Trainee, 2021 - 2023, Associate 2023
Departments to date: Litigation; Client Secondment; Commercial Property; Corporate
University: The University of Edinburgh
Degree: French and Spanish (MA), First Class Honours with Distinction
9.00am: I arrive at the office, opting for stairs over lift because yesterday my health kick started ‘tomorrow’. We officially start work at 9:30am, but most people come in a bit earlier to get started or to catch up with colleagues beforehand and I like to do the same. I brief the senior associate in my team on Thursday’s post-work-social boogying. I have a comically strong coffee to dust off my brain cells. I check my emails and look through my ‘to do’ list, numbering tasks in priority order for the day ahead.
9.30am: A partner in my team asks me to draft a share buyback agreement, together with related written resolution and board minutes, and brings me up to speed on the background of the matter. We have a more general catch-up too and exchange a few one-liners from a stand-up show we have both seen recently.
I have not drafted a buyback agreement before, but I am trusted to give it my best shot. For any parts I am unsure of, I note down my reasoning for certain drafting choices as I go. If I have any more pressing questions, I can simply pop into the next-door office to ask. Everyone at MT is genuinely invested in your development as a trainee, so I am very comfortable asking for help when I need it. Once I am happy with the first drafts, I send them to the relevant partner for comment.
12.00pm: Our Professional Support Lawyer runs a session on an upcoming change in legislation, highlighting the ways in which it is expected to affect the firm and our work. Attending these sessions is a great way to stay informed and to ask questions in a relaxed and supportive environment. Although this particular type of session is directed at the Commercial Property team (our largest department), anyone is welcome, particularly juniors.
1:00pm: I head out with colleagues for a weather-dependent stroll and, if my past self has failed my present self on the ambitious meal-prepping front (almost guaranteed), to grab something to eat. Our office is very well located; there are lots of great lunch spots nearby as well as places to sit in to gaze up at St Pauls and down at your M&S Best Ever Prawn sarnie in all their glory.
2.00pm: In relation to an ongoing purchase, I see that the seller’s solicitor has come back with comments on various ancillary documents being negotiated alongside the share purchase agreement; for example, the disclosure letter and directors’ letters of resignation. I review the mark-ups and prepare my own, with comments, before heading to the next-door office to present my thoughts to the senior associate. She confirms her agreement with my amendments, or we discuss certain elements further. I edit my mark-ups where necessary and send them on to the seller’s solicitor for approval. I also send an updated document list (another typical trainee task), tracking which documents are in agreed form or otherwise who the drafts are with and what stage they are at.
4.00pm: Committee meeting. There are a number of dedicated committees at MT; for example, the Wellbeing and Social Committees. Anyone can join any that they feel a particular affinity towards. I’m a member of the CSR Committee, which holds regular meetings to discuss our plans and budget for the months ahead. Today, my colleague runs us through a leaflet of proposed activities sent in by the East End Community Foundation, an organisation MT works with that connects businesses with grassroots organisations in the East End. We consider which of the activities we can offer to run at MT, such as mock interviews and CV reviewing sessions.
5:00pm: I receive comments back from the corporate supervising partner on some completion board minutes and an undertaking I have drafted. As I share an office with my supervisor, I can simply turn to them to ask whether it’s a good time to run through the proposed amendments. We do so, and I amend the documents and send them on to the solicitors on the other side of that deal for approval.
6.00pm: I head out to a seminar hosted by a barristers’ chambers nearby, which is followed by networking drinks. There is plenty of opportunity at MT to attend educational and/or networking events, often hosted by us. These are great for meeting clients of the firm in person, as well as other legal professionals.
