Trainee 2014 - 2016, Associate 2016, Senior Associate 2022
Departments to date: Construction, Commercial Property, Property Litigation, Client Secondment to Nestle.
University: University of Sheffield
Degree: Law, 2(1)
9.00 am: I am currently in my final seat on a client secondment to Nestle. Nestle are based in Gatwick and I use the train journey to the office to look at my emails and check that nothing urgent has come in overnight. I check in with Maples Teesdale to keep up to date on any property matters that I am still involved with and check that my supervising partner doesn’t need anything from me. I am still working on a number of matters that are ongoing and where I have built up a rapport with the client. We get a lot of client contact and it is important to maintain that even when on secondment.
9.30 am: I attend the weekly Group Legal Team Meeting. The meeting is a good opportunity to find out what the rest of the team have been working on and discuss what everyone will be occupied with for the coming week. At the meeting one of the intellectual property lawyers asks if I can assist him with a potential copyright infringement matter where a company has used images of one of Nestle’s products for a promotion without Nestle’s consent. I am asked to look online and find out exactly where the company has used the images. I carry out a thorough search and it is apparent that most of the images have been uploaded to the company’s twitter page. I let my Supervisor know the result of my findings and he asks me to draft a letter to the company requesting that they immediately take down the images and refrain from using Nestle’s images in the future without the necessary authority. I draft the letter and send an email to the relevant Business at Nestle letting them know the course of action we are taking.
12.00 pm: I attend a lunch time training session on the Groceries Supply Code of Practice for the Nestle Pet Food Business which is carried out by two of the solicitors. The training session sets out the regulatory framework and highlights what the retailers’ obligations are in this area. The Legal Team are deeply embedded with the various Nestle Businesses and there is a really good turn-out for what is an interesting and interactive session.
2.00 pm: I have been reviewing and updating a loan agreement for storage freezers for the Nestle Ice Cream Business. As part of the process I have produced a crib sheet which makes it clear what parts of the document need to be filled in when they complete the agreements with their customers. I have a meeting with the contact in the Nestle Business and we go through the changes I have made to the agreement. The contact invites me to a team meeting later in the week and asks if I can go through the new agreement and crib sheet with the rest of their team. I spend some time putting together a power point presentation in preparation for the meeting. At Nestle you are expected to be able to take meetings and present on the work that you have carried out.
4.00 pm: At Nestle there is a “Pets at Work” programme where employees are allowed to take their dogs with them to work – provided they are well-behaved! One of my colleagues would like an update on some research I have been carrying out for her on changes in the Irish market. As she has her dog with her today, she suggests that we go to one of the newly created gardens for dogs, aptly named “Central Bark”. It is a nice day and we take the chance to discuss my findings in the sunshine.
4.30 pm: I get back to my desk to an email from one of the members of the Finance Team asking me to review the terms and conditions of a retainer for an external tax advisor. I review the document and highlight a couple of points that they should not agree to.
6.00 pm: I check with my Supervisor that there is nothing urgent that needs doing that evening and then take the opportunity to head to Nestle’s on-site gym before going home. Although property is not a major focus on my secondment to Nestle, it is great that it provides a wide variety of work that is only going to benefit me, and my clients, when I qualify. I have had experience of each element of the property cycle as well as client experience during my trainee seats meaning I am fully equipped to become a real estate lawyer on qualification.
