Training & Personal Development at Duncan Cotterill

I had formal training at the start, naturally it is hard to retain all of the information you are taught; however it was still useful. Informal training has been great, I feel like its ok to ask for help.

We had an induction process online - I would have preferred if this was in person. We also had an in person induction with the other graduates later in the year which I really enjoyed and learnt a lot through. There is also on the job training where other team members show me things.

They run regular learning development lunches on specific areas of law. This is the higher level. Day to day we have a buddy system where someone within the team is your designated buddy who assists you with any questions. They also ran a national graduate induction which went over a number of key skills to have in a law firm. Time management, drafting skills, negotiation, communication among others.

While the current training provided is adequate, I believe both employees and employers would benefit from additional emphasis on research skills for graduates. The training we received at university in this area was not as thorough as it could have been. Furthermore, I think offering courses focused on drafting would be beneficial, as this was only briefly covered in our professional studies.

Our formal training is spread out over our first few weeks. Involved a number of online videos. We also had a 3-day graduate induction with all the other grads. This was really helpful to reinforce what we learned previously and also to meet the other grads. In terms of informal training, I've learnt quite a bit from those who I sit next to. Oftentimes before sending an email or after a call with a client, they'll take the time to explain why they did certain things.

There is very limited training at entrance level, some more practical training and techniques other than IT and computer software would be good

The training often isn't practical enough to actually employ in practice. However the amount of training opportunities is good.

I receive lots of informal training on a day-to-day basis from my superiors. Formal training includes induction (for grads), CPD, Lunch & Learns, IT training, legal database training etc.

Brilliant training from all areas of the firm

Lunch & Learn program where we can enjoy lunch together while getting CPD hours

In my first year we had a lot of induction, solicitor development, CPD trainings and Te Reo classes as well as one on one training with the seniors I worked with. I have greatly improved my drafting and attention to detail while working here.

I think the graduate program is extremely beneficial. However, I think this is only offered in the Auckland office. This gave me an insight into all of the three specialisations (litigation, employment and commercial). As well as getting a small taster into these areas, I also gained a lot of confidence in the way I communicated with others in the firm.

The firm places significant resources in its solicitors