Legal Cheek report
A trainee, who was frequently left “unsupervised” and asked to handle the caseloads of two qualified lawyers on her second day, has been awarded £36,000 in damages by an employment tribunal.
The tribunal found that the Mayfair firm Gillen De Alwis Solicitors, which has since entered into administration, “failed to fulfil the fundamental purpose of a training contract”.
It heard that R. Kaur joined the firm in the summer of 2021 and, two days in, was given the “caseload responsibility” of two temporarily employed qualified lawyers, following an email handover.
The tribunal noted that shortly before Kaur joined, the property department became short staffed due to the passing of the solicitor in charge.
This situation seems to have put the department under serious pressure, with Kaur explaining that she and an intern were left to their “own devices at times” and frequently “unsupervised”, often approving documents without them being checked.
It was also noted that less than two weeks into her TC, the trainee had still not received an induction, and evidence showed that one of the firm’s founding partners, Shehani De Alwis, had “made comments that her contract would be in jeopardy” if certain tasks weren’t completed immediately.
