North East law firm Muckle LLP is proud to welcome a new cohort of five trainee solicitors and one solicitor apprentice. The firm now has a total of 19 aspiring lawyers taking the next step in their careers.
Over the course of their two-year training contracts, trainees Abi Chorlton Wilson, Hannah Hunt, Jason Sinclair, Rebecca Watson and Thalia Agoglossakis Foley will gain valuable experience across four teams.
Ella Chandler, the firm’s newest solicitor apprentice, will work with various teams over six years of training whilst studying part-time.
Hannah, Thalia and Rebecca attended university in the North East, while Jason and Abi studied at the University of Leeds and Edinburgh University, respectively, before returning to Newcastle. Ella joins the firm after completing her A-Levels at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College.
The trainees successfully completed Muckle’s vacation scheme before securing training contracts, whilst Ella had undertaken work experience at the firm before becoming a solicitor apprentice through the North East Solicitor Apprenticeship (NESA) scheme.
The next generation of legal advisers
Abi completed the MLaw course after studying art history at Edinburgh University. She joins Muckle’s corporate team.
She is already feeling like part of the team: “Here, the values are lived and the teams are incredibly friendly. Everyone has been so welcoming and there is so much to get involved in outside of legal work, such as the netball and running teams.”
Fellow MLaw graduate Rebecca takes her first seat in the firm’s real estate team. She looks forward to the vast opportunities available at Muckle: “Being able to move around and gain experience in different areas of law is really exciting. I’m really looking forward to the varied range of work and discovering which area of law I enjoy most.”
Jason completed the SQE1 and SQE2 exams at the University of Law and joins Abi in our corporate team. Jason already feels a sense of belonging at Muckle and believes the firm’s values align with his own.
He says: “The firm is extremely values-driven, people at all levels and across all departments have been open to getting to know me and have shown genuine care towards me as an individual and a professional.”
Hannah is from Darlington and completed an undergraduate history degree before completing her SQE1 and SQE2 exams at The University of Law. She joins Muckle’s construction team.
Aside from her genuine love of the North East, Hannah was drawn to Muckle for its dedication to ESG: “I was so impressed by Muckle’s focus on giving back, and I’m so pleased there are so many opportunities to get involved in Muckle’s community work through volunteering and pro bono. I’m looking forward to diving in headfirst and learning as much as I can from different people across the firm.”
Thalia originally studied history at Durham University before switching to law. She spent one year doing a GDL conversion course at Northumbria before completing her SQE1 and SQE2 exams at the University of Law. She is taking her first seat in Muckle’s sports, education and charities team.
Muckle’s supportive, encouraging approach was immediately clear to Thalia: “Not only does Muckle have an impressive breadth of work available across the firm, but the kindness and supportive nature of all the teams here really stands out. Since joining, I’ve felt comfortable and supported at every stage.”
After completing her A levels this summer, Ella joins Abi and Jason in our corporate team. She wanted to become a lawyer from a young age, favouring corporate and commercial law.
She also credits Muckle’s commitment to making its people feel valued and respected: “I got to know Muckle through work experience before joining through the NESA scheme and felt welcome straight away. I was so glad that I could pursue the apprenticeship route into law and gain valuable hands-on experience at Muckle.”
A people-first culture
Anthony Evans, managing partner at Muckle, said: “I’m delighted to welcome our newest trainees and apprentice to Muckle; they are a fantastic group.”
“Training and developing the next generation of lawyers and offering opportunities for everyone in the business to develop their careers is something we are passionate about; it is key to our future success. I am excited to see how Abi, Ella, Hannah, Jason, Rebecca and Thalia progress their careers.”
Learn more about Muckle’s values and recruitment opportunities by visiting www.muckle-llp.com.