Kate Jones

My commercial awareness was enhanced during my time at Next, especially from working on the shop floor. On the women’s department I served customers on a number of key sections. I offered exceptional customer service, and actively promoted the use of Next Online. I went out of my way to help customers, and always remained professional and polite, even when confronted with awkward or dissatisfied customers. On the children’s department I re-merchandised stock so that the best-selling items on my department were positioned in prominent and eye-catching positions. I actively put forward suggestions to increase sales and improve customer service. I was awarded responsibility to train and mentor new members of weekend staff, which made me their first point of call if they had any questions or concerns. In the Admin and Cash Office at Next, my main responsibility was to ensure the safe and correct cashing up of the daily takings. I was in charge of completing a lot of paperwork some of which included sensitive information. As such, my commercial and business awareness has been enhanced through my varied experience at Next as I now have an excellent understanding of how a successful business operates from a sales and administrative point of view.

I am currently working as a paralegal in the Insurance motor fraud department for DWF LLP. My main responsibility is to assist senior fee earners in investigating low velocity impact motor claims, staged and induced claims as well as phantom passenger claims. I have been entrusted with a lot of early responsibility, including having early contact with major insurance clients such as Royal & Sun Alliance, Eldon Insurance, and Equity Red Star. I have also been entrusted to interview policyholders and draft witness statements. This early contact has allowed me to build relationships with the file handlers of our clients, which enables the investigation process from DWF’s side to run smoothly and on time. I am able to accurately draft defences, and questions for further information from claimants, medical experts and engineers. I also complete allocation questionnaires, list of documents, and DVLA keeper history request forms. I have gained an invaluable insight into the costs process as I often draft schedules of cost for fee earners. This has provided me with an ever growing awareness of the pressures on law firms to provide accurate and innovative cost solutions for clients. My hard work and enthusiasm has been rewarded by being given two accept service cases, which I will run once proceedings have been issued, and by being given conduct of two other files whilst the fee earner is on extended leave.

At the CAB, I honed my ability to analyse large amounts of information, asses what is relevant, and apply the law to the situation. These skills were vital during my immigration training in order to advise on complex issues such as immigration status. I identified the steps needed to achieve the most ideal outcomes for my clients. These have included negotiating with creditors and drafting letters of grievance to employers and landlords. In cases where debt was the main issue I learnt to prioritise debts and my tasks effectively in order to ensure that the main or causal problems were dealt with promptly. Through interviewing my own clients my interview technique was greatly improved. I used open and closed questions, actively listened and summarised information in order to gain my clients confidence and to demonstrate that I understood their situation. Importantly, I realised that no two situations are the same. Consequently, I realised the importance of being meticulous with regards to detail, as one small overlooked detail could change a specific outcome for a client and possibly their circumstances.