Zara West

The transition from student to Trainee can be daunting but I found that William Fry made a great impression from the beginning. At the Careers Fair in UCC I found those representing the Firm to be approachable, knowledgeable and genuinely enthusiastic. We were all invited to the offices prior to interview which allowed us to interact with Partners and Trainees, to ask questions outside the formal interview setting and to have the opportunity to decide why William Fry was right for us. It was a genuine two-way process. 

I did BCL Law and French in UCC, a Masters in Law in Trinity and when I joined it was great to see that there is good representation from all the colleges in Ireland at all levels of the Firm.  To date I have completed rotations in Corporate, Commercial Litigation and have started my new rotation in Property. I have found that while each department is quite different, the work is interesting and challenging and I get to deal with Partners and Associates on a day-to-day basis. From the outset in each department, I was given a lot of responsibility but I feel that I had the necessary support available to me, I participated in client meetings and I felt valued as a member of the team.  Trainees receive ongoing training in both their own departments and other departments which has the double advantage of broadening our knowledge base and giving an early insight into future rotations we might like to try.

William Fry has an active Trainee Social Committee which regularly organises weekends away and group activities. So far there have been Trainee weekends away in Galway, Westport and Cork, trips to Richmond to support the 'Rugby Sevens', not to mention the Christmas party and various other events throughout the year.