Two hardworking trainees have successfully qualified as solicitors with Lancashire law firm Vincents Solicitors.
Beth Laws and Yasmine Dragan have passed their SQE – Solicitors Qualifying Exams – and been offered positions within their preferred departments.
Both have come through Vincents’ in-house training programme, working their way up from entry level positions to fully qualified solicitors, juggling full time work with their studies and family commitments. They are now fully registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority to provide legal services.
Phillip Gilmore, Vincents’ managing director, said the pair deserve their success and were an asset to the firm.
He said: “We are all extremely proud of Beth and Yasmine, they are great solicitors and very hardworking, popular members of the Vincents team.
"Their success is testament to the incredible effort and dedication they have employed throughout their training programme, learning on the job and assisting senior colleagues with client work over many years.
“We enjoy helping employees to follow their ambitions for the benefit of themselves, our clients and the wider firm, and to pass on their own experiences to further support junior members of the team coming up behind them.
“The SQE are known to be some of the hardest exams in industry, passing is no easy task. We all know what it has taken to get this far, and I want to share my congratulations on behalf of the whole firm, we’re lucky to have them.”
Beth has been appointed a Family Law Solicitor in the family and childcare team headed by Val Shaw at the firm’s Preston city centre headquarters.
She joined Vincents as a paralegal in 2019, three years after completing her law degree at the University of Central Lancashire and had experience of private client law and property law during her training.
She said: “It’s amazing, I’m so pleased to have passed, these really are the hardest exams I’ve ever taken, thanks to my Vincents colleagues for supporting me through this process.
"Learning on the job has been fantastic, everything makes more sense because you’re using that knowledge in practice, but it was so intense and meant sacrificing time with friends and family.
"I’ve done this for mine and my daughter’s future, and so I can continue to help families in need, and I’m hoping I can make a real difference in people’s lives.”
Yasmine has been appointed Commercial Property Solicitor in Vincents’ Poulton office, working directly for Commercial Property Director and Poulton office lead Sophie Mercer.
Yasmine has 21-years’ experience in law, working as a paralegal and legal assistant before undertaking her law degree at UCLan as a mature student, and followed the Professional Apprenticeship route.
She said: “It’s taking a while to sink in but I’m absolutely thrilled. I’ve worked in the law for a long time and I’ve loved the journey, especially in recent years working with an amazing team of people at Vincents.
"The qualification is the final cherry on the cake for me, I’m proud of the work I’ve put in to get this far and I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Vincents Solicitors is a full service law firm headquartered in Preston’s Winckley Square, with six further offices in Chorley, Garstang, Poulton-le-Fylde, Penwortham, and two in Lytham.
It comes after Lancashire Business View reported in December how Vincents Solicitors had opened a new town centre office in Poulton-le-Fylde.
The Lancashire law firm has relocated its 10-strong Poulton team to a new two-storey building in Vicarage Road from a business park on the edge of town.
To contact Vincents Solicitors email [email protected] or call 01772 26 99 26.
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