The Legal Update
I formally applied for and was selected to report for The Legal Update, a subscription-based legal and commercial awareness platform for over 150 paying students and aspiring lawyers. In this role, I research and select a current commercial topic and write a 300-word article each week. Within the articles, I divide the content into sections; ‘Story in Brief’, ‘Key Takeaways’, and ‘Interview Essentials’. This allows for easily readable content and it ensures I go beyond the material facts, to assess the wider legal and commercial implications for law firms and businesses. My articles also engage with previous cases, trends and future developments across the sector, to help students understand the importance of comparative legal analysis. Some of my previous articles have covered themes such as SPAC regulation, the rebound of global M&A, litigation funders, the UK's autumnal Budget and the shift to dynamic working practices.
Ultimately, this position has starkly elevated my writing skills, analytical mindset and commercial awareness. My constant engagement with commercial and financial developments alongside law firms’ updates, has allowed me to understand the different functions of firms and their lawyers within commercial transactions. I am attracted to a career in law due to its intellectual provision of service, client-facing model and the reputation of the profession. I now want to implement this knowledge and these interests at a firm that would enable me to engage with clients, across a broad range of leading global industries.
Regional Law Firm [Vacation Scheme]
After being successful at application and interview stage, I was selected to attend a vacation scheme at X, a leading regional firm. During the scheme, I rotated across the firm’s six practice areas, including corporate, dispute resolution and family. Although this experience confirmed my aspirations to become a qualified solicitor, it also helped me to realise my desire to work at a far larger, global city firm. The culture and personable environment at X also confirmed my ambition to be part of a slightly smaller trainee intake, with access to higher quality legal exposure from the outset.
Throughout this experience, I carried out due diligence using articles of association and reviewed a guarantee and indemnity agreement. These tasks enabled me to understand the obligations of a guarantor within a commercial agreement and the risks that arise with personal liability. In the property team, I assisted with the drafting of a commercial lease agreement, acting for the tenant. During this task I compiled a table, noting the details, obligations and deadlines for the client, which allowed me to grasp a key understanding of the structure and conditions of a commercial lease. I was later delighted to learn that my work was being sent to the client, as part of a wider advice document. Finally, I sat in numerous virtual client meetings on family and criminal matters and was entrusted to take and then upload multiple attendance notes.
City Law Firm [Work Experience]
I was successful in securing a week with the firm’s corporate M&A team. During this experience, I attended team briefings relating to current activity, including mid-upper market M&A deals and warranties and indemnities insurance projects. I was tasked with assisting in the drafting of due diligence reports, sales and purchase agreements and board minutes transactional documents. For notation and research, I used Companies House and Practical Law resources.
This experience provided me with an insight into the work of transactional lawyers at a global law firm. By sitting in an office alongside a partner and associate, I had the opportunity to learn through osmosis and witness how fee-earners engaged with their clients. The seamless interdepartmental collaboration enabled me to analyse the functions and interactions of a full-service law firm, whilst also understanding the roles of commercial lawyers within transactions. I was attracted to the level of communication and applied intellect beneath cross-border deals, as it outlined the integrity and resourcefulness of the profession. I was also fortunate to attend senior board meetings between the departmental leads. This exposure allowed me to understand how law firms pivot their business around client demand, to maximise their services and caseload. This insight into the challenging yet engaging atmosphere of a commercial law firm has engendered my desire to become a solicitor.
‘X’ Pub
During university holidays, I managed the front of house and food services areas at X Pub. This institution was taken over in 2018 and since then I have worked alongside the new ownership to increase the portfolio of the restaurant. I have assisted with the recruitment and professional training of junior staff, enhanced the pub’s social media presence and improved the number of customer reviews online. On shift, I was in-charge of people management, role delegation and opening and closing the restaurant. I believe this part-time job has greatly improved my leadership and time management skills, as I balanced this role alongside winter and spring university revision and my weekly agenda.
Moreover, my constant communication with clients and team-members, of all ages, portrays my ability to cater for and resolve diverging consumer needs. This experience has strongly improved my personable nature and adaptability, given the importance of enthusiasm and responsibility when dealing with customers' issues. As manager, it was essential that I was alert to the decisions of the team and the timely needs of paying customers, to ensure they received the best experience possible.
Ultimately, this exposure has provided me with a critical insight into the operation of businesses and the significance of client service within the food services industry. I am now looking to enhance this commercial awareness as I enter the legal profession.
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