One of the big challenges of the transition from student to professional life is to find a sustainable balance between work and play. We try to facilitate trainees to find that balance by providing opportunities for you to join in with a variety of social and sporting activities. From casual Friday evening drinks and organised department days out to tennis tournaments and tag rugby, trainees are encouraged to get involved.
One of the biggest events on the trainee calendar is the annual weekend away. A great chance for trainees from Dublin and Belfast to socialise together, the weekend is often the standout trainee event of the year. Recent destinations include Blessington, Co. Wicklow and Newtown Stewart, Co. Tyrone but last year it was the turn of Portumna, Co. Galway. Gladiator events, paintballing and a casino night provided a great opportunity to showcase skills developed outside the office.
The firm also encourages trainees to maintain their sporting interests – or develop new ones by joining one of the many sports teams. A wide range of activities is organised including 5-aside soccer, golf outings and tennis lessons / tournaments. The Arthur Cox soccer team has proved to be extremely successful in recent years and last year was crowned the Solicitors’ League champion. A successful year was also enjoyed by the tag rugby team which competes in the Spring and Summer leagues. For those who prefer a gentler pace Chi Gung Yoga classes are offered in the boardrooms, and the firm benefits from discounted membership in a number of sports clubs and gyms.
Other social initiatives that have proved popular include the Arthur Cox “Brian Box” table quiz, poker evenings, and lunchtime tours of the Chester Beatty Library and Aviva Stadium. Never ones to avoid the theatrical, trainees also create the now infamous Trainee Christmas Sketch. Last year’s sketch was an hilarious short film satirising life in the office.
Trainee Corporate Social Responsibility
The firm supports our trainees in their successful charitable initiatives.
Arthur Cox Mwandi Project
In early 2008, a group of trainees had a desire to do some voluntary work overseas. They were very conscious of the history and legacy of their founder, Arthur Cox, who in his later years joined the priesthood and became a missionary in Zambia. With this in mind, they approached the Irish charity Slí Eile (now Magis Ireland) to explore the possibility of making a link to a project in Zambia. The idea for the Arthur Cox Mwandi Project was born and in July 2008 a group of Arthur Cox trainees ventured to Mwandi in south eastern Zambia in support of rural communities in the remote villages of Masese, Limpumpu and Lutaba with the goal of lifting standards of living and improving health facilities in the area.
Since 2008, the Mwandi project has gone from strength to strength with Arthur Cox trainees travelling to the region annually to continue to develop this work. The project is run by the trainees, in partnership with Magis Ireland, and the trainees engage in the project at their own expense so as to ensure that all funds raised go directly towards the charitable objectives. It is a unique project in that it is driven by the needs of the local people and local leaders, governmental and tribal, who are integral to planning and who work alongside the trainees on the ground. As part of this cooperation in 2010 the Chief of the Losi tribe in Mwandi laid down a tribal law protecting the investment made by the trainees in the area and enshrining the relationship between Arthur Cox and the local communities.
Over the past four years the project has raised approximately €75,000 to benefit the Mwandi region. All funds raised go directly to the project and to Magis Ireland for its charitable efforts in Ireland. The trainees have refurbished Masese Health Clinic including providing for solar driven running water and solar powered electricity. They have funded the drilling of bore holes and the installation of water pumps in Masese and Lutaba, giving reliable medical facilities and fresh water to over 5000 people. The trainees have also driven the development of an agricultural project aimed to create self-sufficiency by teaching farming techniques to communities to help them overcome the difficulties encountered by climate change and desertification. Last year the trainees provided the agricultural project with a hammer mill empowering the local community to produce its own food produce from farming. The trainees also support local schools with supplies and desks and provide funding to a local Orphan and Vulnerable Children centre.
This year 16 trainees from the 2009 intake travelled to Zambia to build ablution blocks to raise sanitary standards at the Masese Health Clinic. Plans are already in motion for 2012 and 2013 when trainees will erect a maternity wing to the clinic.
