Mentoring
Thea Limited offers mentoring to students who are considering or studying towards a career in law.
We have accepted GCSE, A-level, undergraduate, CPE and LPC students for short-term placements of up to two weeks, often in combination, to allow students the experience of supervising and being supervised in the workplace.
We aim to ensure that any placement we offer occurs at a time when we are undertaking legal work that students can become involved in. We do not offer general office or administrative work experience. Any student who spends time with us should expect to get to grips with the work of a solicitor and a mediator.
We would encourage students to read our contribution to the website All About Law to understand the nature and typical pattern of our work.
In February 2017, we left 218 Strand, which had been our Central London base for almost a decade. We now all work from home, and coordinate our efforts remotely. The model of experience which we now offer, therefore, would mainly involve contact at a distance, with only occasional meetings. This clearly will not suit students who need to demonstrate that they have spent a particular number of days and hours in an office environment, and who need a single supervisor to report on their work. The type of student that may benefit from this arrangement is the one who is seeking experience of the type of work that we do, for their own interest, and not to satisfy a particular course requirement. Flexible timescales, and the ability to become involved when the experience sought is available, are also likely to be an advantage.
Here are some examples of our summaries of students' experience:
“You attended a two-day remedies hearing at the conclusion of an employment tribunal case and took notes. Your notes were helpful to me in providing feedback to the client on the tribunal’s decision. I am glad to note from your feedback that you found the opportunity to listen in on the discussions between counsel and client helpful: this does indeed put in context the work that we do. In the remainder of the week, I introduced you to a contentious and a non-contentious construction case that I was working on. You had the opportunity to see how construction contracts are put together, and how comments upon the terms and conditions for negotiation purposes are presented. You also saw how a dispute was prepared for mediation, and rose to the challenge of preparing an opening statement for the mediation with the aid of a precedent.”
“You helped to prepare a Bundle for a commercial mediation taking place on Tuesday 10th July. You worked well with the school girl who was doing her work experience with you. Between you, you finalised and copied the Bundle and had it ready to go out to the mediator and the defendant by the deadline. You also drafted a Position Statement for the mediation, and a statement for the mediator only, with the aid of precedents which I supplied to you. These statements were used with limited edits by me. The mediation went well on the day, and we achieved a settlement for the client that was slightly better than the bottom-line figure that he had in his mind going into the day. Although you were not able to attend the mediation itself, you did attend a meeting with a mediation organisation to which I belong, and heard about the process. In the remainder of the week, I introduced you to a non-contentious construction case that I was working on. You had the opportunity to see how construction contracts are put together, and how comments upon the terms and conditions for negotiation purposes are presented.”
And here is some feedback from students who have joined us:
“The experience I was able to take away with me from 218 Strand was exceptional, ranging from getting an insight to paper works to client interactions to court procedures, allowing me to take away a well balance idea and perception of the work and routines of a solicitor. Through the engaging and interesting explanations of Peter Webster I was able to not only gain an understanding and interest in the field but also a great in-sight. Seeing the importance of organization of files as well as contract drafting I was able to form a proper understanding of subject. Personally I found it extremely interesting to be able to take part in a client conversation and get a feeling for the type of issues and questions that might arise, not only with the law, the authorities but also with other clients that might be involved. I was also persuaded to think logically and see and make connections allowing me to gain a deeper understanding and feel for the cases. What at the end of my work experience period gave me the outstanding experience was also the range of issues and cases I was confronted with and that Peter Webster not only got me engaged in but let me be a part of. This gave me an understanding of which areas of law interested me the most and as well as if this was a career I could picture myself in.”
“Attending the employment tribunal was great. Spending time with the barrister and client and hearing the discussions between them provided a great insight into what takes place "behind the scenes". It added a new dimension to my observation of the proceedings. Taking notes during the hearing meant that I was concentrating on the detail of the hearing and was generally a good exercise on efficient note-taking. If you have no tribunal hearings taking place when a student joins you then perhaps you can send them to the Royal Courts of Justice for a couple of hours and ask them gather information about the hearing, make notes and research the legal issues that were being discussed. The tasks you set in the office were very useful. I think the idea of simulated tasks is a great one and something which I hadn't come across in any of my other work experience placements. Getting to grips with the actual detail of the standard contracts and conditions, the way they are phrased and how a solicitor should be seeking to enhance his client's position was insightful, particularly as legal study at degree level is so theoretical. Reading through the mediation documents was also very insightful as I previously had little knowledge of the mediation process. I think some form of written exercise at the end of each task is a good idea.”
Please feel free to drop us a line with a copy of your CV. We offer placements on an ad hoc basis. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet any specific dates, especially if they are around traditional holiday periods.
