Hear from our people
See what some of our associates, apprentices and trainees have to say about life at CMS.
We want you to thrive and show your personality. Foster community, work together, listen, be open, and help each other succeed.
Act with purpose and find passion. Strive for progress and embrace challenges. Seek out different ways of thinking and doing.
See what some of our associates, apprentices and trainees have to say about life at CMS.
My transition to CMS Sheffield a few months ago marked a significant milestone in my career. Coming to the firm right upon qualification was initially nerve-wracking. However, the firm’s welcoming and supportive culture quickly alleviated my worries and has been instrumental in facilitating my professional growth. I have been fortunate to work directly with senior lawyers whose guidance and mentorship have been invaluable as I have settled into my role. People here have been approachable and generous with their time.
Regular social events and team-building activities have allowed me to integrate seamlessly into the team. Moreover, the emphasis on building a team culture speaks volumes about CMS’s approach to creating a work environment people want to be part of. CMS’s global reach and extensive client base have exposed me to complex, cross-jurisdictional legal work, giving me the opportunity to broaden my perspective and aiding me in navigating the intricacies of construction disputes. This exposure to high calibre work early in my career at CMS has been extremely rewarding.
The firm’s focus on professional development has also impressed me. Through in-depth training sessions and workshops led by experts, my knowledge and skills have expanded significantly in a short period. There is an emphasis on continual learning, which underscores CMS’s commitment to its employees, ensuring we remain at the forefront of our respective fields.
The solicitor apprenticeship programme offers many benefits, including the opportunity to obtain a degree and complete the Solicitors Qualifying Examinations (SQE) without any debt, while earning a competitive salary and gaining practical experience. So, as someone who was particularly concerned about the financial cost of university and the lack of job security after graduating, the solicitor apprenticeship route was a no-brainer for me.
So far, as a third-year solicitor apprentice, I have enjoyed the opportunity to experience a variety of different transactional and contentious seats, including a client secondment, and build relationships with clients and colleagues across the firm in both professional and social settings. In particular, I have enjoyed getting involved with diversity and inclusion networks, such as CMS Women, and playing for the firm’s netball team in tournaments locally and abroad.
CMS has a supportive culture. It is great for hybrid working and this is something which is important to me as a working parent. There is also a strong camaraderie within my team and, when a team member has too much work on, then other colleagues step in to support. This is invaluable in a job where we are often dealing with conflicting demands.
The firm also doesn’t have a hierarchical approach to management – partners are approachable and keen to hear the views of others in the team in relation to, for example, approaches to business development, plans for team growth, ways of working more efficiently and so on. This makes you feel more embedded within your team and also gives fee earners and paralegals a say in the growth of their teams as well as their own career development.
The work is also high quality and, given the size of the firm and the breadth of work and sectors it covers, there is opportunity to get involved in just about anything. Within my first two months at the firm, I was leading both regional and London-based matters as well as two cross-border transactions for Spanish clients. This mix of work is fantastic for career development.
Whilst many people purport to have had a non-standard journey into law, I feel that I can truly assert that my journey has been out of the ordinary. I had a family at a young age and skipped the usual university experience, going straight into full-time employment. I worked through a number of different roles and settled on a job as Merchandiser. As my career progressed, I found myself questioning whether I was in the right role. After some soul-searching, I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in law. However, the fact that I had left school prior to completing my A levels posed a problem. I enrolled in a 1-year Access course and decided to use the LNAT as a litmus test for whether law was right for me. Luckily, I scored highly enough to be offered a place to study law at King’s College London.
Studying law at King’s was one of the most challenging periods of my life. I was juggling a family (which had grown), I was coming back to an educational environment and the realities of a lower household income and the pressure of needing to do well and progress towards obtaining a training contract were all issues I was acutely aware of. However, I found myself enjoying certain complexities more than I had imagined and went on to obtain a masters in tax law. Then, it was then time to return to the world of work.
From completing the CMS Academy program all the way through your first two weeks of induction, CMS prepares you with all the tools you need to hit the ground running on day one. In my first 6 months as a trainee, I’ve had the opportunity to get involved in a variety of work and been given a lot of responsibility including drafting documents, liaising directly with clients and taking the lead on smaller more discreet matters.
There are also plenty of resources and advice available to help trainees map out their training contract and make the most of their journey to qualification. Ultimately, the people are what makes CMS such a brilliant place to work at. From associates all the way to partners, everyone is generally very approachable and down to earth. There are plenty of networks to get involved in and, since joining the LGBT+ network, I have met many incredible people from across the firm at internal and external client events. This has allowed me to grow my network at a very early stage of my career.
I am a third seat trainee, currently in the Technology, Media and IP team. I started my training contract having been a Paralegal at CMS for a number of years prior and I have just recently returned from my second maternity leave – being a trainee with two little ones has it’s challenges but can also be really fulfilling. Although both of my previous seats have been transactional (Energy and Real Estate Transactions, respectively) they have been entirely different in so many ways, for example: industry clients; team structure; and, of course, the types of contracts/agreements.
Despite their vast differences, I thoroughly enjoyed them both and gained different personal and professional skills during each. My maternity leave started at the end of my second seat and returning has been met with a rollercoaster of emotions but coupled with excitement for starting something new and I think if you are open minded about your training contract, that can really help in maximising the experience you get out of it.
My journey has not been your “typical trainee path”, but it’s been a great journey so far and I’m looking forward to seeing where this path goes!
