Laura read modern languages (Spanish, Catalan and French) at Durham University
I first became interested in law when I was at school
When I was 14 my school managed to get me some work experience at Rotherham Magistrates Court. They also set up a mock interview for me with a big national law firm. From then on a career in law was a definite possibility.
I went to a couple of unspectacular open days
Both were at magic circle law firms (not Freshfields) and I had an interview with one of them. It threw me, I was expecting some challenging questions, but all they did was chat. I tried to get on the Freshfields vacation scheme but didn't get in. Then in my final year, I applied to Freshfields for a training contract. I liked the firm's approach: a formal application form and an opportunity to 'tell us what you want to tell us about yourself' in 850 words. Great, I thought, Freshfields knows what it wants.
I got an interview
I did a written exercise - quite straightforward - followed by an interview about a newspaper article and an interview about me. It was great.
The last year has been the shortest year of my life
I've been so busy, I haven't had time to reflect on life pre-work. I've done two six-month transactional seats: one in structured and asset finance, and one in corporate. Both have involved heavy-duty financial transactions.
It's exciting and you need to be organised
I thought the hours would be long and the people a bit intense. I was right about the hours, but completely wrong about the people. The people are great.
The first huge transaction I worked on was about buying trains
It involved a big team - several lawyers from corporate, tax and employment, pensions and benefits. But the people are great. I did a bit of drafting - minor stuff - but as it came closer to signing it was the trainees' job to coordinate everything. We had to make sure that all the documents were in the right place and organise the signing rooms, which involved our client, the banks and their legal teams, and the buyer and their legal team. The closer you get to the signing, the longer the hours.
The amount of responsibility was more than I had anticipated
But I always knew what I had to do and there's loads of support. I always felt confident that my supervisor knew my level of understanding. It can be exhausting, intense work, the hours are odd, and you're always learning. Just what I wanted.
My advice?
Keep an open mind as to which area of law is for you. You don't know what you're capable of. Believe me.
