A Week In The Life of a Summer Legal Intern at BCLP
Back in October 2018 I successfully applied for a summer vacation scheme placement at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, a full-service law firm in London. Initially, I was drawn to the firm after meeting genuine and engaging trainees at a law fair at University. After researching further, I gained more of an understanding of who the firm’s client list includes (Goldman Sachs, Deliveroo and Apple to name a few) and the type of services they provide (based around four key practice pillars: corporate, finance, real estate, and litigation and corporate risk). Although I am certain that I want to pursue a career in law, I am not yet set on which area of law I would like to qualify into. Therefore, it is important for me to be able to train at a firm like BCLP who offer both depth and breadth of work opportunities to their trainees.
After what simultaneously felt like a lifetime and no time at all, June rolled around and it was time for my vacation scheme placement to begin. Helpfully, the firm’s graduate recruitment team had been in frequent communication with us since we were offered a place on the program - sharing information ranging from accommodation recommendations to a thirty-minute phone call offering feedback from our assessment centre. This really put me at ease as I felt as though they were really invested in making sure that we all felt as comfortable and prepared for the scheme as we could. After I moved into my accommodation nearby, I took this beautiful photo of the skyline view from right outside the firm’s office.
Monday
On Monday we spent the whole day being welcomed into the firm. We were given an inspiring talk from the London office’s managing partner, Segun Osuntokun. As a person of colour, working at a genuinely diverse and inclusive law firm is of paramount importance to me. BCLP is co-chaired by two women, and the managing partner of the London office is a black man. These two stats alone show that not only do the firm aim for diversity at junior levels, but there are diverse figures in the most senior positions, too. Later in the week, I was able to meet with Daisy Reeves, partner and LGBT* champion at the firm. She discussed the firm’s different LGBT* initiatives and how they have reached second place on Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index. On Monday afternoon we were briefed on our ongoing vacation scheme pro bono project with Reprieve, where our work will actually be used to inform the organisation’s work.
Tuesday
During the vacation scheme, you are allocated one department for each week you are at the firm, as well as trainee, associate, and partner buddies to support you within those departments. On Tuesday my trainee buddy and I got to attend court on a financial remedy case, which was a really exciting opportunity. Here, my attention to detail was a key skill as my written notes would be typed up and form a record of what had taken place at the hearing. I didn’t get to spend much time in my department afterwards, but I began to write up my court attendance note as I knew that it would be a lengthy task. In the late afternoon, Michael Anderson delivered a session titled How the City Works and explained more about his role as a partner in the corporate finance team. Afterwards, we had a networking session with our buddies for our second seats (as well as other trainees) which made us all feel excited for next week.
Wednesday
Wednesday’s session was called Creating a City Landmark and focused on the various real estate projects the firm has undertaken in the City - most notably the Walkie Talkie building - and how trainees are involved at each stage of the process. As I will not be sitting with a real estate team during my time at the firm, I found this session really useful in explaining how the different real estate teams work independently and with other departments. Increasingly, BCLP is finding that their work is sector-focused rather than departmentalised, meaning that communication and collaboration within the firm are more important than ever. Afterwards, we were treated to a four-course lunch where four vacation scheme students ate with a partner, two associates, and a member of graduate recruitment. This was another opportunity to learn more about different departments at the firm, as well as learning about their experiences both joining the firm and progressing to senior positions within it. Towards the end of the day, I attended a video conference that the private client tax team held on Controlled Foreign Corporations. They were linked with their counterpart teams in the New York City and Atlanta offices. Following the merger between Berwin Leighton Paisner (UK) and Bryan Cave (USA) in 2018, the firm regularly holds these information-sharing sessions to ensure that the firm takes a cohesive approach to its advice to clients and that both legacy firms are aware of how each jurisdiction operates.
Thursday
Our first session on Thursday morning was a Transport and Asset Finance case study. A partner in the team, Jamie Wiseman-Clarke, discussed what the firm does in this area, as well as sharing a number of examples of work that they have done for clients. This session was also live-linked to Hong Kong, allowing the vacation scheme students there to learn more about the department, too. Our case study was given to us the day before so that we could be quizzed on information on the term sheet for an aviation finance deal. We all took part in the quiz using our phones and it got very competitive! The graduate recruitment team totally re-designed the vacation scheme sessions to incorporate more interactivity, so this was a fun way to learn about a finance deal. In the afternoon we were taught a session on How to Pitch to Clients by two business development managers. This was a great insight into how creativity and innovative thinking are championed at BCLP to pitch for work to new and existing clients. We found out that we will be doing our own client pitches next week which is another interactive way to showcase our presentation and creative thinking skills. Alongside the various presentation sessions and ongoing projects, we are given work within our department by different members of the team. One task I was asked to complete was research to determine whether our client was tax liable for a property they held overseas. I found that I was able to use my intuition and research skills to navigate online legal libraries to find updates in the area. I put together a memorandum for the trainee who gave me the task and ensured that I checked all spelling and grammar before sending it over. Although it may take an extra few minutes, it is definitely important to check every detail of a written task, as a small mistake can have a huge impact on your work.
Friday
I cannot believe how quickly the first week went by! Friday’s morning session by Bruce Braude (director of legal operations solutions) was around Innovation and Tech at BCLP. Again, this was linked to the vacation scheme students in Hong Kong - which is a visual representation of the global reach of the firm. I found the session really engaging as I am particularly interested in technology both in terms of client-side work and the legal tech used by BCLP. Bruce discussed how the firm stays ahead of its competition not only by buying into tech but, also, having a culture driven by openness and embracing of change. BCLP is a market-leader in tech - they were the first firm to offer managed legal services, the first firm to make a flexible lawyer pool, and the first firm to offer a dedicated legal operations consultancy service for clients. For BCLP trainees, having technology in place to automate routine tasks is exciting as it means that trainees can spend that time being exposed to more complex legal work. We have been filmed throughout the week, and on Friday afternoon I was asked to go up to the roof of the office to film some scenic shots. I put aside all my fear of heights and the team made me feel really comfortable in front of the camera. I was invited to have lunch with all of the trainees in private client, which might sound minor but it really made me feel like part of the team (as they had done all week). Something that was made clear from day one is the importance of the culture at BCLP, and how the people at the firm are what differentiate it from their competitors. I definitely noticed the non-hierarchical nature of the teams as partners were always happy and willing to help me and answer any questions that I had. After work, most of the vacation scheme students headed to a nearby bar to celebrate the end of week one.
Next week
Our final partner interviews take place on Monday, where we will be asked a range of questions ranging from our career motivations and reasons for wanting to join BCLP to sharing what we have done in the first week. These interviews are really important, but the graduate recruitment team take a range of factors and feedback into account from across the two weeks before making training contract offers. I’m also taking part in the London Legal Walk on Monday after work with some other vacation schemers - a 10k walk around ‘Legal London’ with hundreds of lawyers to raise money for charity. I’m really looking forward to this as it is a great opportunity to get involved with all that the firm has to offer and raise money too! We have our Reprieve and client pitch project presentations next week, as well as a social event on Thursday evening. If you want to see what myself and the other schemers get up to next week, follow the BCLP trainees Instagram page here. If you want to know more about the firm, the work they do, and whether you could see yourself as a trainee, visit their website here.
