JUNIOR colleagues at a Bournemouth-based legal firm swapped their office desks for a hands-on team building day run by professional soldiers from the British Army Reserve.

The lawyers, trainees and paralegals from Ellis Jones Solicitors completed military-themed activities designed to challenge them while encouraging confidence in problem solving, leadership and ‘followership’.

Badged as ‘Operation Team Build’, the experience featured against-the-clock assignments that required participants to work together to pool ideas on tactics, delegate tasks and take responsibility. Activities tested both physical skills and logical thinking.

They included a subarctic survival scenario and a ‘mission possible’ exercise that involved performing 24 command tasks in 45 minutes.

The day was organised by the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, the UK’s part-time tank regiment, and held at their centre in Wallisdown Road, Bournemouth.

A unique unit, they are based across the South West and offer the opportunity to train on the Challenger 2 tank alongside civilian day jobs and studies.

The day was co-ordinated from the Ellis Jones’ side by senior associate solicitor Conor Maher, a commissioned officer in the Army Cadet Force with the rank of captain.

Conor said: “We invited junior team members from different departments to challenge themselves on some of the elements you would find on an army leadership course.

“They have now gained a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, leadership styles, capacity for critical thinking and how they go about problem solving.

“At the same time, it gave our team some fascinating, first-hand insight into the mission-critical decisions that reservists and other armed forces personnel have to make in what can often be life and death situations on the frontline.”

Among the Ellis Jones team members taking part were trainee solicitors Tayla Baird and Suzi Daver.

Tayla, who is based in the firm’s London office and works in the Family Law department, said she found the day “engaging, motivating and really good fun from start to finish”.

Suzi, a member of Ellis Jones’ Dispute Resolution team, said: “I found the time-constraint activities the most challenging.

“Liaising with team mates, delegating tasks, time-management and understanding what was set with a time pressure was quite intense.”