Darran Brennan, Trainee Solicitor, William Fry

Degree subject BA, LLB (NUI Galway)
Job title Trainee Solicitor
Employer William Fry

Why did a career in the legal sector
appeal, and why did William Fry’s
programme appeal to you?

I am passionate about politics and
law and I enjoy understanding how
law impacts our society. After leaving
college I worked on policy formation
at the European Parliament in
Brussels and later in Dublin where I
worked in Ibec as an executive and
subsequently, for the CEO. I always
wanted to use these experiences and
return to corporate law directly
helping clients. In choosing the firm
for whom I wanted to work, William
Fry’s programme appealed to me the
most because of the firm’s reputation
and in particular the firm’s growth,
vision, strategy and ambition.

I decided to do an Arts degree in NUI
Galway to gain a better insight of
how law, sociology and politics all
work together; I followed this with an
optional LL.B to focus on some core
areas of interest. My degree assisted
me in landing a place on the
programme because of its diversity
and William Fry appreciates a
rounded academic career.

What does your day to day role involve
and what’s exciting about it?

A trainee’s role in the firm is varied
and every day presents exciting new
challenges and opportunities. We
work with different clients in different
industries and it’s exciting to learn
more about these companies who are
leaders in their industries. We also get
to help guide start-ups on their
corporate path. I’m enjoying the
opportunity to play an active role in
helping our clients.

What transferable skills can you obtain
working for a firm like William Fry?

Attention-to-detail, public-speaking and
relationship-building are the three core
skills I’ve developed most. William Fry
instils in us the motivation to learn
continuously and promotes selfdevelopment
in the professional world.
The training department runs an
excellent programme teaching us core
skills and this is coupled with patience
and dedication from our mentors in the
office. Using the skills I learned in the
firm I achieved 2nd place overall in civil
advocacy on PPC1. I’ve had the unique
opportunity to be a member of the CSR
committee and through it, the
opportunity to work on some fantastic
community initiatives and programmes.

What advice would you have for
students?
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My advice is to take your time and set
out a solid 5-year plan. Different
trainees take different paths to get
here but the one common
denominator is forward planning. It is
important to present a good
application, take time to prepare for
interviews, and focus on completing
the FE1s, while also studying for finals
or working. It is also really important
to just be yourself throughout the
process.
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How do you hope to see your career developing over the next few years?

I’m currently going in to my third
rotation, have PPC2 to focus on in 2017,
followed by my final rotation and
hopefully qualification in December
2017. I’m enjoying my experience in
William Fry and I hope to continue my
career here after qualification. I’m still
deciding which area to specialise in and
the rotational format of our trainee
programme allows us to explore these
interests. I am also planning on starting
an LL.M in Advanced Legal Practice with
the Law Society in 2017 which allows
me to explore academically what I will
specialise in.