The Christmas period certainly was busy for social events at B P Collins.
The champagne night at the Crazy Bear was, as usual, a great way to unwind after a week in the office – and let’s be honest, who doesn’t love free champagne! The Ministry of Sound skating night at Somerset House was also a fantastic evening and showed us that DJ Luck and MC Neat’s Master Blaster 2000 works just as well as a Christmas anthem as Wham!’s Last Christmas.
Skating is not my forte but I found my feet and was soon being questioned whether I was in fact Dean from the infamous Torvill and Dean partnership. The night did end on a sour note however, with one of the team suffering a fractured shoulder; she may have been focusing a little too much on her impeccable dance moves rather than on her skating.
The quarterly trainee social just before the Christmas break at clueQuest was a great evening, something different but enjoyed by all; apparently being locked in a small room with your work colleagues on a Friday night can be fun!
“One of the best places for a lawyer to train”
Whilst there is no doubt that at times the working life of a trainee can be tough, there are plenty of opportunities at B P Collins to kick back and have some fun too. I think Dana summed it up perfectly when she said “working relationships and genuine friendships are forged both at work and at play.”
Having been at the firm now for just over 2 years (I began my time as a paralegal), I have come to appreciate just how important these social events are. Whilst B P Collins is already a fantastic place to train (as all of the blogs before me on the topic attest to), the firm’s busy social calendar is another element which helps secure it as, in my eyes, one of the best places for a lawyer to train.
From partners to trainees, associates to secretaries, the B P Collins social events are attended by all. Considering the amount of time you end up spending with these people, it helps if you get along, so these socials are the perfect opportunity to forge friendships.
I remember when I first started at the firm how daunting it was to ask a question without coming across like an idiot (trust me, I felt like this on a weekly basis). The firm’s social events and spending time with the partners outside of the office was the perfect way to overcome this fear. From a few beers in the pub after work to climbing a mountain in Norway, these events helped break down the barriers and helped me to begin to treat the people I worked with as friends rather than simply colleagues. Considering on average you end up spending 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year, not forgetting the high pressured environment it often ends up being (don’t be a lawyer if you want a stress free life), the socials really do help forge the team relationships we have here at B P Collins.
Posted by Elliott Brookes.
The Insider 