Third-seat trainee Tom Cunild reflects on life away from the desk at Russell-Cooke, sharing how trainee socials and firm traditions play a key role in building relationships and settling into life at the firm.
If you have been a regular reader of our series of trainee blogs, you will likely already have a pretty good idea of the varied types of work we do here as trainees at Russell-Cooke and the process of applying to the firm and beginning a career in law.
What you may be wondering, as potential future trainees at the firm, is how life at Russell-Cooke looks when you are not at your desk.
For me, the social side of being a trainee at Russell-Cooke plays a huge role in helping us settle in and feel more comfortable at work. Working as a trainee solicitor can, at times, prove to be a steep and challenging learning curve; the relationships you forge with other trainees who are going through the same experiences are therefore vital in helping you adapt and grow in your new career.
Trainee socials
As trainees, we run a number of committees responsible for a range of different aspects of life at the firm, including fundraising and outreach, marketing and training. I personally am involved in the social committee, and we are responsible for managing our own designated budget and arranging social events throughout the year for our fellow trainees to enjoy.
For me, these social events have been a real highlight of my training contract experience here at Russell-Cooke. We have all got to know each other better whilst trying our hands at a number of different activities. It has been fascinating to see the creative side of my fellow trainees at pottery painting and pizza-making evenings, and I was impressed by who knew their Riojas from their Malbecs at a wine tasting near our Bedford Row office.
It also became clear who has a real competitive streak whilst getting lapped at go-karting or going head-to-head at a local pub quiz in Putney: a Russell-Cooke clean sweep saw our two trainee teams and their big brains take home all available prizes that night, confirming that the firm is indeed in safe hands going forward.
However, the pièce de resistance of our social endeavours was undoubtedly our trip to Abba Voyage earlier this year. Whilst our commitment to donning 70s style bell-bottom flares varied throughout the cohorts, no one could doubt the trainees’ dedication to throwing shapes during two fun-filled hours of Europop royalty’s greatest hits (for those wondering, I’m a “Lay All Your Love On Me” man).
On a day-to-day basis, many of the trainees meet in Putney’s famed No.1 Coffee Lounge to eat lunch together. This is always a great chance to hear about how other trainees’ seats are going, as well as to get all the key gossip from people’s weekends.
It is also interesting to see who has been paying for a premium Mob Kitchen membership and devoting their Sunday evenings to meal prep, and who is treating themselves to one of the reasonably-priced hot meals or sandwiches from No.1’s Kitchen.
However, it is not just the trainees who come to No.1, and it is always nice to meet people from different teams and roles across the firm and get to know them over lunch.
Getting in the festive spirit
Here at Russell-Cooke, there is a long-standing tradition that the trainees are responsible for decorating the various Christmas trees that magically appear around the office at the start of December.
This year was no exception, and as you can see from the below photos, the trainees got stuck into the task with plenty of enthusiasm. I’ll let you make your mind up as to which is the best-dressed tree, but there is a correct answer…
If you would like to train at a firm where you can have real responsibility during your training contract and get involved in high-quality work from day one, whilst also having the freedom and support to get involved in all sorts of activities and clubs away from your desk, then Russell-Cooke may just be the perfect place for you.
Tom Cunild is currently a third-seat trainee in the employment law team.
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