My week at Olliers as an intern – Max Baker

Last week’s intern at Olliers, Max Baker, reflects on his week with Olliers

Entering my final year at university, there’s lots of pressure on what type of law to practice and even what firms to apply for. Prior to my internship, my work experience has been entirely corporate. I have always enjoyed my corporate experiences but felt I owed myself the opportunity to experience the other side of the coin. 

After searching for criminal defence work experience opportunities, I was fortunate enough to find the Olliers intern programme, I submitted my application and within weeks was lucky enough to be offered a week’s paid internship.

On my first day, I had no idea what to expect, but arriving to the office I was warmly greeted by Hope Rea and Rebecca Dimond, who introduced me to the whole team making sure I felt settled. Within half an hour I was heading to a police station interview. 

Monday

Connor Brylczak talked me through the procedure for the police interview whilst making our way down to the station. It was my first time in a police station, and it was completely different to how I expected.  

The client had been in the cell overnight and was anxious to get home, he refuted the charges brought against him and gave a no-comment interview, with Connor having to prevent some of the questions from being asked to the client due to them requiring the client to speculate. Throughout the whole interview, Connor was proactive in his approach and consistently acted in the best interests of the clients, which were traits shown by all the Olliers staff throughout the internship. 

After the police interview, Becky told me I would later be attending the Magistrates’ court with David Philpott in the afternoon, throughout the office everyone had joked that David is a magistrate court ‘celebrity’, something I can now attest is completely true. 

David is not only well-known in court, but he is well respected. He was the duty solicitor for that day, he was dealing with some difficult cases, in a very intense courtroom following the riots that had taken place the previous weekend. He constantly tried his hardest for his clients, not letting anything stop him from providing the best possible advice. He was also very accommodating showing me around the Magistrates’ and allowing me to observe his consultation with clients down in the cells, which was a surreal experience.

Tuesday

The firm was duty solicitors through Monday night, leaving a busy Tuesday morning. I went to shadow Jack Tomlinson for another police interview. The client was clearly distressed with the proceedings, but Jack quickly made them feel at ease and guided them through the process. 

In the afternoon I attended two conferences, the first was with the DBS team, where Eleanor Harris was gathering all possible information, which will help support her client in representations. The second was with Martha Odysseos, who was supporting the Barrister, preparing a client for Crown Court proceedings taking place the next day. Both Martha and Ellie‘s focus in their conferences was to make sure the client was as informed and comfortable as possible. 

Wednesday

Wednesday morning, Martha and I met the Barrister from the previous day at the crown court, we first consulted once again with the client, just making sure all the details were confirmed once again highlighting much care the lawyers at Olliers show. The Barrister then requested to delay entering a plea, which was granted by the judge, allowing Martha and the team more time to work on the case.

In the afternoon it was another visit to the magistrate’s court with David, who was once again busy and working extremely hard for his clients. 

Thursday

Thursday was a well-needed office day, having such a packed few days had been tiring, which just demonstrates how hard the lawyers at Olliers work. I had several tasks I needed to complete throughout the week. The first was drafting representations for a client in the DBS team. The second was a scheduling task, organising witness statements into a clear table to clarify case materials.  

Friday

Friday morning, I attended the Crown Court to watch the sentencing of a client. When arriving back at the office, Matthew Claughton checked to make sure I had a good week at the firm and asked me how he could help with my career plan.

I had such a great week at Olliers, all the team I met were friendly, welcoming, and most importantly great criminal defence solicitors. I would honestly recommend this internship to anyone thinking about pursuing a career in law in either criminal or even civil, there is so much that I will take away in whatever Law I decide to practice.