Ab Initio
7
Legal professionals share their experience and give great advice...
1. What have been some of the highlights of your career?
I have been very lucky. In recent years I have had two cases in the House of Lords/Supreme Court. Any case going that far is immensely challenging because the issues are complex, you are working in a team of top-flight professionals, and there is no room for compromise on either the quality or thoroughness of the case preparation. I have also worked on some of the largest recent international insolvencies - notably Lehman Brothers – where I find great job satisfaction in working with lawyers from other jurisdictions and combining to find solutions to problems which will work across borders. There is definitely a buzz about picking up the newspapers and reading about the cases that you are working on.
2. What does your typical day involve?
Emails and paperwork, interspersed with travel, meetings and endless conference calls. As a partner in a large firm, I head a team. The result is that I do not personally handle much of the routine communications or even document drafting but can concentrate on the relationship with the client. My technical work consists largely of writing opinions and directing strategy. In order to keep my sanity I try to combine casework and the inevitable administrative demands of partnership with some academic work and active participation in law reform. As examples of the latter, I am a member of some government “stakeholder” groups to consider proposed legislation and I chair the City of London Law Society’s Insolvency Committee. I find stepping back from considering what the law is to consider what it should be very stimulating.
3. What are the benefits of working in a city law firm?
Working in a large City law firm is working on the cutting edge of commercial law. Some legal work is handled exclusively by the major firms in the principal financial centres of the world, with London and New York at the forefront. The stakes are usually high and the clients demand professional work of the highest quality. One of the great virtues of law as a profession is that it offers a huge range of career options – all of which are capable to giving great job satisfaction but, for an English solicitor interested in the development of the law itself, the City offers the greatest scope.
4. What advice would you give to law students that are trying to secure a training contract?
This is so much more difficult than it was when I graduated. The competition for training contracts is severe and the standard of the applications being received is getting higher and higher. I think that the process of preparing for submission of applications should begin as soon as possible after a decision is made to aim for qualification. Ideally, an undergraduate will take the opportunity to build their CV through suitable work experience long before their final year. Suitable work experience does not just mean experience of the inside of a law office although there should be some of that. Firms like to see applicants who do interesting and worthwhile things and who make an impression when they enter a room. A friendly (not familiar) open manner is important and “work hard, play hard” is a good approach All that said, never forget that firms are looking to recruit people who will make good lawyers, however well they can play sport, music or whatever!
Make each application for a training contract specific to the target firm. It takes a great deal of effort but the application that is submitted on the basis of thorough research into the target firm will stand out. Make sure you understand how the target firm sees itself and what it does, then tailor your application accordingly.
5. How can a candidate become commercially aware?
I think that this is particularly difficult and not entirely fair. I am not sure how anyone becomes commercially aware without having done the job – I certainly didn’t. However, it is standard requirement and I think it is best addressed through work experience. Use the opportunities of work experience to observe how businesses operate, why they do what they do and how they might improve. Firms are looking for applicants who will be able to relate to the firm’s clients, understand their needs and priorities, and then deliver results. It is not exactly rocket science but it doesn’t come from studying for exams. It is mainly about putting yourself in the other person’s shoes.
Hamish Anderson | Partner | Norton Rose Fulbright
1. Which area of law has been the most interesting so far?
My practice is generally civil law, with a particular focus on local government. The area which brings my interests in property and public law together is planning law, in which I had some experience prior to coming to the Bar.
2. What have been some of the highlights of your pupillage?
Seeing very high quality advocacy in the appellate courts, and being able to discuss the case afterwards with that barrister.
3. What is your typical day like?
As a civil lawyer, my day is generally based in Chambers reading, drafting and preparing for trials/planning inquiries. My colleagues who are criminal and family practitioners by contrast, are in court more often.