Reviews and Ratings for solicitor Elissa Thursfield, Llandudno

Tuesday 8 August 2017

Welsh Not’ ar ei newydd wedd?


Welsh Not’ ar ei newydd wedd?

 

Fel mae sawl un yn ymwybodol neu ddim, yn 1997, pleidleisiodd Cymru dros gael Llywodraeth ei hun ar wahan i Lywodraeth Prydain a Senedd sydd hefo pwerau cyfyngedig i greu deddfau perthnasol I Gymru yn unig. Beth yn union maen nhw’n ei wneud tu mewn i’r adeilad hwnnw sy’n debycach i fadarch na ble caiff cyfreithiau newydd eu creu yng Nghaerdydd felly?

Un o’r deddfau pwysicaf sydd wedi eu creu yno yw’r deddfau sy’n ymwneud a’r iaith Gymraeg, a’r ddeddf iaith ddiweddaraf yw Mesur Iaith 2011.

O dan Mesur Iaith 2011 mae gan unigolyn yr hawl i ddefnyddio Cymraeg yng Nghymru fel y mynno.

Anodd yw credu felly bod ffrae am yr hawl i siarad yr iaith Gymraeg wedi codi ym Mangor yr wythnos hon yn siop Sports Direct pan roddwyd nodyn i weithwyr y siop mai Saesneg yn unig oedd i’w siarad wrth weithio.

Yn wir, y ‘Welsh Not’ ar ei newydd wedd.

O safbwynt y cyfraith cyflogaeth, mae rhoi nodyn fel yr un a roddodd Sports Direct i’w gweithwyr o bosib yn anffafrio Cymry Cymraeg yn anuniongyrchol, ac maen debygol y byddai cwmni fel Sports Direct yn ceisio amddiffyn eu hunain yn hynny drwy ddweud ei fod yn ffordd o gyflawni nod dilys o gael pawb yn siarad yr un iaith am reswm penodol, er enghraifft, iechyd a diogelwch.

Ond dadl wael yw honno yn fy marn i, yn enwedig wrth ei rhoi yn y cyd-destun fod Bangor wedi ei leoli yn un o’r ardaloedd mwyaf Cymreig y byd ble mae dros 50% o’r boblogaeth yn siarad Cymraeg fel eu hiaith gyntaf. Os nad oes gan unigolyn hawl i siarad ei famiaith yma, sef iaith naturiol yr ardal, mae’n gwbl annerbyniol.

Gellir dadlau fod cwmniau fel Sports Direct yn trin dwy iaith yn y gweithle fel rhywbeth i’w chwarae yn erbyn ei gilydd. Buasai nhw’n gallu dadlau fod cael pobl sydd yn siarad Cymraeg gyda’i gilydd yn ceisio creu ‘clique’, tra mewn gwirionedd, mae pobl yn siarad Cymraeg am ei fod yn naturiol ac maen nhw’n gwneud hynny heb feddwl dwywaith am y peth.

Beth mae’r ffrae gyda Sports Direct yn ei ddangos yw bod angen cael deddf cryfach ynglyn a’r hawl i ddefnyddio’r Gymraeg yng Nghymru. Ar hyn o bryd, dydi’r mesurau iaith sydd yn gosod safonau penodol y maen rhaid i sefydliad eu cyrraedd ond yn effeithio y sector cyhoeddus. Does dim rhaid i gwmni preifat, fel Sports Direct, gyrraedd y safonau yma.

Mae’r cwmni bellach wedi ymddiheuro, ond mae blas eu geiriau “staff must speak English” yn dal yn chwerw yn eu ceg. Nid dim ond her i’r Llywodraeth ydi mynd yn erbyn agwedd cwmniau fel Sports Direct, mae’n her hefyd i bobl gyffredin fel chi a fi i ddefnyddio ein iaith bob cyfle. Daliwch ati!

Training Contract Offer to Director: 9 Years in Law


 
Training Contract offer to Director: 9 years in Law
 

 

Like it or loath it, Facebook does have its moments. This morning I had an ‘on this day’ reminder, that on this day 9 years ago I was offered a Training Contract. The offer of my Training Contract is one of the memories, alongside my graduation and  my wedding day, that I will never forget.

 

I was 21, had graduated  from the University of Cardiff in the July 2008 and had completed all 3 of my summer vacation schemes. It was a Friday and I had a car full of possessions that had been from University, to my mother’s house in Abersoch, where I would be spending my summer before moving to Chester to start my LPC.

 

I pulled up at the house, my Nissan Micra full to the brim of the useless stuff university students hoard, as I got out the car my phone rang. It was the HR manager from Hammonds (now Squire Patton Boggs), I instantly started to shake, my throat went dry. I had heard during my vac scheme of ‘the call’ that would come before paper offers and rejections went out.

