Training at Lovells and life as a newly
qualified solicitor
Why Lovells?
Having decided on a career in Law during my
time at university I had the task of deciding
which of the major City firms was right for
me. I attended a Lovells university workshop
and then spent three weeks at the firm on a
summer vacation scheme. The high quality
work for high profile clients, breadth of
practice areas and the office environment
meant I was confident I had made the right
choice when I accepted an offer of a training
contract at Lovells.
Training?
My training has been of an extremely high
standard. My first six months were spent in
the Insurance & Reinsurance Litigation team.
It was refreshing to start my legal career
learning about a new area of law. I then spent
six months in the Corporate transactional team
and found working on large transactions very
rewarding. My third seat was spent within
the Business Restructuring and Insolvency
group, where I became involved in advising
the receivers of a number of Structured
Investment Vehicles, work which featured
heavily in the financial and business press
during the last year.
During my final six months as a trainee I
was seconded to SABMiller, one of Lovells’
clients, and worked within their corporate
legal team. This proved to be an invaluable
part of my training, as it provided me with an
insight into a client’s business and allowed me
to enjoy a greater amount of responsibility. I
completed work on international deals,
and finance related projects, and was able
to see the role of a law firm from a client’s
perspective. This experience gave me a greater
understanding of a client’s needs, which is
crucial for any solicitor, and also confirmed
my desire to qualify into the Corporate team
at Lovells and continue to advise clients in
this area of the law.
Life as an NQ?
On qualification in the summer I was fortunate
enough to have the opportunity to take three
months unpaid leave before joining the
Corporate team. The chance to spend some
time travelling after completing my training
was very beneficial and allowed me to start
work feeling refreshed and ready for life as a
qualified solicitor.
I have not been back in the department long,
but have already assisted in the closing of
a complex, international transaction and I
am looking forward to becoming involved
in more transactional and advisory work
for a variety of clients in the future. Newly
qualified solicitors are encouraged to get
involved in a diverse amount of work within
the group, which I think is crucial when
starting your legal career. The Corporate
team at Lovells has many different sectors,
including transactional work for financial
institutions and insurance clients, energy
sector work and ECM and M&A. Therefore
there are many opportunities available to an
NQ to develop their skills and experience.
There is also a continued emphasis on
training and development, with many courses
provided for associates at all levels within the
firm. There is also a great amount of support
and guidance available from the corporate
team as a whole.
I would highly recommend a career at Lovells.
There is a high standard of work, excellent
training and a fantastic working environment,
which make it a challenging but enjoyable
atmosphere in which to work and one that
I believe will help develop my career in the
years ahead.