Jon read English at Bristol University and gained a 2:1.
I always had a law career in mind. I thought I'd be quite good at it: a love of words; a respected profession; and a good career path. For me it was a natural choice.
I did a vacation scheme while I was at
Bristol
But it wasn't with Freshfields, it was with an American firm. I
didn't enjoy it much. Let's say they had a very specific way of
doing things - you were put in a room and expected to 'get on with
it'.
But it didn't put me off
law
I wanted an international firm in the magic circle. To me it was
all about the quality of the work, the size and range of the
departments and working for some impressive clients.
Freshfields gave me an interview and was the first firm to say 'yes'. So I said 'yes' straight away and stopped looking.
So far I've done six months in corporate
- mainly private equity
It included the usual proof reading and collating but also some
drafting which was a great challenge. It was: 'here's a precedent -
have a go'.
I also did six months in dispute
resolution, which was really interesting
For the first three months I worked on a big case for the former
auditors of a bank that got into difficulties. Our client was being
investigated by the regulators and the big question was, 'Did they
act negligently in doing an audit of the bank?' I had to review
loads of emails and then help with the witness interviews. To begin
with I listened and took notes, and then I was encouraged to ask
questions.
For the second three
months...
I was attached to the engineering, procurement and construction
team. My cases involved a public authority looking at selling a
site to a potential nuclear power operator, and, just as
controversial, a construction company wanting to develop a shopping
centre.
Now I'm in banking...
And today I'm working on a presentation about secondary debt issues
for someone else to deliver to a client.
The hours can be long and when work arrives from all directions you need to work quickly, manage expectations (everything always takes longer than you think) and meet some immoveable deadlines. But rest assured, there's no culture of pushiness and no obvious competition between trainees. Each of us just tries to give of our best.
