Grace Buckland Shortlisted for York Press Business Award

We’re thrilled to announce that Grace Buckland, our client relationship coordinator, has been shortlisted for York Press’ Apprentice of the Year award. 

When Grace joined us at the start of 2023, she was looking for a new way to start her career. She’d tried standard types of further education but had found she wanted a more hands-on style of learning than university could offer her. 

Since joining Roche Legal as part of York College’s apprenticeship scheme, Grace has become an integral part of our team. Grace is our ‘ambassador of first impressions’ and is responsible for building relationships with our clients, managing new leads as they occur and ensuring they’re always followed up. 

We’ll hand over to Grace to describe her apprenticeship experience so far:

“I was initially unsure about pursuing an apprenticeship, but I’ve come to realise that it’s an excellent pathway to enter the workforce and acquire invaluable experience. Working alongside a fantastic and motivated team on a daily basis, I constantly learn new things.

“Instead of solely studying law in a classroom setting, I have the privilege of observing and learning from real-life situations as they unfold and I love meeting new clients, with new queries every day. I would certainly recommend an apprenticeship programme. 

“I tried university and felt very lost after dropping out. I thought apprenticeships meant starting from the bottom, but realistically it is such a valuable route that I don’t think is talked about enough in schools and colleges. 

“I would never have envisaged this for myself initially, but it is the best decision I have made. I feel lucky to have met such a talented group of people here at Roche Legal. 

“(Owner) Rachel (Roche) is always motivating me to achieve more and more and does everything she can to help, not only me, but the whole team. Hopefully, this is the start of an exciting career path.”

The overall winners of the York Press Business Awards will be announced at a ceremony at York Racecourse on the 30^th November. Whatever happens on the night, we couldn’t be prouder of Grace for being honoured with this much-deserved nomination.

At Roche Legal, we’re big believers in the importance of supporting our team. We invest a great deal of time and effort into facilitating and celebrating professional development. Our partnership with York College’s apprenticeship scheme has been so successful that we plan to welcome a second apprentice to the firm very soon. 

Whatever career stage you’re at, if you’re keen to progress as part of a dynamic and supportive legal firm, why not get in touch? We’d love to find out if our team would be a good fit for you.