusted with a certain level of responsibility which means that I have an actual impact on the matters we are instructed on.

2. What was the biggest challenge shifting from school to work?

For me I think the biggest challenge was confidence related — initially being in a comfortable environment at school or college where you are in the company of your friends and teachers that you are familiar with, to then transitioning to working in an office with professionals that you have never met before and figuring out how office life works!

3. How do you handle exams while working?

I have an allocated study day one day per week. During general term time, it’s really important that I treat each study day as if it was a normal working day, utilising that day in full (but including sufficient breaks!) to ensure that I keep up with my studies and don’t fall behind. At the beginning of my apprenticeship I would often feel tempted to check my emails on my study day, but I quickly learnt that doing this would completely disrupt the flow of my study day, so it’s important to keep that separation between working and studying. Around exam time, I often do a little more revision on a weekend, but I don’t do any revision on the night before an exam — exercising and relaxing instead, which helps to reduce stress.

4. What does your week actually look like?

I’m usually in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays, working from home on the other days — although this is subject to change depending on whether there is anything going on such as a team meeting or social event after work!

5. Why did you choose an apprenticeship over university?

I chose the Solicitor Apprenticeship route as I wanted to gain real-life practical experience of working in a law firm from the get-go as opposed to studying full-time at university. Having the opportunity to work in a variety of teams across a range of sectors from an early stage has proved invaluable for both developing a range of skills and knowledge, and finding out the areas of law that I enjoy and that suit my skillset.

6. What’s your go-to office lunch?

Very boringly, a Tesco meal deal — but if I’m treating myself then either a burrito from the Woolly Cactus (the van is right outside our office) or a Low & Slow!

7. What are you doing to relax right now?

I’m not currently in a phase of watching TV, so after work you will probably find me at the gym or listening to a podcast — most likely sport related!

Top Tip

8. What’s one thing you wish you knew when you were 17?

It’s okay to feel uncomfortable — if you feel a little out of your depth or doing something outside of your comfort zone, that’s most likely when you are growing and learning!