BWL Legal’s Trainee Solicitors experience client site
Our Managing Director has a passion for construction and farm machinery. So when he said our trainee solicitors were going to visit an important client, little did we know he meant a full day on-site looking at expensive machines used in civil engineering and farm contracting.
After a very early start on a snowy January morning, our team drove for 4 and a half hours in convoy to Dorset, the home of Bartlett Contractors Ltd.
On arrival, we were met by Gary Boon, a Director of Bartlett Contractors. Gary provided an insightful, and at times humorous, overview of the civil engineering and agricultural contracting businesses. He explained how the civil engineering business utilises the construction team at BWL Legal to resolve construction disputes through the adjudication process and, where necessary, via enforcement proceedings.
The key takeaways from the presentation were:
- The time taken to learn about the what, when and how of a client’s business is time well spent;
- Relationships between client and solicitor are paramount; and
- The quality of our advice and the timeliness of communication keeps clients happy.
Following the presentation, we had a photo opportunity next to a digger and, for some of us, including our overexcited Managing Director, there was the chance to sit in the driver’s seat.
We had been due to visit a live site, but on leaving Bartlett’s main compound our Managing Director suffered a puncture. So much for the advantages of driving a 4×4! This meant our site visit was unfortunately cancelled. On this news, all the trainees piled into one car and headed home, leaving our Managing Director waiting for recovery.
Our next field trip is in March when we will visit a client’s 29-unit commercial-to-residential conversion project. We’re already excited to see what happens then…