Cygnet Law in Redcar is celebrating the success of a new member of staff who joined the firm just as lockdown was announced.
Jess King joined as a legal assistant a few days prior to the lockdown, meaning she had limited time to get to know her colleagues before many of them were required to work remotely.
She graduated with an LLB Hons from Teesside University in 2018 and completed her LLM LPC at the University of Sunderland in 2018-19. She then worked for ten months as a family paralegal.
Jess was one of the skeleton staff who worked in the Cygnet Law office throughout the lockdown, supporting the solicitors who were attending hearings and completing essential work via phone and video conferencing.
She plans to develop her career while working with Cygnet Law, with the ultimate ambition of qualifying as a solicitor in the future.
Jess King said: “On my first day of work I experienced the usual emotions that come with starting a new role; I was nervous, excited, and ready for a new start. Despite my colleagues being already apprehensive about the situation prior to lockdown, I was made to feel completely at ease, and knew from day one that I felt at home at Cygnet.
“The strangest thing for me is that, although the majority of my colleagues have been working remotely, I already feel that I have built positive working relationships, and am confident that I could easily approach any of the team at any time.
“I am thoroughly enjoying my role at Cygnet Law and am excited for the future. Client care remains my number one priority, and whilst lockdown has affected us all, I am thankful that it has given me the opportunity to build rapport with clients and the ability to represent the firm by maintaining an outstanding level of client satisfaction.”
Stacey Phoenix, director and head of Public Law Department at Cygnet Law, said: “Jess has had one of the most unusual starts to a career. She’s done exceptionally well, learning the ropes while the majority of the team have been working from home and doing a fantastic job.
“I hope that it won’t be long before everyone’s back in the office and Jess can have the proper Cygnet Law experience and get to know the whole team in person.
“She’s done so well since she joined, I have no doubts that her career will go from strength to strength while she’s working with us.”
