A pair of aspiring colleagues at a south coast law firm have taken the next steps in their careers by qualifying as solicitors.

Ellis Jones Solicitors has welcomed the formal qualifications for Tayla Baird and Victoria Simpkin who work in its Employment and Business Services departments respectively.

Victoria joins two other team members at the firm who have passed the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) in the past six months.

Introduced in 2021, the SQE is a centralised assessment route designed to achieve consistently high practice standards in England’s legal profession. Preparation involves balancing the demands of day-to-day work with rigorous study ahead of a two-stage exam process.

Victoria joined Ellis Jones as a Legal Secretary in 2015 working as a paralegal before starting her solicitor training.

Based in Bournemouth, she covers a wide range of business-related legal issues including shareholder agreements, trademark applications, Companies House filings, selling and buying businesses, prize competition assistance and company restructure advice.

Tayla, who is based at Ellis Jones’ London office, completed a Masters in Law in 2020 and has qualified after completing a training contract at the firm.

Her caseload includes advising on workplace disputes and employment tribunal claims.

Before focusing on the Employment department, Tayla spent part of her training contract in Ellis Jones’ Banking & Finance Litigation and Family law teams.

Nigel Smith, Ellis Jones Managing Partner, said:

"Congratulations to Victoria and Tayla on their hard work and much-deserved solicitor qualifications. It is immensely pleasing to see team members with an interest in furthering their legal careers do so well.”

The firm, which has eight offices in Bournemouth, Dorchester, Poole, Ringwood, Swanage, Broadstone, Wimborne and London, has a policy of providing training contracts and other professional development opportunities.

Alongside senior staff, its 190-strong team includes graduates, legal executives, paralegals and placement students.

The first Ellis Jones team member to qualify as a solicitor through the SQE route was Leah Sharman in the Banking & Finance Litigation department in autumn 2024.

Leah was followed earlier this year by Daisy Kershaw in Wills, Trusts & Probate.

Two other Ellis Jones colleagues, Wai Chan in Banking & Finance Litigation and Matt Rushent in Contentious Trusts & Probate, also qualified as solicitors through their training contracts in 2024.