By Lauren Keen
My name is Lauren, and I am a Paralegal at Hallett & Co. I joined the Firm in July 2025 as a Paralegal through a placement scheme on my Master’s degree at the University of Kent. I currently work in the Commercial Property Department and throughout my time in the Firm, have had the opportunity to liaise with clients, draft legal documents, and learn about many new areas of law in which I was unfamiliar. This article gives you an insight into the Firm and the day-to-day tasks of a Paralegal Trainee.
At Hallett & Co, trainees often get the chance to sit in different ‘seats’ around the Firm, meaning we get the opportunity to spend typically 6 months in each department of the Firm, namely Private Client, Property, and Litigation.
Upon joining the Firm, I first sat in the Private Client department, where I assisted fee-earners in various tasks. One of my most common tasks was collaborating on Probate Applications, which is the process used to describe helping clients in apply to the Probate Registry, to validate the deceased’s Will and give clients the legal right to administer their assets. My work included writing letters to clients, attending client meetings, and drafting Inheritance Tax Forms and Probate Applications. As I had no prior experience in this area before, I was able to develop my legal drafting skills and had the chance to connect and liaise with clients on numerous occasions.
I now work in the Commercial Property department, alongside my supervisor, a Partner in the Firm. The work I do varies from day-to-day and can go from providing quotations to clients for our fees, drafting Leases and Licences, as well as researching necessary points of law to provide accurate advice to clients. I often speak to my supervisor about the law and request feedback on the documents I draft, to allow me to grow stronger in my drafting skills and develop my ability to pay attention to legal inaccuracies.
Hallett & Co have been really supportive throughout my time as a Paralegal and have made working in practice whilst studying at university achievable. I currently work three days a week at the Firm and spend the remaining two days at the University of Kent, where I am learning and studying content for the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE’s), of which Hallett & Co have been really accommodating.
There are currently around 8 trainees at the Firm in varying stages of their legal careers, who work across the departments supporting one another. The Firm is very trainee- focused, allowing trainees to sit and work alongside Partners in the Firm, gaining first hand training and mentorship into different legal areas, which I have found to be invaluable.
The Firm recently held a Trainee Meeting, where we could all get together to discuss how we are finding work, giving us the platform to discuss anything we were concerned about, and allow us to give tips to one another in our work and SQE study, which I found very helpful as it can at times be difficult to balance work and study. I have found it essential to diarise my week to ensure that I am able to balance my work, study, and home life.
I really enjoy my work and like having the ability to make a meaningful contribution in our clients’ matters. Working alongside such knowledgeable colleagues and having the chance to ask questions and develop my legal skills has been an invaluable experience, and I am excited to continue this work in the future and urge anyone interested in a career in law to pursue it.