 

I could hear the HR manager smiling on the phone as she told me that they were offering me a Training Contract. I could hardly get the words out to thank her, immediately bursting into tears and falling to my knees on my mums driveway.

 

For someone not prone to dramatics, let me give you some context. I along with hundreds of other law students pinning their hopes on a career in law, had spent the time between studying , on vacation schemes, drafting application forms and interviewing. Taking on roles of responsibility (Law Society President), sports teams and extracurricular activities. Polishing my CV and hounding firms for an opportunity to prove myself. Finally, having completed my degree and being accepted at the College of Law (now the University of Law) in Chester, I had just signed an enormous loan agreement to fund my LPC. An astonishing gamble when I had no means of paying it off when the course was completed, without a Training Contract.

 

All that worry, strain and emotional (and real) investment finally ended with one phone call.


Was it all worth it? Yes. Do I look back at my reaction to that phone call and think I was over dramatic? No! The shine will never come off that moment, when I felt a real sense of achievement and payoff. Competition for Training Contracts was at an all-time level of ferocity, 2008 being the year of the recession when recruitment was vastly cut back in law firms. I am forever grateful for Hammonds for the opportunities they gave me.

 

So what happened next? After completion of my LPC, like many trainees my contract was deferred a year to 2011. I spent the next year travelling and working, working out of Mumbai, Milan and Ireland before taking up a job doing marketing and photography for a magazine. I spent the final 12 months before my TC started working as a paralegal for Hammonds in their professional negligence department.

 

After 4 seats, one of which was spent on client secondment I qualified into Employment and took a position as an NQ in North Wales at Gamlins Law. At the time having met my husband in Abersoch and being a volunteer crew on the RNLI, as much as I loved working in cities, with  the shopping restaurants and city buzz, my heart was on the beach and in the sea.

 

The adjustment from Global Law firm to country firm was surprisingly easy, my job satisfaction is enormous and I will be forever grateful for the fantastic level of training, support and knowledge that I was able to call on  that I had experienced during my Training Contract.

 

Now 4 years qualified I won the Law Society Junior Lawyer of the Year in 2016, and I was recently promoted to Director at Gamlins. The quality of work is excellent and I truly enjoy what I do. I continue to volunteer for the RNLI, as a crew member in Abersoch, where I am now a trainee Helmsman, spending my evenings and weekends on call, as well as days when I work from home.  

 

Looking back at the last 9 years, I feel I have learnt a lot, it being a strange position to now be in to be supervising trainees and assisting with recruitment. It has made me think hard about the lessons I learnt and advice given to me on the way:

 

1.      If you have a gap year, whether intentional or not, make it count. Do something useful and different. Recruiters hear about ‘when I went to Australia’ more times than they can count! I learnt solid commercial skills and got real work experience working in different and unusual environments

2.      Vacation Schemes are so important. If you can’t get one think outside the box, after first year I spent a week working in house at The Times. It wasn’t an ‘official’ placement, but the work was interesting and it gave me something to talk about that was a bit different at interview

3.      Make connections and don’t fall out with anybody. I am still in touch with a number of my supervisors from Squires and people I met on secondment. The legal world is a small world and often you may need their advice and counsel in years to come.

4.      Be competitive, but pay attention to number 3. There is a fine balance, trust me! Don’t sulk if you don’t get the seat you want, take every opportunity and make something of it.

5.      Don’t just take work from your supervisors, go to them for feedback, soak up everything they have to say. My supervisors at Squire were passionate about what they did and my aim was to enjoy work as much as they did.

6.      Take risks. I now do interviews for BBC Radio Wales when called upon for Employment Law related content, I was terrified the first time and now it’s actually enjoyable

7.      Don’t believe a career in law means you have to give up a passion for travelling. Use your annual leave wisely, save your money and give yourself the most incredible experiences whilst doing a job you love.

8.      You will make mistakes, there will be times all you want to do is go home or take off round the world. The world will not end if you make a mistake, mistakes are expected. Learn from them and move on.

9.      You don’t know everything when you qualify. The only difference between being a trainee and an NQ is that you are a day older. Depending on where you work it might mean lots of responsibility and independence, or that you are still heavily supervised. You did not become an expert overnight when your TC ended. Use your support networks, go for help, get things checked.

10.  Enjoy the job. If you hate it you need to work out why, and whether it really is for you. You might have invested in it heavily but it shouldn’t mean a life sentence if it is not for you. It is hard, you will work long hours and it can be emotionally tough, but the satisfaction of doing the job well for your clients is fantastic, don’t lose sight of that.