We are delighted to be able to offer a training contract to one of our dedicated paralegals: Lauren Kershaw.
Based at our Neath office, Lauren has been with us just short of 12 months, having joined Hutchinson Thomas in October 2020 as a paralegal – her first role within the legal field.
To date, Lauren has been assisting Partner, Rachel Pudner, within the childcare department. Her training contract is for a period of two years, which she will spend working predominantly within her current department, childcare.
Lauren has wanted to work within the legal field since the age of 13, and, as such, understood that the choices she made during her academic career would set her on the path to becoming a qualified solicitor.
As a pupil at Brynteg Comprehensive School, studying AS and A levels in English Literature, Religious Studies and Psychology, Lauren showed considerable dedication to her studies by also attending Bridgend College in the evenings to study Law.
From there, she went on to attend Swansea University to study undergraduate Law LLB for three years, gaining a first class honours in the subject.
Lauren then proceeded to study for an MA in LLM Legal Practice and Advanced Drafting, graduating in November 2019, whilst simultaneously working two part-time jobs: gymnastics coach and customer service assistant at a supermarket.
As well as being Lauren’s first role within a legal setting, her appointment as a paralegal here at Hutchinson Thomas was also her first opportunity to work in an office environment.
However, due to the Covid-19 lockdown, Lauren spent the beginning of her time in the paralegal role based at home. Though this situation was far from ideal, Lauren’s hard-work and enthusiasm to learn has held her in good stead, ultimately resulting in her well-deserved training contract with us.
Lauren Kershaw, our latest trainee solicitor, said:
“I have known I wanted to be a solicitor since I was about 13 years old. When I started my GCSEs, I knew that everything I did from that point forward was going to work towards me securing a training contract to enable me to become a qualified solicitor.
“I knew that I needed to get my GCSEs to get to my A Levels; I knew I needed high grades in my A Levels to get me to university to study Law: and I knew that I needed to obtain excellent results in my undergraduate degree to enable me to continue my postgraduate study of LPC and Masters combined.
“I have worked hard and pushed myself to my maximum potential for 10 years, always with this end goal in sight. This is now the last step I need to overcome to get to where I want to be, and I am so excited to begin this final part of a long journey. I am so incredibly thankful to have been given this opportunity by the partners of the firm, and I am going to continue working as hard as I possibly can.”
Rachel Pudner, Partner, said:
“We are delighted to be able to offer Lauren this training contract. She has worked incredibly hard to get to this position, both academically and in her role as a paralegal. Becoming a solicitor is something she has desired for a long time, so we are sure she will make a success of her training and go on to have a fulfilling career ahead of her.”