Albert Van Dyke

Albert is an apprentice solicitor in our Norwich office. He talks about why he chose to be an apprentice and what a typical day looks like for him.

Why did you choose to do an apprenticeship?

Before starting my apprenticeship, I spent several years as a real estate paralegal, becoming increasingly specialist in property law. For quite some time my goal has been to qualify as a real estate lawyer.

The primary reason for choosing the solicitor apprenticeship route is that it supports my goal of qualifying as a real estate lawyer by providing the opportunity to continue to practise in real estate throughout my training. I’ve always been academic however this is more through sheer willpower rather than for my own enjoyment.

The apprenticeship route to qualification means that I can work alongside studying for the SQE and continually apply new knowledge and skills rather than simply just read about them. The course material is not only directly relevant but also has an immediate practical application which makes education far more enjoyable. It’s been a positive experience so far.

What does a typical day look like for you at Mills & Reeve?

Each day starts with coffee and reviewing my inbox to set my priorities for the day. Typically, I manage several smaller tasks such as simple deeds of variation to vary the terms of existing leases, preparing solicitor undertakings, and lodging applications with HM Land Registry to register property transactions. I do this alongside across more complex work, including utility infrastructure letting work which can involve difficult negotiations, voluminous drafting and a degree of lateral thinking to overcome practical issues.

A typical day may involve drafting work, negotiating a lease, completing a research task, sitting in on a client meeting or an all-parties call, and keeping clients updated and informed throughout the process. Once the working day has ended, I’ll typically spend between 2 and 2.5 hours in the office studying for SQE before leaving the office for the day.

What’s the best part of your apprenticeship?

Continuing to practise in real estate is the best part of the solicitor apprenticeship for me. It’s been my goal to qualify as a real estate lawyer for some time. Each day I’m completing work which I enjoy and find rewarding, and working in a practise area which I’m keen to forge a career in. I’m increasingly entrusted with more complex work which challenges me. This means at times I certainly feel stretched, but it’s hugely rewarding and incredibly satisfying to assist commercial clients in achieving their commercial goals and to see the end result of my work.

What is one of the biggest challenges that you’ve had to overcome in your apprenticeship?

The work I am completing is designed to stretch the limits of my competency. This means that at times I’m being pushed outside my comfort zone and undertaking work that’s outside my previous experience, which can be a little unsettling.

One example of this is that I’ve been asked to work on lettings of electricity supply infrastructure for residential developers. Supply infrastructure work is an area within which I had no previous experience prior to starting my apprenticeship, and I had no real “feel” for what might be usual practise or “convention” in the field. Fortunately, I was given a coursework brief around the same time of a reflective writing task of a planned piece of learning, which has resulted in working more independently. I used this is as an opportunity to close my knowledge and skills gap and research the statutory regime for requisitioning electricity supplies, the basic supply infrastructure from generation through to supply to the end user, and of the licensing regime and statutory powers of electricity distribution network operators. This not only filled the requirements of my coursework brief but was helpful and directly relevant to the work I was doing.

What would you say to anyone thinking about an apprenticeship?

I would advise you to research and understand the challenges of the role thoroughly, and not to underestimate the amount of work and time required to manage studying for the SQE alongside full-time work.

I’d encourage anyone considering the solicitor apprenticeship to carefully consider not only whether you’re prepared to invest the required amount of time, but also consider and plan how you’ll approach the role and how you’ll overcome its challenges before you apply. If you do this, the challenges which you’ll invariably meet along the way will not come as a shock, and you’ll already have a good idea of how you will confront, tackle, and overcome those challenges.

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