Trainee Solicitor
To be honest, I chose law at university because I didn’t know what else to study and thought it would be an interesting subject. I quickly went from there to applying for vacation schemes, which is how I first came to work at Pinsent Masons. I haven’t really looked back since – I’ve no idea what else I’d enjoy doing as much as this.
Finding out about Pinsent Masons was a deliberate choice. When I was applying for vacation schemes I consciously targeted this size of firm. I’d heard some horror stories about people being swallowed up by City law firms and never seeing the light of day again, and I didn’t want to just be a number. I just don’t see how you can make your mark or feel at home as one of 150 or more trainees. That’s what I immediately liked about it here – it’s a top 15 firm, but it’s still of a size where you can quickly get to know everyone on your intake, socialise and make friends.
At the moment I’m currently in my second seat – in intellectual property, which is part of Strategic Business Services. It’s a great department that does a really wide variety of work. I’m mostly involved in soft IP – which means trademarks, copyrights, design rights and general branding. It’s a really interesting area that attracts some very high profile clients. We’ve been involved in three of the biggest IP cases over the last few years. They’ve been to the High Court and have resulted in some really important decisions. The law is constantly evolving, as copyright on the internet is becoming so hard to police.
Prior to this I spent six months in Litigation & Arbitration, working on a big IT dispute worth something like £300m. It was hard work and fairly long hours, but it was a real team effort – everyone was ordering in dinner as a group, and sitting round the table eating and chatting together. I remember quite enjoying that because it felt just like a normal, social evening. That's when you really get to know the people that you’re working with. I was only in my first seat, yet I felt like a really valued member of the team.