Trainee Talk

Our guest in this episode is Jonty Bouskill, a customer success manager at Wazoku. In this episode, we discuss how Jonty pursued his interest in legal technology and became a legal tech consultant at Neota Logic, which included working within Allen & Overy’s Fuse. You'll learn more about what legal technology is, its benefits, and the challenges in the adoption of legal tech within law firms. Jonty also explains how you can learn more about legal technology if you have an interest in this space. This episode is hosted by: Jaysen Sutton. The music in this episode is created by: Ichabod Todd. ichabod-todd.weebly.com/

Our guest in this episode is Azumah Cofie, a future trainee at Covington & Burling. In this episode, Azumah openly talks about how he overcame fears that his stammer didn’t make him suited to commercial law. He also explains how he embraced his African background during his vacation scheme. Not only that, but in this episode, Azumah explains how he bounced back after receiving 11 straight rejections, how he learnt to be confident, and how he didn’t take no for an answer in the application process. This episode is hosted by: Jaysen Sutton. The music in this episode is created by: Ichabod Todd. ichabod-todd.weebly.com/

Our guest in this episode is Gordon Chung, a future trainee at Baker McKenzie. In the first half of this episode, Gordon explains how taking advantage of a series of small opportunities helped him get to where he is today. We also discuss how he motivated himself to keep going, strengthened his application to make himself stand out and leveraged his background to find a firm that suited his strengths. In the second half of this episode, we walk through Gordon’s actionable advice on interviews and assessment centres. This episode is hosted by: Jaysen Sutton. The music in this episode is created by: Ichabod Todd. ichabod-todd.weebly.com/

Our guest in this episode is Monika Gagat, a future trainee at Squire Patton Boggs. In this episode, Monika discusses her journey as an international student attending a non Russell Group university. We begin by talking about the work she did as an in-house paralegal and how she leveraged her experience in her applications and interviews. Monika then shares her advice on everything from in-tray exercises and scenario questions to using your experiences to demonstrate commercial awareness at interview. This episode is hosted by: Jaysen Sutton. The music in this episode is created by: Ichabod Todd. ichabod-todd.weebly.com/

Our guest in this episode is Banu Hammad, a future trainee at Ashurst. In this episode, Banu walks us through her inspiring journey, from entering the UK as a Kurdish asylum seeker to dealing with feelings of imposter syndrome when starting at the LSE. We spend time discussing how she dealt with those feelings and how her interest in workplace psychology led to useful strategies to tackling interview nerves. Banu also explains how she made an impression on vacation schemes, the resources she used to develop her commercial awareness and how she went about tackling brainteaser interview questions. This episode is hosted by: Jaysen Sutton. The music in this episode is created by: Ichabod Todd. ichabod-todd.weebly.com/

In this episode, we are joined by Jan Alessandrini, a first-seat trainee at DAC Beachcroft. Jan came to law as a second career, after an established career in academia. He shares with us the reasons he decided to change his career, the challenges he faced as a mature candidate, and how he overcame them. Did you also come to law as a second career? If so, we'd love to speak to you! Contact [email protected] to get involved! The episode is hosted by: Yee Rou Quah. The music in this episode is created by: Ichabod Todd. ichabod-todd.weebly.com/

In this episode, we spoke to Tommy Adeyefa, a future trainee solicitor at Clifford Chance. Tommy speaks about his upbringing and journey into commercial law whilst dropping some nuggets for those looking to pursue the same path. The episode is hosted by: Milambo Makani. This episode is edited by: Yee Rou Quah. The music in this episode is created by: Ichabod Todd. ichabod-todd.weebly.com/

Our guest in this episode is Liz Barrett, a future trainee at Mishcon de Reya. In this episode, you’ll hear how Liz still had the conviction to pursue commercial law, despite coming to university as a mature student with only a handful of GCSEs, and having spent over a decade battling with illness. She explains the importance of valuing your worth and how life experiences can be used in applications and interviews to stand out. Liz also explains how she presented her mitigating circumstances to firms and stayed true to herself in her application forms. If you want to hear more from Liz, check out her blog: https://silksandthecity.wordpress.com/ where she shares plenty of actionable advice on all aspects of the training contract process. This episode is hosted by: Jaysen Sutton. The music in this episode is created by: Ichabod Todd. ichabod-todd.weebly.com/

Our guest in this episode is Yousif Alawoad, a future trainee at Clifford Chance. In this episode, Yousif candidly shares the challenging circumstances he and his family faced as political refugees, as well as the determination he had to work things out as the first of his family to go to university. Yousif also explains how his persistence and ability to bounce back from rejection led to an offer from his dream firm. This episode is hosted by: Jaysen Sutton. The music in this episode is created by: Ichabod Todd. ichabod-todd.weebly.com/

Our guest in this episode is Arun Wagle, a future trainee at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. Arun came from a non-Russell Group university and, during his applications, didn’t know anyone applying to the same firms he was applying to. However, Arun explains how he used his initiative to create his own opportunities. Arun also drills down into how exactly he developed his commercial awareness, his advice for those participating in the Aspiring Solicitors Commercial Awareness Competition (as a former semi-finalist), and how to deal with written exercises and curveball questions at interview. This episode is hosted by: Jaysen Sutton. The music in this episode is created by: Ichabod Todd. ichabod-todd.weebly.com/