Koser Shaheen – Trainee

For family-related reasons I was unable to attend school after the age of 11. This lack of secondary education  meant it was very difficult to find a satisfying career. After spending a few years working in menial jobs I was offered a job in the Revenue Office. I worked my way up from Revenue Assistant to Revenue Officer. To broaden my outlook I also sat on an Employment Tribunal as an employee representative. Whilst listening to and reviewing tribunal cases I saw some of the challenges you come across in law and I was hooked. At first, I wanted to become a barrister but after completing several mini-pupillages, it struck me it might be quite a lonely job. I realised I would be happier in a team and commercial law seemed a better fit.

I went onto university as a mature student to study law. Although I gained a first class degree, when I started to look for a training contract, Freshfields was the only law firm I found who would accept my application without GCSEs or A levels. That meant a lot to me and gave me the confidence to carry on.

Before joining Freshfields, I must admit, I did have some preconceptions. I was expecting everyone to be from Oxbridge, and maybe a bit "stiff upper lip" too. But, now in the second year of my training contract, I can truly say I love working here. The work is great and so are the people. I have had so many interesting experiences within the first year alone. Some of the work I have done includes assisting with a Finnish nuclear power plant litigation case; a takeover of a Scottish Building Society; and litigation arising from the OFT waiver in the now well known bank charges test case. I have travelled and worked in Edinburgh and assisted a client in Birmingham. In my current seat I am assisting our award winning ACT team in the new surge in merger applications and looking forward to a trip to Brussels next week.