Trainee Profiles

We see our trainees as our future partners, so if you are looking to start your career in a supportive environment, working on high-profile cases, we’ve plenty to offer at Roythornes. Read some of our current trainees stories and experiences below.

Lara Radzki

I decided to apply for a training contract with Roythornes after attending an ‘At Home with Roythornes’ event in the Nottingham office. I was impressed with how welcoming the staff were and found that the firm’s values and interests resonated a lot with my own. The trainees at the time highly commended how the firm invested in their training and that consolidated my decision to apply.

After being offered the training contract, I spent a year as a paralegal in the commercial property department where I got to know the systems and expanded both my legal and professional knowledge. I started my training contract in September 2024 with my first seat being in private client. I have been exposed to a breadth of matters, including the creation of a Family Investment Company, Lifetime Tax Planning, Wills and different Estate and Trust Administration. The experience I have had so far is second to none. The private client team have been incredibly supportive in helping me grow as a legal professional and investing time in my training.

Roythornes are also fantastic in encouraging you to get involved with events. They hold events within the firm, such as the wonderful Summer Party, where we get to mix between the different offices and enjoy the activities planned together. I have also had the opportunity to get involved in other events representing the firm, for example being a member of the Nottinghamshire Junior Lawyers committee. The firm are avid supporters of a good work life balance and there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in Business Development.

What has been good about my training contract so far is that both my supervisors and HR have been supportive of my seat selection to benefit my career in the long-term. I look forward to starting my next seat with the Family Team in March 2025 and continuing my career at Roythornes.

Thomas Rangeley

I applied for the Roythornes’ bursary scheme after reading about it in a local newspaper when I was about 16 years old, having already been aware of the firm’s strong reputation in the region. After making the application, writing some essays and attending a couple of interviews, I was successful and was lucky enough to be offered contributions towards my university fees as well as work experience in the summer breaks between years. Through this work experience, I was able to get a taste for what a career in law would look like, and it was a privilege to be able to get hands-on experience with real legal work to build on my undergraduate studies. Throughout, I was thoroughly impressed by how kind and welcoming the people were.

After I graduated, I was offered a full-time paralegal role, which, thanks to the firm’s friendly culture, strong reputation and national presence, was very easy to accept. After building my confidence for a few years, completing the LPC in 2023, and talking with former trainees and other solicitors at the firm (all of whom were incredibly encouraging and supportive), I decided to apply for, and was able to secure, a training contract with the firm. My first seat has been in Commercial Property, with the majority of my work relating to secured lending/refinancing for commercial and agricultural lender and borrower clients. It has been incredibly rewarding to have such a varied workload and real responsibilities from the outset, drafting deeds, meeting clients and progressing matters, as well as getting involved in business development and events as much as possible, which the firm encourages.

I will be starting my second seat in the private client department in March 2025. I have learnt a great deal already, having had the opportunity to work on a wide range of transactions, getting first-hand experience with clients and being supervised by leading legal experts who are always happy to make time for you and provide helpful feedback. I am looking forward to the rest of my training and continuing to progress in my legal career at Roythornes.

Bethany Gregory

I decided to apply for a training contract with Roythornes after being initially impressed by the variety of the work the firm does, but upon speaking with some of the current trainees at the time I was encouraged by their positive experiences.

My time at Roythornes has been great and I am yet to come across someone at Roythornes who is unfriendly. There is always someone around to answer a query (or two), and I have learnt a lot from my colleagues and supervisors. 

I am currently in my third seat in Private Client and felt comfortable within the team from the get-go. My seats in Litigation and Agricultural Property have been equally amazing. What has been brilliant about my training contract is my first-choice seat selection has always been honoured and the mid seat & end of seat reviews with my supervisors and Julia, the training principal, have been invaluable in terms of helping, and encouraging, the development of my legal career  

I have had a breadth of experience such as sitting in on client meetings, drafting legal documents and attending a court hearing. Trainees are exposed to a variety of tasks, and I am always interested in what my fellow trainees are up to and I catch-up with them regularly. I am also part of Roythornes’ Events Team and get involved in planning events such as themed bake sales, staff drinks, and the Summer and Christmas Parties (which are very fun and a great opportunity to get to know everyone in the firm better). A good work life is encouraged, and there is plenty of opportunity to get involved in networking and Business Development events such as the Food Business Breakfast I am attending this month.  

It is a pleasure to work at Roythornes and I look forward to a future legal career here.

Ranulf Gull

I was encouraged to apply for Roythornes following an ‘At Home with Roythornes’ session that I attended virtually, wherein I was impressed by the genuine enthusiasm each of the speakers had when discussing the work they were involved in. I applied directly from university and had no previous work experience in the legal field, so needless to say I was very nervous to begin my training contract.

It was therefore a huge relief for me to discover just how welcoming everybody was at Roythornes. I am yet to meet an unfriendly colleague and am ever grateful for the support and kindness everybody has shown me. I am currently in my third seat in Litigation, having completed two previous seats in Private Client and Corporate/Commercial, and have loved the complex, fascinating and varied work I have been involved in.

I find myself learning something new every single day and have fortunate have been exposed to a wide breadth of legal work. It seems to me that Roythornes has the perfect blend of quality work together with encouraging and supportive supervisors who give you freedom to involve yourself in every step of a matter. The combination of excellent workplace culture with high-quality work has led me to always feel challenged and as though I am developing my skills, while never feeling unsupported.

I’ve loved my time at Roythornes so far and am excited to see how my career develops here in the future.