Swindon-headquartered regional law firm Thrings has appointed six of its trainees as solicitors in line with its plans for sustained organic growth and an ongoing investment in its staff.
The six, who have recently completed their two-year training contracts, will now work in the firm’s newly-qualified company commercial, commercial litigation, planning and family teams across four of its five main offices.
Among them are Tara Connor, pictured right, and David Geller, pictured below, who will work in the firm’s family and 
company commercial teams in its Swindon office.
They are following in the footsteps of a number of senior Thrings lawyers in Swindon who joined the firm as trainees, including senior partner Jonathan Payne and corporate partners Kate Westbrook and John Davies.
Traditionally, trainees complete four six-month seats, giving them an opportunity to gain experience in a minimum of three different practice areas, with a balance of contentious and non-contentious work types.
However, the six taken on by Thrings were able to qualify ahead of schedule as a result of experience they gained as paralegals under a process known as ‘time to count’.
They also received ongoing professional and personal support and guidance as a result of Thrings’ ‘buddy’ system, which assigns trainees to a senior team member each time they move seat.
Buddies help trainees settle into their new positions, passing on their knowledge and experience about the role and the team through regular meetings and dialogue. 
Thrings’ approach to training has been praised in the Lex 100’s annual student guide to the UK's premier law firms. It ranked it highly for offering trainees a good work/life balance, high-quality work, client contact, a diverse working environment and overall job satisfaction.
Also staying at Thrings as newly-qualified solicitors are Simon Bosworth and Hannah Mannion, who will work in its Bristol office’s commercial litigation and planning teams respectively; Megan Prideaux, who joins the family team in Bath; and Tania Pugh, who will work on commercial litigation in its London office.
Simon Bosworth said: “While the past two years have been challenging, the training programme has given us fantastic opportunities to broaden our legal knowledge and gain invaluable experience by taking responsibility for the running of matters for clients. We have also been encouraged to get involved with business development and work alongside some hugely supportive colleagues.”
Tania Pugh added: “Throughout my training, I’ve been fortunate enough to work directly with partners on complex and interesting matters and learn from their experience. We’ve also taken on high levels of responsibility, and the amount of contact you have with clients and the opportunities to engage in business development highlights the amount of trust the firm places in you.”
Thrings HR director Sarah Tompsett said: “History shows that Thrings remains a place where people want to work and develop their careers. The firm is very proud of its ability to attract and retain ambitious young lawyers, and offer them opportunities which support their ongoing professional development.
“Qualifying is a huge turning point for lawyers, and I would like to congratulate Simon, Tara, David, Hannah, Megan and Tania on their success, and look forward to seeing each of them make their mark in their chosen teams and contributing to Thrings’ overall success.”
