Freddie Wright, Associate, Mergers & Acquisitions
go through periods of hard work, managing competing expectations and “plate spinning,” as that experience prepared me for the step up to junior associate. Having recently returned from a client secondment opportunity, I gained additional valuable insights from the client side. I am excited about my future at the firm!
Vacation Scheme Summer 2016, Training Contract 2018 - 2020
Looking back over my two-year Training Contract at V&E, I cannot overstate how well it prepared me
Lauren-Emma Parrott, Associate, Complex Commercial Litigation Vacation Scheme Summer 2016, Training Contract 2018-2020 Having studied for a non-law degree, I felt a little apprehensive
for life as a newly qualified lawyer at the firm. Structurally, the Training Contract is unique in being arranged as a fixed-seat “rotational” contract for the first year, and a floating-seat “non-rotational” contract for the second year. I sat in the M&A and Capital Markets (MACM) group in my first six months and the Complex Commercial Litigation (CCL) group in my second six months. This allowed me to immerse myself fully in each group’s work and to really get to know my colleagues.
about making a career change to law. But as soon as I stepped foot in V&E on the first day of my Vacation Scheme, I knew I needn’t have worried. I was fully embraced by the Litigation team and was involved in every aspect of their day-to-day workings – joining a client meeting and being involved in team discussions about ongoing matters. I wasn’t confined to an office and given abstract drafting or research tasks, like I had previously experienced at other firms. I was made to feel immediately welcomed, by a team who was keen to share their experiences and knowledge with me from the get-go.
Exposure to Different Areas of Law
Throughout my training experience, I improved my work product and thought processes through both formal reviews and informal feedback. I then moved into my third seat in the Finance group. As this seat took place during the non-rotational part of my Training Contract, I was able to work closely on Finance matters while seeking out additional work from the MACM group. I built up a solid grounding in finance knowledge, learning from a partner with whom I shared an office (and who also trained at the firm), while being part of a MACM team acting for a leading private equity firm as it exited one of its most significant and successful infrastructure investments in Europe. I continued to be involved in deals for the MACM group as I moved into my fourth seat, in the Energy Transactions/ Projects (ETP) team. The experience I gained during the previous 18 months was put to good use in assisting the ETP team with their M&A transactions.
Inclusive Teams & Interesting Work
Not only do I value the team’s inclusivity and approachability, but the type of work that I experienced on my Vacation Scheme, throughout my Training Contract, and today as an NQ, is unlike any other. Most of the disputes I work on involve parties from completely different jurisdictions, with interests in projects that are even further from home. The nature of the disputes is frequently underscored by political and cultural issues between state- entities and private companies, which adds yet another layer to some already complex contractual legal issues. I imagined that because of the complex nature of the disputes, it would be a while before a Trainee was given responsibility on those matters. How wrong I was! V&E is excellent at recognizing good work and the abilities of its Trainees, and then assigning more challenging tasks the next time around. That is certainly one of the things I value most – I am constantly being challenged to expand my knowledge and practice, all the while being supported by a team who wants to see me succeed and grow.
Growing Responsibilities
Due to the size of the Trainee intake (now six) and the size of the London office, responsibility finds you very quickly at V&E. In particular, during the second year of my Training Contract, I had to manage the expectations of working with different deal teams within the same group and working across different groups. As with most of the training at V&E, I experienced a sharp increase in responsibility that comes with learning “on the job.” Whilst challenging at first, I found it vastly more rewarding to
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