Sarah Ramwell – Trainee Solicitor
I qualified in Australia before I applied but I really wanted to do the training here for two reasons. First of all, it’s the variety. Back home, you usually get only two seat rotations. Here, you can do up to eight seats, so you can be sure about what you want to do. Second, I knew I wanted to live in the UK for a long time. Having lived in New York, I know how hard it can be to break in to a new city. There are so many trainees here I knew I’d make some friends and it’d be a good way to get settled. I’m happy to say I was right.
My second seat is in dispute resolution and, as well as commercial work, I’ve had the chance to get involved in some pro bono work concerning a Guantanamo Bay detainee. Plus I’ve attended two employment tribunal hearings on behalf of the Free Representation Unit.
Recently I’ve been working on a big Canadian class action tobacco case. There aren’t too many of those in the world and you probably have more of that kind of exposure at a firm such as Freshfields, which is great.
I was keen to go on secondment and so was delighted to secure a stint working with the human rights group Liberty. The mixture of skills I’ve learned so far will stand me in good stead for whichever area I decide to specialise in post-qualification.
Sarah Ramwell
Trainee Solicitor
Joined: February 2008
Education: Law at Sydney University
Seats so far: Structured and asset finance; dispute resolution; employment, pensions and benefits; secondment to Liberty