EAPD UK Trainee Site

About our Trainees

A day in the life of...

Jo Love - Commercial Litigation/Public International Law

8.30am	I like to arrive in the office reasonably early before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. The first thing I do is make a cup of tea and then catch up on my emails. I am on the firm's Social Committee, and this morning I have a few emails about the Summer party and the final choices of venue on offer. I am also the Shadow Treasurer for the British Nigeria Law Forum which can involve anything and everything from organising events, helping members with queries to collecting in membership fees. This morning there are one or two membership forms to be processed, but nothing too time consuming. I am in my Second Seat, working for both the Public International and Commercial Litigation groups. Working for multiple fee earners, all with competing deadlines, means you have to be good at organising your workload and communicating with all the people you are working with.
9.30am	I attend a progress meeting with the rest of my group where all the fee earners discuss developments in the cases they are working on. It is a great way to work out who is working on what, who has capacity or who you can offer your help to. I update the group on my recent matters and then head to another meeting with my supervisor, who fills me in on the various cases I am assisting him with, and we discuss what needs to be done today.
10.15am	Back at my desk, I set to work on a first draft letter of advice that my supervisor has asked me to complete and leave it on his desk to review. As a trainee, you quickly get used to the amendments made to your work in red pen (or any other colour for that matter)! I've learned to take this process in my stride and to really take on board why the changes are needed.
11.20am	I attend a conference call with a witness who could turn out to be very helpful to a pharmaceutical dispute we are very busy on. During the call, I make a handwritten note. After the call, the partner in charge asks me to have the first "bash" at drafting this witness statement based on the facts the witness has given us during the call.
12.30pm	At lunchtime, I attend a seminar on the conduct of liquidation. As with a lot of the in-house training sessions the firm provides, the seminar is useful for all lawyers within the firm no matter what they specialise in. The bonus of lunchtime seminars is the free lunch!
1.30pm	After lunch it is time to start drafting the witness statement from the call earlier today. Despite being a little daunting at first, once I get going on it, like most trainee jobs, it just starts to flow. I hand it to the Associate working on the case to give it the once over before it then goes to the partner for final amendments.
4.00pm	I receive a phone call from our QC asking me to review the disclosure files in the pharmaceutical dispute and check a point for him. I really enjoy being able to help on urgent issues as they arise.
5.30pm	I attend an internal EAPD Pro-Bono award ceremony, where those who have made outstanding commitments to Pro-Bono over the last year are honoured. It’s a great way to see everyone in the firm and also see what Pro-Bono activities people have been getting up to. EAPD actively encourages everyone, not just the Trainees, to get involved in Pro-Bono work. Opportunities range from helping children in local schools with their reading and numerical skills to helping individuals throughout the world receive fair trials according to international standards of justice under the Fair Trials International Scheme.
6.15pm	Whilst most then tuck into the free alcohol on offer after the awards, I head back to my desk for a last little bit of research before I go home. I have been asked to write an article on a report recently published by Lord Justice Jackson on costs reform in civil litigation. I do a quick search and read through some helpful articles online and print them off ready for further review in the morning. Then I'm out of the office and home in time for EastEnders!