We provide the most successful SQE Trainee Solicitor Programme in the Channel Islands. Our September 2025 trainee intake includes 12 trainees in jersey and 6 in Guernsey – making it the largest cohort across any firm in the Channel Islands, offering a significant peer network and fostering a strong sense of community and shared learning from day one.
Kate Andrews is a partner at Carey Olsen. With strong experience in mentoring junior lawyers, Kate plays a key role in ensuring the Trainee Solicitor Programme develops technical expertise through hands-on experience and exposure to high-quality work across our core practice areas, and reflects the firm’s values of integrity, approachability and exceptional service.
At Carey Olsen, we believe that investing in our people is essential to delivering the highest quality legal services to our clients. Our trainee programme is more than a route to qualification; it’s a long-term investment in talent, potential, and the future of our firm.
We are committed to “growing our own” by providing trainees with meaningful responsibility and tailored support from day one. The programme is built around mentorship, collaboration, and continuous professional growth and is designed to equip future solicitors with the technical skills, commercial understanding, and confidence needed to thrive in their legal careers. This approach allows us to develop lawyers who truly live our culture, values, and standards of excellence.
A strong desire to learn, an ambition to progress, and the ability to work well in a team, are essential to success. Trainees should take steps to understand the structure of, and commercial drivers for, each transaction. Trainees should ask questions to deepen their knowledge. As they gain experience, we hope that trainees shift from being reactive to being proactive—anticipating needs, taking ownership of tasks, and actively contributing to the completion of the transaction.
Emma Dempsey is an associate at Carey Olsen, having joined the firm in 2022 as a trainee solicitor. She qualified in August 2024 and works within the Corporate Finance team. Emma reflects on the transition to qualified solicitor and offers insights on her journey through the trainee programme with Carey Olsen.
The support I received from my colleagues during the two-year training programme was invaluable. They were approachable and took the time to explain tasks clearly, whilst also encouraging me to think independently. Carey Olsen has some exceptionally knowledgeable lawyers, so it has been great learning from them and developing professionally. The legal secretaries are also a great source of support – a law firm would not function without them!
As a trainee at an offshore law firm, you will be spread across a number of matters at once, so you definitely need to be organised! Using checklists helped me to prioritise tasks and meet deadlines. Diary reminders are also really useful.
My three top tips for those embarking on the training programme in September would be:
Don’t be afraid to ask questions – trainees aren’t expected to know everything.
Do the basic tasks well to earn the trust of more senior fee earners.
Be willing to learn and help others as you really do get out what you put in.
