Occasionally Stephensons are able to offer work experience or vacation placements to students who have an interest in law or are working towards a law based qualification. Work experience allows students to gain practical experience of what it is like to work in a law firm. We asked high school student Zachary to share his recent experience, this is what he said:
"The week beginning the 20th May, was the week when work experience was taking place for year tens. I decided to do my work experience placement at Stephensons. Work experience took place in the Wigan Investment Centre office on the Monday and Tuesday and the Manchester office on the Wednesday. I went to the Manchester Magistrates Court on Wednesday as well as the Bolton Crown Court on the Thursday.
On Monday the 20th May, I supported the Central Admin Team in sorting through files, consisting of death certificates, Wills and other important documents. The job required the removal of staples from the documents, labelling folders and unusual sized paper (not A4) such as A3 or A5 in preparation for scanning files.
On Tuesday the 21st of May, I spent time with the marketing team learning about how they advertise and market the firm, all of the different types of work they cover, as well as about all the social media platforms that they have. I learned about their website which shows information about the types of work the firm does, their lawyers, any available jobs and their customer ratings (these can be found on TrustPilot and Review Solicitors). As well as this, the marketing team told me about the importance of staff welfare across the firm and keeping morale high, which is extremely important to them. High morale and positive mental wellbeing is a necessity to having loyal and friendly colleagues, I also discovered that (currently) on TrustPilot, Stephensons has an 85% 5 - star review rating (out of over 2,100 reviews)! I also attended a meeting with the Head of IT and other key individuals who were looking at the firm’s move to a new case management system and how that will work in practice. Which I’ll be honest about was difficult for me to follow!
On Wednesday the 23rd of May, I attended over half a dozen court hearings at the Manchester Magistrates Court. These hearings consisted of several probation issues, theft, maliciously threatening messages (containing death threats, threats to cause damage to one's property etc). The lawyer that was representing the crime department from Stephensons was Duncan Phillips and he exited the courtroom with a successful outcome for his case. Duncan was very knowledgable and helpful and I learned about the differences between a Magistrate Court and a Crown Court and what happens there and court etiquette such as standing when the Judge enters the courtroom.
On Thursday the 24th of May, I arrived at Bolton Crown Court at around 08:35 and was greeted by security and situated myself outside of the courtroom. I had a very lengthy wait, almost three hours, before stepping into the courtroom. The trial was delayed further, so I again waited for another two hours before the trial was adjourned, due to the defendant pleading guilty. However, this is all part of the experience and helped me see that it is not always like we see on television, and sometimes a defendant will plead guilty to secure a lighter punishment. I didn’t mind because I enjoyed four hot chocolates in between waiting times! Like Duncan, the barrister that allowed me to experience a Crown Court case was extremely helpful and told me a lot about how things work and that sometimes these things can happen.
I am grateful to Stephensons for giving me this experience."
By Zachary Wiggans, student
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