First-hand experiences

Transcript

Why did you choose law as a career?

Whilst at school, I was allocated a role within a government body in their legal department. That was my first experience with the law and it was enjoyable. From there, I decided to do a law degree which was good fun, hard work never the less, and thereafter I did my legal practice course. I did the course part-time over two years and worked full-time within a financial institution. There, I worked with general counsel with legal and compliance issues, and that’s when I decided I wanted to work within a commercial City law firm such as Taylor Wessing.

How did you come to train with Taylor Wessing?

I applied for a training contract at Taylor Wessing whilst I was at law school. Taylor Wessing just stood out from the crowd for me, particularly as it’s highly regarded in the areas of law that I’m interested in, namely Corporate Finance and Employment. Secondly the international aspect just provides an opportunity for me to broaden my knowledge through dealing with multi-national issues.

What impresses you about Taylor Wessing?

There are quite a few things that impress me about Taylor Wessing. Firstly, these amazing offices that we’ve quite recently moved into. The people that I work with are just really good, approachable yet highly skilled in the areas that they work with. The fact that we’re centrally located means we can be close to our clients. And the fact that we’ve been able to retain quite an ethical principal with them as well – I’m involved in quite a few Pro Bono activities which is a huge benefit to me personally.

Tell us about your seats so far.

Well, at Taylor Wessing we have to do four seats. One of them has to be a contentious seat and one of them needs to be a corporate seat. I’ve managed to fulfil both of those requirements so far. My first seat was in Corporate and my second seat is in Employment.  Both of those seats couldn’t be any more different really. Corporate being very commercial, I’ve been involved in drafting sale and purchase agreements, board minutes and been involved in various data room exercises and various acquisitions. Whereas Employment has a contentious element to it so the drafting experience there has been more in respective of witness statements and instructions to counsel, grounds of resistance and responses to unfair dismissal claims and that kind of work really.

Are you happy with the level of responsibility you have been given?

I’m very happy with the level of responsibility I’ve been given so far. The first half of my first seat, I was more sheltered, which at the time I appreciated. But since, I’ve been able to resume the level of responsibility that I feel comfortable with and on various occasions and various matters I’ve been dealing with, I’m the main contact with the client so they contact me with the queries that they have.

What inspires you in your role?

One of the reasons that I wanted to be a lawyer was that I wanted to do work which had an impact on businesses and the work that they do day to day. Taylor Wessing have, in the client-first approach that it has, enabled me to do that. I’m constantly inspired by my peers, the people I work with and their approach to dealing with clients. I’m motivated by my success-driven attitude. I always want to do well in the work that I do and I think that keeps me going, constantly striving to better myself and the work that I do.

What projects have you been involved with so far?

One thing that stands out for me is going to the Royal Courts of Justice on an ad-hoc basis, turning up there and speaking to the Master and trying to get him to agree to sign a consent order that we were seeking on behalf of our client. Just explaining the case to the Master and fortunately, managing to get him to agree to sign it and to go back to my supervisor with the paper in my hand, having it signed and saying ‘Yeah, I’ve done it. I’ve got the job done’.