Harbottle & Lewis Trainee Profiles

Q&A with Chenelle Olaiya, Second seat trainee

What’s it like working at Harbottle & Lewis?

It’s simply a great place to work. Because of the Firm’s size you really get a chance to get to know everyone and be involved in lots of social and client events. The free lunches and wellbeing initiatives are a great perk too and it gives you a chance to get to know your colleagues in a social setting. I currently take Pilates at lunchtime and boxing classes in the evening once a week, all within the Firm’s dedicated wellbeing space.

What seats have you been in so far?

My first seat was in Property. After enjoying it on the LPC and knowing it would be a useful life skill one day, I was really looking forward to it. Even as a trainee, you get to be responsible for running your own files and can be right across both the sale and the purchase of a property from start to finish.

I have just started my second seat in the Family group.

What have you enjoyed most about your experience so far?

Being a full-service firm means you not only get to work on varied and interesting matters, but also work across departments. While in my current Property seat, I’ve had the chance to advise some of our really cool sport and media clients and work closely with our Film, TV and Theatre department. It’s really rewarding to know that I’ve played a part in their journey in some way.

Tell us about an interesting matter you have worked on and what you were responsible for.

I was involved in a really high value property purchase from very early on and right up until the end.

I was asked to research the documentation on the property and then report my findings to the client. I even completed some drafting work and had direct client contact taking instructions. It was really exciting when we completed on the purchase and all our hard work was worth it.

What lessons have your learnt from your experience?

If you don’t know, ask! As cliché as it sounds, there’s no such thing as a silly question, especially in your first few months as a trainee. I find it helps to try and work out the answer before you ask, so that if your supervisor asks you why you think your answer is right (which my supervisor often does) you have something to back it up – you never know, you may actually be right. It’s better to ask or double check in order to avoid making an easy mistake.

What’s the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you?

Take every opportunity that presents itself. You genuinely never know what the opening could bring or who you could meet along the way.

What is one piece of advice you would give to applicants?

Take time to think about what separates you from other candidates. Whether that’s in examples of something unique you’ve accomplished as a student, while working or even in your spare time. Focus on what you’ve done that’s memorable and using examples from your personal life can make you stand out. This relates to my advice about taking every opportunity, because often the things you agree to or find a challenge are often the most interesting.