At Preston Redman, we are proud of our history of promoting from within. A number of our current partners started their legal careers with us, including our current managing partner who first joined the firm as a secretary.
More recently, we have a number of junior and trainee lawyers who started out as secretaries and are now working their way up the ladder and we believe in giving every member of staff an opportunity to grow and develop their career in the way that they want to.
Below you can see some examples from some of our team who, in their own words, describe their journey so far…
I joined Preston Redman as a Legal Secretary, assisting an equity partner, straight after my undergraduate degree. I started my training contract 2 years later and qualified with the firm in March 2023.
The time I spent learning how a fee earner works day to day, understanding the workings of a solicitor’s practice and building relationships with my colleagues was invaluable as a trainee solicitor, and remains valuable to me now as a qualified solicitor. I would highly recommend the route offered to me by Preston Redman to anyone looking to get into legal practice.
During my training, I gained experience in family law, dispute resolution, residential property and commercial property. I qualified into the family team and now specialise in divorce and matrimonial finances. I am trying to expand my practice into dealing with property disputes for unmarried couples, which the firm is supporting me with.
My proudest moment as a trainee would be working on a case in which we instructed a Kings Counsel whom I had quoted as part of my undergraduate dissertation. They say never meet your heroes, but he was a very nice guy!
Liam Fennessy, Solicitor (Admitted March 2023)
I joined Preston Redman in January 2022 as a secretary in the Litigation team. Prior to that, I graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 2019 with a Law degree. I then worked with a charity for a year before joining a small solicitor’s firm in Wiltshire.
As soon as I joined Preston Redman, I noticed that a lot of the Trainees and Fee Earners had started out as secretaries at the firm. I was really impressed that the firm had been able to support so many members of staff as their careers progressed.
I knew that I wanted to qualify as a solicitor specialising in family matters; and so, I had a discussion with the Partners about my options for qualifying.
In March 2023, I became the first Solicitor Apprentice at the firm. I continued working in the Litigation team as an Apprentice Solicitor; and I began studying for the Solicitor’s Qualifying Exams (SQE) 1 and 2 with the University of Law.
In January 2025, I passed SQE. I will sit the SQE2 exams in July 2025, with a view to qualifying as a solicitor in October 2025.
My funniest moment at Preston Redman has definitely been falling over at the annual ‘Adventure Pirates‘ day during torrential rain and getting absolutely caked in mud for the rest of the day.
Charlotte Dawson, Apprentice Solicitor
I initially started at Preston Redman as a Legal Secretary in the Private Client department immediately after my undergraduate degree (before I even had my graduation). In this role, I gained valuable experience by learning what a solicitor’s day to day role entails and the inner workings of a law firm. Within a few months, I was offered a training contract which I started just over a year later.
As I had not undertaken the LPC yet, I started this in February 2023, a couple of months before the start of my training contract and completed this during my training contract. Throughout the time that I was doing this, the firm was thoroughly supportive of me and understood that I would be working full time whilst studying and I credit their support for helping me to pass my LPC.
My training at Preston Redman has been excellent as I was consistently supported and mentored by all my supervisors. I have assisted in a variety of departments, completing all types of work ranging from house purchases to employment disputes to estate administration to corporate matters. Each team that I have worked in has been incredibly friendly and welcoming, and I have gained a wealth of knowledge from all my experienced colleagues. For anyone looking to get into the legal industry, I would strongly recommend the route that I was offered by Preston Redman.
My proudest moment at Preston Redman was undoubtedly proving my worth to the firm and obtaining a training contract in less than a year despite having no prior legal expertise. Although being a trainee was not my immediate objective when I started as a legal secretary, I am proud of this chance because it demonstrated the firm's belief in me. In the upcoming years, I hope to repay the firm for believing in me.
Jshan Kumar, Trainee Solicitor (due to qualify August 2025)
I started at Preston Redman as a Legal Secretary for Adrian Falck, one of the firm’s senior partners and now managing partner. Having taken the job within a few weeks of finishing university, I had the initial shock of transitioning from being a student to working full time in the legal profession. Even as a secretary, your standard of work needs to be extremely high to pass muster but making the grade is immensely rewarding. I was motivated to hear that Adrian had also started as a secretary at the firm; I was always given the impression that hard work would be rewarded with progression.
After 18 months as a legal secretary, I was ecstatic to be offered a training contract. Law students will know that securing that TC (or period of recognised training) is everything as it generally means “you’re going to make it!”. I can honestly say I enjoyed my training – it was certainly challenging but eventually things started to make sense. I trained with most of the firm’s senior partners which I found to be invaluable. Experienced lawyers are always busy, but the partners made time to ensure I was being properly supervised.
I qualified in 2019 and have progressed from solicitor, to associate and recently to partner.
Coming up through the ranks has been fulfilling in and of itself but I also look back fondly on my legal career “firsts”: the first settlement I negotiated; my first (nervous) attempt at advocacy; the first Law Society dinner; my first win at trial; and (perhaps less fondly) the first and only time I was late to a hearing! It’s been an amazing journey with a new challenge every day
Hugo Haub, Partner
