The third generation of FLoCC is here! Now officially The Future Lawyers of Colchester and

Chelmsford, our aim remains the same; to provide an insight to the profession and to provide

assistance and support to those taking their first steps on the legal ladder.

We have been handed the reins by Ashton, Cate and Emily, who are now qualified and progressing

through the next steps of their legal careers. Our profiles, in the “Meet the FLoCCers” section in

this issue, tell you who we are and a little bit about our interests. Remember to keep an eye out for

our “Little FLoCCers” who will be making an appearance in the next issue.

As well as the introduction to the FLoCCers, this welcome issue also contains an insight from

Charlotte Knappett, a founder member of FLoCC, on life as a Partner. Charlotte also touches on

the transition from Solicitor to Partner and the importance of FLoCC.

The legal laughs in this issue include various bizarre judgments from across the globe to brighten

up your day.

The FLoCC newsletter will be published each

quarter and will advertise a social evening on the

last Friday of the following month. These social

evenings will alternate between Colchester and

Chelmsford, with this months event being held at

the Three Wise Monkeys bar on Colchester High

Street at 6:30pm on Friday 27th February - so put

the date in your diaries! Each newsletter will be full

of interesting and informative articles, useful

information and legal laughs.

FLoCC was originally founded in 2007 by a group

of Trainee Solicitors under the name of the

“Future Lawyers of Colchester” (FLoC). The aim

was to unite the Trainees, Paralegals, Legal

Executives and Legal Secretaries of Colchester by

providing support and opportunities for networking. Due to the progression of its founding

members, FLoC was disbanded in July 2009 and re-established in summer 2012 by our

predecessors, bringing with them new aspirations and visions for the organisation. FLoC continued

until summer 2013, when once again career progression and development meant that FLoC

needed to be passed on to the next generation of future lawyers.

We are that next generation of future lawyers. We aim to re-establish the organisation,

maintaining the principles upon which it was originally founded. In taking the reins from Ashton,

Cate and Emily, we hope that FLoCC can continue to thrive, by not only providing support and

information but also as a way to meet likeminded people and establish connections.

Please pass the details of FLoCC on to all the future lawyers in your firm. We look forward to

meeting you on Friday 27th February and hope you find the newsletter useful!

Don’t forget to check the FLoCC website at www.fjg.co.uk/site/floc for future events, contact

details and previous issues of the newsletter.

A Fresh Start for FLOCC

Contents

2 Welcome

3 Sarah Rankin

3 Leon Pascal

4 Lawrence Adams

5 The life of a Partner

7 Legal Laughs

8 Useful Information

2

Who Am I? - Sarah Rankin

Sarah graduated from Essex University with a 2.1 honours degree,

she then went on to Anglian Ruskin University to do her LPC for

which she received a commendation. Sarah joined the firm in 2012

originally working in the Family Department as a Paralegal.

Sarah started her training contract in January 2014 and went on to

join the Private Client Department, she also completed a training

seat within the Conveyancing Department and then re-joined the

Private Client team in January where she will stay and qualify in June

2015.

Sarah specialises in drafting Wills, the preparation and registering of

Lasting Powers of Attorney and the administration of estates. Sarah has two children and is an

active member of the Colchester Buddhist Centre where she is a trustee and regularly teaches

Meditation and Buddhism.

Leon joined Fisher Jones Greenwood as a paralegal in February

2013 after graduating with a first-class honours degree in Law in

2012. Whilst working as a paralegal, he completed the Legal

Practice Course part-time at the University of Law, London

Bloomsbury.

In September 2014, Leon started his training contract and is

currently completing his first seat in the Commercial Real Estate

department in the Firm’s Billericay office. He deals with a wide

range of matters including sales and purchases, landlord and

tenant work, development and plot sales, and business sale and

purchases.

When asked about why he is involved with FLOCC, Leon explained “FLOCC is a great way to

meet people in positions that you have been in, are in, or will be in. You also get to meet people

doing slightly different types of work (i.e. barristers or in-house solicitors) and I think that it is

important to build relationships with these people as, ultimately, most of us will be working

together in and around the same field for the rest of our careers!”

