Natalia Fortuna and Samantha Smith graduate from Ogier's Trainee English Solicitor Programme

Natalia Fortuna and Samantha Smith are the newest graduates from Ogier's English Solicitor Training Programme.

Natalia is now an associate in the firm's Private Wealth team in Jersey and Samantha has joined the Private Wealth team in Guernsey, also as an associate.

The two newly-qualified solicitors successfully completed Ogier's two-year training scheme, which is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The scheme sees trainees take on up to four seats, including time in Litigation, and incorporates the Professional Skills Course and an experiential litigation course, with a mock trial at the Magistrate's Court.

Ogier is one of only two Channel Island firms to provide a City equivalent solicitor training programme. A number of counsel in the firm are previous graduates, as well as partner Richard Daggett, who now leads the scheme.

"We are delighted to celebrate Natalia and Samantha's success and welcome them both to their new roles as associates. Qualifying as a solicitor is a landmark in anyone's legal career and our investment in supporting trainees through a dedicated development programme equivalent to those run by City firms is something we take significant pride in," he said.

Natalia's previous supervisor Daniel Maine said: "I am delighted to hear that Natalia has decided to qualify with Ogier – she is bright, dedicated and a pleasure to work with, and I am confident that she has a bright future ahead of her."

Partner Catherine Moore, who works with Samantha in the Private Wealth team, said: "We are delighted that Samantha has qualified with Ogier and will be remaining with the Private Wealth team as an associate. Samantha is very smart and has a fantastic attention to detail and an ability to manage tasks with real efficiency.  Her qualification is a further great addition to our expanding team which has grown rapidly over the last six months.  I am sure that Samantha has an excellent career ahead of her and we are very pleased that she has decided to begin it with Ogier."

Find out more about Ogier's Trainee English Solicitor Programme here.