Celebrating a trio of qualifications

We’re proud to announce that three of our Trainee Solicitors have recently qualified after completing their two-year training contracts. We’d like to congratulate Beth Hodgkins, Sophie Wilson and Amelia Sutcliffe.

Beth joined the firm in 2019 as a Legal Secretary in our Conveyancing department, before advancing to a Commercial Property Paralegal in 2021. Alongside this, she began studying the Legal Practice Course part time. In 2022, she started her training contract, where she did a total of 4 seats in our Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury, Commercial Property and Dispute Resolution departments.

She comments on her success “I am so excited to have qualified as a Commercial Property Solicitor. There have been a few bumps in the road, but I am so proud of myself for sticking at it. My colleagues at Smith Partnership have always been supportive of me and have been some of my greatest cheerleaders throughout my career. The firm is like one huge family, and I could not have imagined completing my training contract anywhere else. I am really looking forward to my future working with the amazing team we have here at Smith Partnership!”

Sophie, who joined us in 2021 as a Paralegal in our Professional Negligence team, has qualified as a Contentious Probate Solicitor. She talks about her experience within this department, “Before I started my training contract in 2023, I also supported the Contentious Probate team, I loved working in this department as the work varies quite a lot which I like, its exiting and I feel like you can really make a difference to someone who is also grieving.”

She completed a seat in Contentious Probate, alongside two seats in Professional Negligence and a seat in Private Client. She talks about her experience “I am very fortunate to work under very knowledgeable women, who helped me in developing my legal skills and understanding of the practice areas. I am so grateful for their support and inspiration throughout the process. It has been a dream of mine for many years, so to now have qualified means a great deal to me.”

After joining the firm as a Legal Secretary in our Childcare department in 2021, Amelia quickly discovered a passion for Clinical Negligence. Throughout her training contract, she completed a seat in Childcare and an extended seat in Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence. She says “I’ve undoubtedly found my passion with this work. I’m keen to ensure my clients feel supported, heard, and advocated for, as victims of medical negligence. I love the intricacies of our cases and how no two cases are the same.”

She continues “I have been so fortunate to work in teams that made me feel supported through every stage of my training contract. My teams would always go above and beyond to ensure I had the opportunities to shadow them, attend with them and complete work for the cases. My feedback was always constructive and supportive, whilst allowing me to learn and grow. It feels like a huge relief to say, after 7 years, I’m finally a Solicitor, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds in this chapter.

Our Partner, Bally Atwal, who oversees trainees and apprenticeships within the firm says “At Smith Partnership we strive to support all staff including the next generation of Solicitors to achieve their career ambitions. I look forward to seeing all three of them making an impact in their chosen fields”

Kevin McGrath, Managing Partner, comments on their success “Beth, Sophie and Amelia have all worked incredibly hard to qualify as Solicitors. I am immensely proud that we can continue to provide high quality training for all of our staff and assist them in achieving the career path that they aspire to.”