Freya and Sarka

Freya and Sarka – Paralegal Apprentices

Sarka Pelclova-Garnsworthy and Freya Turvey recently progressed from the business administrator apprenticeship to paralegal apprentices at Cartridges Law.  

We asked them about their apprenticeship journey and how they feel about their career progression so far.

How did you find out about the apprenticeship?

Sarka: I had previously applied for a paralegal apprenticeship through Damar, and Kim contacted me to let me know about the opportunity at Cartridges Law. Once at the firm, I completed the business admin apprenticeship through Damar and I was then sent information about the paralegal apprenticeship from a partner at the firm.

Freya: I found out about Damar through working at Cartridges Law.

How did you find your induction with Damar?

Sarka: I found the induction informative – the business admin apprenticeship induction had a different structure to the paralegal apprenticeship. However, I felt that both worked well.

Freya: I found my induction very informative and found it helpful that we had to complete the profiler before the meeting with my coach. It gave me more time to think about what level I was at.

How did you approach progressing onto the paralegal apprenticeship?

Sarka: I think it was a transition that came naturally following the completion of the business admin apprenticeship. I didn’t come into the job wanting to become a paralegal, I came in to the job knowing that I wanted to pursue a career in law and the business admin apprenticeship was a good starting point. I think the paralegal apprenticeship is more of a “stepping stone” as I would like to progress and complete the three-year solicitor apprenticeship following this.

Freya: For me doing the paralegal apprenticeship and possibly the solicitor one in the future was always the end goal. Although by doing the business admin apprenticeship first, I obtained useful knowledge that will set me up well for starting the paralegal apprenticeship.

How have you found the transition into your new role? 

Sarka: Within the firm the transition for me has been quite smooth. I have found that my workload has been slowly increasing and I am being given more varied work to do by the fee earner in a way which does not feel overwhelming as I am still completing my admin tasks as well.

Freya: I am enjoying the new responsibilities I have been given since stating the paralegal apprenticeship. I am observing more client appointments and am getting involved with the drafting of wills and other documents.

What impact have the apprenticeships had on you?

Sarka: The apprenticeships have allowed me to gain the experience of working in a law firm alongside studying which I have found beneficial.

Freya: I feel as though it has improved my confidence as I can get involved in more case progression work.

What impact do you feel you’ve had on your organisation so far? 

Sarka: I think that as we are younger we sometimes bring a different perspective or different knowledge to a situation. It also increases scope to take on more work.

Freya: It has allowed my organisation to take on more clients as I am now able to support my colleagues with work. It has also allowed them to give me more responsibility as I have gained more knowledge in my area of law as well as UK law as a whole.

What advice would you somebody who is about to start an apprenticeship?

Sarka: Make sure that you separate your study time from your time working as it is easy to get distracted or to find yourself “too busy” to complete your study time.

Freya: Try and get ahead with work where possible as it is hard to get the hours back to catch up if you get behind.

Find out more

If you would like to explore how Damar can help you or your business across our range of apprenticeships in business and professional services, please contact us.

You can also find out more about our business admin apprenticeship programme here and about our paralegal apprenticeship here.