We have both worked in the Cardiff office for over four years, transitioning from Paralegals to Trainee Solicitors and it has been a great experience. Tara is currently in her first seat, working with the Employment team, whilst Cory is on a client secondment working predominantly on Commercial contracts. Our colleagues have always been very supportive and given us lots of opportunities to develop key skills. Our team in Cardiff really exemplify the firm’s ethos of bravery and kindness – we both have felt supported throughout our time here, and have had the opportunity to take responsibility for interesting and challenging work.
In the Cardiff office we have several different legal departments (including Employment, Immigration, Real Estate, Corporate and Dispute Resolution) working together in an open plan office. This gives us the opportunity to easily get to know everyone in the office, mingle with colleagues at all levels of seniority and across different legal disciplines. This makes it easier when you have questions about work or what is going on in the firm more generally. While on the face of it the firm’s structure looks quite traditional, with Partners, Associates etc., our community here means everyone is approachable and happy to help with any concerns or queries regardless of the department they’re in.
Clients across the firm are shared, so although we are based in Cardiff we work as one team.. This means that we have effective opportunities to build relationships with colleagues in all of our offices, which fosters a collaborative and supportive environment. We are also able to work with clients from an array of industries and geographic areas.
The Cardiff office itself is conveniently located next to the main train station, and this makes travel and accessibility to other offices a breeze. London, for example, is only a two-hour commute from Cardiff Central. We are on the tenth floor of Southgate House right in the centre of the city and on days, when it is not raining (these do happen!) we have stunning views across the city, including the Principality stadium which is a host to many international sporting events.
Cardiff is a great city to work in, with a wide variety of cafes, restaurants, shops, and bars. The city boasts beautiful and historic parks and arcades and easy routes to Cardiff Bay, where you’ll find the Welsh Assembly and the Millennium Centre which is home to the famous Welsh National Opera.
The capital of Wales is a bust, bustling city, but it is also small enough to get around easily and has an intimate, friendly atmosphere – you’re never far away from great places to go and fun things to do!