Graduate Recruitment
Meet our people
Donna Codrington - Associate
Law with Spanish, Thames Valley University
How did you get to where you are?
I started working as a paralegal as I didn’t have a training contract when I finished my LPC. However, I was determined to be a solicitor and obtained a training contract with DLA Piper.
Why did you choose to qualify into the employment team?
After my training contract I chose to qualify into employment law because I thought it was the most exciting area – you deal with people and people are complicated. You are advising on different situations every day. Even though you may be dealing with five discrimination or unfair dismissal cases at one time, none of them are the same. Not only is it academically challenging as you have to know black letter law, but you also need to be able to apply the law to a situation strategically and from a commercial stand point.
What skills do you need?
Good people skills and an ability to get to sniff out truth of a matter are essential. In my team, we also undertake advocacy at employment tribunals and provide a lot of client training. Therefore, good communication skills are a must.
What did you like most about your training contract?
Although you are expected to work hard and produce good work during your training contract, you get support. You really get the sense that you are here to learn, to develop as a solicitor and to find your own style. You're not here to be a money making machine.
One of the advantages over other firms is that because of the number of seats and quality of our clients, whether they are international or local companies, you enjoy a wide variety of work so you can test your likes and dislikes. You are exposed to really interesting problems requiring innovating solutions. It gave me enough experience to work out what I did and didn’t want to do. After my first two seats, I knew I wasn’t a transactional lawyer but the litigation seat showed me I was a bit of a fighter and liked a good argument. I haven't looked back since.
What do you like most about DLA Piper?
I see DLA Piper as somewhere where you have a real chance to make your career. You can be a partner if you want to. However, if you don't there is an alternative career structure in place where you can find your niche, get great work and earn a decent salary.
There is a teamwork culture here. It’s definitely not a place for people who like to sit in a room and work on their own. This is a very friendly law firm where characters can find their place. People are very normal here and personalities are valued rather than hidden.
