Jessica Morris - lawyer - Corporate
Studied law at Sheffield University. Joined Denton Wilde Sapte in September 2005.
Look at any graduate recruitment brochure of a law firm and they will all tell you the same thing. “We are friendly and approachable. We will give you excellent work. We will value you as an individual. We will allow you to have a life outside of work.” The reason I picked Denton Wilde Sapte was that, after attending a week-long vacation scheme in summer 2003 that seemed to be true. I have been here for three years now and I am pleased to say that I have not been disappointed.
I spent my training contract in the Employment, Project Finance and Corporate departments and did my last seat in our Muscat office. Common to all my seats was the quality of work, training and support received and the fact that other members of the firm were always friendly and approachable.
The seat spent in Muscat was fantastic and a real change from London. The legal system is completely different, there’s a whole new set of legislation to learn and, because of the relatively small size of the offices over there compared to London, you have different responsibilities. I had my own clients and dealt with them from start to finish, which was great experience. Weekends on the beach were not too much of a hardship either, and I also got to go camping in the desert and take to the mountains in a 4x4.
I enjoyed it so much that, upon getting my job in the London Corporate department, I asked to spend my first year of qualification there. With Denton Wilde Sapte’s wide overseas network the chance to work abroad is a real possibility and I appreciated the flexibility that Denton Wilde Sapte offered me in this respect.
We work hard but one social event or another is always around the corner and everyone joins in - from trainees to senior partners. There is an excellent extra-curricular side to Denton Wilde Sapte with sports teams, a choir and a host of other activities to keep you away from your desk. I am a member of the pro bono committee and co-ordinate our weekly free legal advice clinic in Poplar every Tuesday evening. It’s a slightly different aspect to my job and one which I love. People can come in and gain initial legal advice and whilst we can’t actually take the cases on, we frequently write letters on behalf of our clients and point them in the right direction.
I’m also involved with the Whitechapel Mission. We send a team of five, two mornings a month, to cook breakfast for the homeless. We have to be there for 6.00 am and finish at 12 noon for a full day’s work, so it’s quite a commitment. Then there’s the Reading Scheme in Islington, where volunteers read with a child for ½ an hour every week. Further afield, we do work for UNICEF, the HIV/AIDS Alliance, and CAMFED, a charity for promoting female education in Africa.
We have a wide range of projects and so there are numerous opportunities to get involved. Participation is actively encouraged by senior staff, which I think says a lot about the type of firm we are.