Who Am I? - Leon Pascal

3

Lawrence is a Trainee Solicitor at Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP,

currently sitting in the Dispute Resolution team. Lawrence graduated

from University of Kent with a Law Degree in 2011 and gained his

LPC at College of Law in 2012 before joining Fisher Jones Greenwood

as a Paralegal in October 2012.

Lawrence started his career in the Commercial and Corporate

department. He later moved to Civil Litigation and on to the

Employment department. Lawrence began his training contract in

January 2014 and has since gained experience in Litigation,

Employment and Property matters, both contentious and

non-contentious.

In June 2014, Lawrence moved from Fisher Jones Greenwood’s Colchester Charter Court office to

the firm’s new office in Baddow Road, Chelmsford.

Lawrence says: “The core principal behind FLOCC has always been to bring together Trainee

Solicitors, those undertaking Pupillage, Paralegals, Legal Executives, newly qualified Solicitors and

other support staff. FLOCC provides those starting out in the legal profession with an opportunity

to network and generate connections within the local legal environment. With the 2015 relaunch

and rebrand, FLOCC will be better placed to achieve this goal than ever before.”

Who Am I? - Lawrence Adams

4

FLOCC Drinks

Three Wise

Monkeys

Colchester

High Street

6:30pm

Friday 27th

February

Life as a Partner - Charlotte Knappett

Aged 13, I decided that I wanted to be a Solicitor in the Armed Forces. Growing up in an Army

town, with my father working for the Armed forces and with my love of sport it seemed the

obvious option. I had my army careers meetings with Major Tucker who quizzed me on my

interests and broadsheet newspapers.

Whilst at university I decided that I would prefer to work in private practice as opposed to joining

the army. I took a year out of study and worked at FJG firstly as an office junior and then 2 months

later as conveyancing assistant. Over Eccles cakes one morning David Jones informed me I had a

training contract. After completing my LPC in 2003 I ecstatically commenced my training contract

qualifying in February 2005.

FJG has been all I have known. It is a firm I hold in great

esteem and for my colleagues and my peers I have immense

respect. As a young solicitor I could never quite imagine

being a partner, it seemed so distant a prospect! I did my

best over the coming years to work incredibly hard to prove

myself. I did all I could to develop my ability as a solicitor

and an advocate with the help and support of talented

mentors.

Outside of the general fee earning environment I did all I

could to promote the firm and develop my own skills such

as marketing, speaking at careers fairs, participating in

sponsored events, assisting with the outreach projects and

the setting up of FLOC. It is my view that this is what you

should do as a young solicitor/lawyer.

After being asked to open the flagship office in Chelmsford

in 2010, I was then tasked with assisting with the Budd

Martin Burrett Merger in July 2011 and then shortly after

was appointed the Chelmsford office manager. I became a

trustee at the YMCA and did all I could to promote FJG. My

desire to become a partner developed over time and at this

point I made it clear I would wish to be considered.

In 2012 my husband and I were on holiday in Morocco when I received a telephone called from our

managing partner. It had been agreed that I would be made a partner. That evening was a

complete blur of happy tears and mojitos! Sitting around the table with all those lawyers I had

looked up to and signing the partnership agreement was a moment that I relished and will never

forget.

I feel honoured to have the responsibility of being a partner of FJG, helping it grow in strength and

supporting and developing the young talent that we see coming up through the firm…….

Charlotte’s Factfile

Completed LPC: 2003

Founded FLOC: 2004

Qualified: 2005

Became Partner: 2012

5

……. Life as a partner can be tough at times, juggling fee earning work, meetings and working hard

on new ventures, but it is certainly worth it. FJG is my 24/7.

FLOC was invaluable to me. It enabled me to forge career long links with other firms and solicitors

that still assist today. We were/are able to call on one another for support and guidance and a

friendly face at court is always a positive thing. Judges Molle and Mitchell were a great support

when we set up and to them which I will always be grateful. I cannot advocate FLOC enough!

I used the skills learnt from developing FLOC to help build a social scene for lawyers in Chelmsford

ultimately resulting in me becoming president of the Mid Essex Law Society.

