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A day in the life of a paralegal

Emma Jobes and Felicity Swift give an insight into their day at Ben Hoare Bell LLP:


Our day usually starts with a battle with North East traffic!

On getting to our desks we both spend time checking our emails, dealing with reminders and returning any telephone calls. We find it useful to spend this time making a to-do list which specifically details any urgent tasks for the day ahead and to set ourselves calendar reminders for any upcoming deadlines. This ensures that our time is well-managed and tasks outstanding on files are addressed promptly.

Although we work alongside each other we are based in two separate departments. Emma works predominately in the Police Misconduct department and Felicity has a Personal Injury focussed workload. Despite this, the two departments are interlinked as we both work on non-recent abuse cases including compensation claims arising from abuse suffered at Medomsley Detention Centre and Kirklevington Young Offenders Institute. We are fortunate to work within a close-knit team alongside Solicitors and Partners, where we receive a good level of guidance whilst retaining responsibility for our own caseloads.

Emma pursues actions against the Police, which includes claims relating to unlawful arrest and use of excessive force. In addition, she pursues claims arising from breaches of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Data Protection Act 2018. Felicity assists individuals seeking compensation following accidents at work, slips and trips, road traffic accidents and criminal injuries.  Whilst this is not an exhaustive list of claims that we assist with, these are a few examples of cases we work on daily.

Despite working in separate departments we often undertake similar tasks in our day-to-day work. We will complete daily tasks such as drafting written correspondence to clients and Defendants, statements and claims for submission. We also undertake appointments with both new and existing clients and regularly provide updates on the progress of each case and provide advice to client’s where applicable. We are also responsible for obtaining and reviewing medical evidence which assists us to value claims for compensation. However, not every day is spent sitting our desks, we will often attend clients at our firm’s other offices and other locations, for example, attending the site of an accident, court hearings and trials.

Although our working day is busy, there is always time for several cups of tea!

We believe our time working as Paralegals has provided us with a wealth of experience to support us on our paths to qualification as Solicitors. We are looking forward to continuing our work with the firm as we commence our Period of Recognised Training and become Trainee Solicitors in March 2019.


Blog by Emma Jobes and Felicity Swift

 

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