AFP Bloom Takes on Its First Trainees

This September, AFP Bloom is taking on trainee solicitors for the first time.

The decision says something about where the firm is going. Hiring a qualified lawyer is, in a sense, a straightforward commercial decision;  someone arrives with the skills to contribute from day one. Taking on a trainee is different. It means investing years of training before that investment pays off, and betting on potential rather than a finished track record. For a firm of AFP Bloom's size, it’s an important strategic decision.

Talia Krais joins the firm as a Trainee Solicitor. She graduated from the University of Nottingham with First-Class Honours in English, before completing the PGDL and a Master's in Law, both with Distinction. Her dissertation examined whether parental alienation should be recognised in UK law, a reflection of her particular interest in how the courts navigate the complexities of family relationships. Before joining AFP Bloom, Talia worked as a paralegal at another London family law boutique, gaining experience across divorce, financial remedy and child arrangement matters. She has since completed both parts of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination.

Eliza Norman's path has been closer to home. She joined AFP Bloom as a paralegal in 2024, working alongside the firm's solicitors on both complex financial remedies and children work, while completing the PGDL and SQE. She began her training contract this September, a trainee shaped, from the outset, by AFP Bloom's own way of practising.

Taken together, the two appointments reflect a deliberate choice: to build a pipeline of home-grown lawyers who understand how AFP Bloom thinks that family law should be delivered. For clients, that has a practical meaning too. A firm willing to invest in training its own has depth beneath its partners, and the kind of long-term resourcing that comes from planning for the next decade.

As Talia and Eliza begin their training contracts, AFP Bloom's message is clear: it’s about building something that lasts.