My advice to any young lawyer is to see the big picture and do all possible to demonstrate your

commitment. It is a profession and a career not limited to the practice area within which you

work. We are responsible to ourselves, our firms and of course our clients for ensuring the best

possible service and to ensure justice. These can only be improved by personal and professional

development.

Life as a Partner

6

Legal Laughs

You must take your wife on a date

In February 2012, a man from Florida was ordered by a judge to take his wife for a meal and

bowling. When Joseph Bray, 47, appeared in court on a minor domestic violence charge, Judge

John Hurley handed out an unexpected ruling in a bid to reconcile the couple:

"[Bray]'s going to stop by somewhere and get some flowers. And then he's going to go home, pick up

his wife, get dressed and take her to Red Lobster. And then after they have Red Lobster, they're

going to go bowling."

You must stand on the roadside wearing an

'idiot' sign

Impatient Cleveland driver Shena Hardin, 32,

mounted the kerb so that she wouldn't have to

wait behind a school bus as it dropped off

pupils. Her punishment for the misdemeanour?

Being ordered to stand at a junction for two

days with a sign saying: "Only an idiot would

drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."

She also had her driving licence suspended for a

month and was fined £155.

You must sleep in a train station

After a series of encounters with Italian

police, a homeless woman was ordered by a

court to spend her nights at a train station.

The 38-year-old was told she must stay

within the boundaries of Trastevere train

station in Rome between the hours of 9pm

to 7am in the interests of 'public security'. If

station staff asked her to leave, she was told

to show the court document that confirmed

her sleeping arrangements.

You must climb a holy mountain

In September 2010, a County Donegal judge

ordered a man who swore at a policeman to

climb up Ireland's holiest mountain - Croagh

Patrick. Joseph McElwee, 38, appeared in court

after unleashing a tirade of abuse at a police-

man from County Mayo.

After hearing all the evidence, Judge Seamus

Hughes delivered the following ruling:

"I want you to come back in a month's time with evidence that you did the four stations of Croagh

Patrick, and say a few prayers. You then might have a different impression of County Mayo and its

people".

You must listen to Barry Manilow

A Colorado judge has come up with a novel

punishment for noise polluters - forcing

them to listen to Barry Manilow. Judge Paul

Sacco says his unorthodox punishment of

forcing violators to sit in a room and listen

to music they don't like has cut down on

repeat offenders in the small prairie town of

Fort Lupton. Four times a year, offenders

troop into a room and endure one hour of

hits from Barry Manilow and Barney the

dinosaur.

7

FLOCC on

Social Media

Be sure to

check out our

twitter feed,

facebook page

and our

LinkedIn group

@future_lawyers

Academic:

www.bpp.com Website of the GDL, LPC, Degree and Legal Careers courses

provider and more!

www.college-of-law.co.uk Website of the alternative provider of the GDL, LPC, Degree

and Legal Careers courses and more!

www.lawcareers.net Very useful for the latest vacancies and training contract

information

Resource and Legal Research/Information:

uk.practicallaw.com Database for legal precedents, commentaries, reports and

many more extensive legal resources

www.lexisnexis.com/uk/legal Provider to the Legal Profession for precedents, resources

and the most extensive online knowledge repository

directlaw.co.uk Remote client access to legal documentation, including

precedents and information

www.jordanpublishing.co.uk Specialist website resources for family lawyers including

precedents, journals, commentary and more

General Legal Information:

www.lawgazette.co.uk Great for all the latest news and vacancies

www.familylawweek.co.uk The Family Law Weekly website, useful for the latest judgements and case summaries

www.lawsociety.org.uk Information on news, events, support and training for all lawyers

www.juniorlawyers.lawsociety Additional news, reviews and resources for all future lawyers. org.uk

www.sra.org.uk Useful information, guidance and explanations in relation to the regulations governing both future and lawyers

www.fjg.co.uk Useful information on a wide variety of areas of law and a selection of blogs, videos and other useful resources.

FLOC:

www.fjg.co.uk/site/FLOC Don’t forget to follow us on social media and check the FloC website for info on further socials, newsletters, events, videos, podcasts and more.

Useful Information

8

FLOCC Drinks

Three Wise

Monkeys

Colchester

High Street

6:30pm

Friday 27th

February