PSC AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
All of our trainees attend the Professional Skills Course (PSC), which covers the compulsory subjects of finance and business skills, client care, professional standards, advocacy and communication skills.
You’ll also take part in courses that cover presenting to persuade, effective business writing, drafting skills, influencing skills, participating in meetings and being client centred. Each of them has been designed specifically for Eversheds. As a whole, and taken alongside the day-to-day legal work you’ll be involved in, these courses will help you become the kind of multi-faceted, business-minded lawyer that thrives at Eversheds.
We offer funding for candidates studying the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), including payment of full fees and a maintenance grant of £7,000 (£5000 outside London). Non-law candidates will need to successfully complete both the GDL and Legal Practise Course (LPC) before starting a training contract. Law graduates complete just the LPC.
Advocacy and oral presentation
Trainees will learn about the communication skills of the advocate and prepare, conduct and present a client’s case.
Case and transaction management
Trainees will acquire skills in managing and running a case or transaction to enable them to understand the importance of planning and preparation.
Client care and practice support
To enable trainees to work effectively in an efficient practice, they will develop the skills required to manage time, effort and resources to support their clients’ needs.
Communication skills
Trainees will refine their communication skills so they can present oral and written communication in a way that achieves its purpose and is appropriate to the recipient.
Dispute resolution
Trainees will become familiar with contentious work and gain a full understanding of the skills and practice of resolving disputes, including settling, mediation and adjudication, in a fair, cost-effective and timely way that meets client needs.
Drafting
Trainees will recognise the need for, and be able to produce, documents that are clear and precise, achieve their purpose, and maintain a standard of care that protects client interests and meets client objectives.
Interviewing and advising
Trainees will understand the importance of identifying the client’s goals, along with the need to take accurate instructions. They will have opportunities to observe and conduct interviews with clients, experts, witnesses and others.
Legal research
Trainees will learn to find solutions, by investigating the factual and legal issues, analysing problems and communicating the results of their research. They will be given work that makes use of traditional and computerised research tools and sources, business information and other relevant sources.
Negotiation
Trainees will understand the processes involved in contentious and non-contentious negotiations, and appreciate the importance to the client of reaching agreement or resolving a dispute. They will have the opportunity to observe negotiations conducted by experienced practitioners and / or to conduct negotiations under close supervision.
Departmental training
Each department has a training programme that all trainees take part in. This involves more in-depth technical training such as visits to court, criminal litigation and leasehold covenants. Specific modules include: introduction to employment, employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions, introduction to pensions, pensions aspects of mergers, and acquisitions and planning.