Life at Foot Anstey
Laura Gilbert - Second year trainee
I completed my law degree and LPC at Cardiff University. I was brought up in Cornwall and always knew that I wanted to head back to the Westcountry to live and work after I finished studying, so I was keen to apply for training contracts in the area.
Foot Anstey immediately stood out as a firm that was ambitious and growing steadily, whilst remaining dedicated to the South West. This is clearly still the case as Foot Anstey has recently announced mergers with two firms, one in Plymouth and one in Truro. The firm has many opportunities to offer trainees as it covers such a wide range of work from company commercial to family and childcare, which I felt would give me a broad and varied training contract.
I was based in the Plymouth office for my first year and completed seats in private client and residential property. I immediately found the people I was working with welcoming, friendly and encouraging and they were always happy to help if I had any queries. I was given an interesting and diverse work load which gave me a well rounded experience of what was involved in being a lawyer in each department. Trainees are given a lot of responsibility without feeling that they are out of their depth and supervisors are always on hand so matters can be discussed as necessary. My third seat is in the property and construction litigation department in our Exeter office and being able to move between offices has given me an opportunity to meet new people from across the firm.
Foot Anstey also provides a great social side to work life, with regular after work drinks evenings and various sports teams to get involved with. I have played on the netball, football and cricket teams and taken part in local charity events such as the Great South West Walk and the St Luke’s Hospice All Sorts Day. These activities provide an excellent opportunity to get involved in the local community and to meet colleagues from the various offices.
I would highly recommend a training contract with Foot Anstey. The training and supervision I have experienced has been excellent and it is a very sociable and friendly place to work.
