James read history at University College, London
After graduating I got myself an internship as a researcher for a Labour MP
I worked with him for a year. Much of the work involved looking up primary and secondary laws including the Companies Act and studying the individual clauses and thinking about alternative wording. I'd always had an interest in the law, but as I saw it at work and how it drove everything, my interest was re-ignited.
A few months turned into a year, and then I got an opportunity to do an MPhil at Cambridge
The offer of a year in Cambridge, studying my favourite subject, history, with an excellent tutor, was too good an opportunity to pass up. So off I went, but with the intention of applying to a magic circle firm.
Freshfields simply had more stars than any other firm
I got hold of a copy of Lex 100, the insider's guide to law firms, and Freshfields simply had more stars than any other firm. So I made a list with Freshfields at the top. The interview was great. One of the tasks was to discuss a press article, and the topic was the global drinks industry - the specialist subject of the MP I had worked for. So I was away.
As soon as I heard that I had a training contract with some of the smartest people in the country, and with a firm that truly understood the word international, I crossed the other names off my list.
The stepping-stones - the GDL and the LPC - were no big deal, just lots of material to wade through.
I listened to the wisdom of previous trainees and opted for six months in corporate
To begin with the work was largely administrative but soon I was asked to have a go at some drafting. The first document was a straightforward power of attorney for company directors. Then just before Christmas, the pressure started. A pharmaceutical client wanted to buy another product. We had to check with our colleagues in antitrust, competition and trade as to how the competition authorities would react. Would they accept the takeover or believe that it would distort the market? Having checked with the authorities in Canada, South America and Europe, it was clear that our client was going to have to sell a number of its existing products to keep the competition authorities happy.
So the next stage was to sell the products through an auction. Every potential buyer had to have the same access to the same information at the same time. They each needed to be able to review the data and make an offer. By this time we were also working with our intellectual property team to assess how the products should be transferred.
One of the buyers was a French company and it was keen to finalise the deal before Christmas. So there was a busy 48 hours of non-stop working to finalise the documents and get everyone ready to sign.
I've also done three months with the environment and planning regulatory team
The team is part of dispute resolution and when I joined there were very few junior associates, so it was time to step up and take a bit more responsibility. At one point I was responsible for a team of paralegals. The task was to identify all the arguments in support of our client's case and then review a huge number of documents to see what we could use in support of our case. I drew up the table and made the relevant entries as our research got underway, so hour by hour the team could see the strength of our argument. I just loved the work and the responsibility.
From there I moved on to more traditional commercial disputes
And gradually I've been asked to draft more documents. One was a letter of advice to a client about the civil procedure rules and another was a letter to the other side on a multi-billion pound case we are working on.
I've put in for a spell in the antitrust, competition and trade team
And then I'm hoping for a client secondment. We have 27 offices so there are plenty of options on the table.
Oh, and I nearly forgot
There's still time for some terrific sports. I play on the Freshfields football team every week, and we've had some great tours including a tour to Oxford. I also went on a (heavily subsidised) ski trip with the corporate team where our flights and accommodation were all paid for. And when I was with the environment team we had a terrific day out kayaking on the new Olympic course, followed by a meal at a Jamie Oliver restaurant and a karaoke disaster, which is best forgotten.
So, although the firm expects a lot from you, it certainly gives back in style. If I had my time all over again, I'd choose Freshfields. No question.
