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Success Story - Kate French |
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Kate French is a trainee solicitor in the Employment Department at Reed Smith Richards Butler LLP, an international law firm with offices in Bankside. The firm has been building a long-term relationship with local charity Southwark Theatres Education Partnership (STEP) over the last year. Through the coordination of Pro Bono & Community Manager Chris Marshall, STEP has received help and advice on a whole range of legal issues.
Back in March, Kate was given the opportunity to use her professional skills in just such a voluntary capacity. STEP asked Chris to find someone to help it with the revision and amendment of an employment contract – exactly the sort of thing that Kate does on a daily basis. Kate gladly accepted the challenge and spent around 6 hours, during work time, looking at the contract and making amendments, as well as looking into some issues around Criminal Records Bureau disclosures too. All of this work was done from her office desk via telephone and email conversations. Since then other lawyers at the firm have advised on a variety of matters.
As a trainee, all of the volunteer work Kate carried out for STEP under the supervision of a partner was good experience, offering her a variety of tasks and a different client group to work with. In particular, using a different standard form for the employment contract provided her with a useful transferable skill.
“I really enjoyed the opportunity to get involved with something different and would definitely consider volunteering again. The firm gave me a lot of encouragement and support – the pro bono work we do is treated in exactly the same way as any other client so is prioritised in the same way too.”
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 07 June 2007 )
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