S1E7 - Meet The Team: Pawinder Manak

Meet Pawinder Manak, a trainee solicitor who joined Fenchurch Law’s London office in 2024. In this episode, Pawinder talks about her journey from studying law at UCL to securing a training contract with the firm, shares insights from her time in the FinPro team, and looks ahead to the opportunities of her next seat in the International Risks team.

Transcript

Welcome and quickfire questions

Dru 0:06

Hello and welcome to a new podcast series hosted by Fenchurch Law. The series aims to introduce every member of our four offices in a short informal podcast. Today I'm delighted to be joined by Pavinda Manak, who joined the London office in 2024. A very warm welcome, pavinda Hi.

Pawinder 0:21

Joe.

Dru 0:22

Before we dive into the pod, let's start with some quickfire questions. What is your go-to coffee order?

Pawinder 0:28

Oh, cappuccino with almond or soya milk.

Dru 0:31

Oh wow, fiction or non-fiction.

Pawinder 0:35

Fiction for sure.

Dru 0:36

What's your favorite emoji?

Pawinder 0:39

Oh, I quite like the heart with a hand version of it.

Dru 0:42

Oh, I know, yes, yes, yeah, not the red heart like the hands together, heart. Top work there, Pervince. And who is your most played artist on your Spotify?

Pawinder 0:53

Most played at the moment is probably SZA.

Pawinder's role and joining Fenchurch

Dru 0:59

Nice. That's a top, top artist there. So welcome to the pond Pervinda. Very, very pleased to be doing this with you. It's a bit of a surreal situation because we sit right next to each other and we've spent the morning taking down a particularly prickly trial bundle. But for the benefit of the listeners, what is your role at Finchurch Law?

Pawinder 1:20

I am a trainee solicitor. I am a trainee solicitor so I'm circulating around the different departments and I do a range of different works where I really get sent to my inbox.

Dru 1:31

And you joined in October.

Pawinder 1:34

October. Yeah, I officially started in October after the exams and everything.

Dru 1:38

Yes, well done for passing the SQE.

Pawinder 1:40

Apparently, it's awful.

Dru 1:42

It is awful. And what made you want to become a solicitor in the first place?

Pawinder 1:47

To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do when I was at school, when I was applying for universities, but I had the grades and I liked reading and English and those sort of subjects and history. So I was like law is a good one. I went for that.

Dru 2:01

Yeah, great idea. And then decided I actually really liked it at university and just stuck with it. Oh, did you read laura undergrad? Yeah, oh, I didn't realize that. Yeah, that's way better than accountancy and all that, all that stuff. So where did you do your?

Pawinder 2:13

undergraduate ucl, so near bloomsbury, yeah yeah, I love it.

Dru 2:17

Sorry, it sounds like I'm learning things about age on the pod. For some reason I thought it was kings, but I knew it was a.

Pawinder 2:23

London uni. No, no, no rivalry.

Dru 2:25

I know, can we say? Can we say that UCL is better than kings?

Pawinder 2:29

yes, okay, let's just say yeah big up UCL.

Dru 2:33

So what was your journey like from university to trainee?

Pawinder 2:38

so I did the three years undergrad and then in my second year I think it's my second year summer holidays I came and did a work experience program here um, I think it's around two weeks. I ended up really liking the work and I wasn't entirely sure where I wanted to go, but I was looking for like sort of like any opportunities to get more experience.

Pawinder 2:58

I really like to hear, so I asked david just for shout out the senior partner I asked if he'd be um, if it would be possible to get like a training contract or sort of more experience or anything, and luckily he said yes. So I did a load of interviews and a few exams and then I got the TC. But then I finished my, my final year of uni and then I have been in and out of the office like in my holidays.

Dru 3:26

Yes, because you, because we first met, not in that fortnight. But it was the time. Yeah, I can't remember. Was it early summer?

Pawinder 3:33

Yeah, it was just before I started or just after I finished SQE1. And then I went back, finished SQE2. And now I'm back officially.

Dru 3:43

And what was the gap between?

Pawinder 3:45

Because finish sq2 and now I'm back officially. And what was the gap between because were you here for a couple of months, I was here in my holidays between doing the first set of exams and like just can't get enough of coverage disputes? Yeah, love it.

Dru 3:56

No, I mean, obviously you're doing, you're doing really really well. Um, it's you, you're, you're wonderful, because when I've that prickly trial bundle, it's been a complete.

Working together and firm culture

Pawinder 4:05

It's been a tag team. It's been a tag team. It's you, you're, you're wonderful, because when I've done that prickly trial bundle, it's been a tag team.

Dru 4:08

It's been probably the worst one I've ever had to do but you've kept me sane, so thank you thank you very much for all your help, and do you have a main supervisor at the firm um? Have they given you any particularly useful advice?

Pawinder 4:21

I do so. My main supervisor is daniel robin, who heads the finn protein shout out dan uh, yeah, dan is great main piece of advice. I think the one that's probably stuck the most is when I first started. He said don't be afraid to ask any questions if you don't know what's going on, which has been really helpful because I can just turn to, for instance, yourself, who's very helpful yeah, and just ask.

Dru 4:41

Sorry, I regularly don't know the answers to your questions.

Pawinder 4:43

You don't answer the questions regularly, um, but yeah, it's very helpful just to be able to ask anyone in the firm if I'm a bit confused on a task yeah, no, that's.

Dru 4:52

I mean. I think that's a great piece of advice. I would also say that we have a incredibly flat hierarchy, and I think yeah, pretty much.

Pawinder 4:58

Everyone wants to talk to everyone.

Dru 4:59

Yeah, and they would want to help him and as a trainee, there isn't really such thing as a stupid question, unless you've asked the same question three times in one week.

Pawinder 5:07

Okay, I haven't done that. No, I haven't got that stupid. That's a me thing.

Dru 5:11

So, Pavinz, you're currently sitting with the FIMPRO team, which is probably why we're next to each other, because I'm an associate in the FinPro team, but next financial year, which is next month, I think yeah, you'll be sitting in the international risks team. So what are you most looking forward to in that next chapter of your training?

Pawinder 5:32

I'm looking forward to the different nature of the work. I feel like international risks, the type of work they deal with is a lot more sometimes complicated, but also different on like for each case basis, and there is that international element as well, which I guess makes it very exciting. But, yeah, I'm excited for like a change in the type of issues I deal with and you'll probably be working quite a lot with queenie, the singapore office yeah, and being able to sort of liaise with the international officers, yeah so shout out queenie.

Dru 6:01

Associate in the international risk team.

Pawinder 6:04

An amazing associate.

Dru 6:06

Okay, steady, because we're at the same level.

Pawinder 6:09

I didn't say one over the other.

Dru 6:11

Okay, well, I wish you luck, pavinz, and I hope that you don't move geographically, because you are a great desk mate.

Pawinder 6:16

Oh, I don't want to move geographically.

Closing remarks and well wishes

Dru 6:18

You like being in the quad? I do love being in the quad. I do love being in the quad, okay. Well, thank you so much for coming on and thank you for explaining your uh path to where you are and you're smashing it. You're a great trainee and, yeah, I just wish you all the best next month in the international risk team thank you, I will miss the finpro team.