By solicitor Michal Szperzynski
From the very first week of my seat in the corporate department, I could see that this was the department I would want to qualify into. By the end of the seat, I was absolutely convinced and here’s why.
The nature and variety of the work
Corporate lawyers at Burges Salmon advise clients on all aspects of company law, including acquiring and selling companies and their assets, stock exchange listings, reorganisations and joint-ventures. No corporate transaction is the same and each one comes with its own challenges and unique commercial background.
As a trainee solicitor in the corporate department I had the opportunity to experience a wide variety of work from researching complex points of company law, to private equity transactions and public company takeovers.
Variety of clients
The clients we work for vary greatly – from small, quasi-partnership, family-owned companies to public companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.
A seat in corporate means working side-by-side with the people who run impressive organisations, allowing trainees to gain an understanding of how different companies are run, as well as differing priorities for their owners, be it gradual and step-by-step organic growth or aggressive outward-looking, expansion strategies.
It goes without saying that interacting with business-minded clients on a daily basis helps trainees improve their commercial acumen and become well versed in the interplay between black letter law on the one hand and the commercial realities on the other.
Responsibility
Trainees in the corporate department are given a huge amount of responsibility from day one. The typical trainee tasks range from drafting ancillary documents relating to transactions (such as board minutes or stock transfer forms), co-ordinating due diligence processes and dealing with post completion admin.
Being entrusted with responsibility makes corporate a great seat to develop skills such as drafting, time and work management, which are transferable between seats and are key for a trainee's development. For those who might feel a bit wary of taking on responsibility early on in their careers, it is important to remember that there is always the safety net of your supervisor and amazing support from the rest of the team whenever needed – no one will be thrown in the deep end unless they feel ready to float.
Working with other departments
Most corporate transactions are complex and often require specialist input from other lawyers across the firm such as real estate, tax, employment or pensions. Therefore corporate lawyers tend to work very closely with other departments. This is particularly beneficial for trainees who are given the opportunity to work with colleagues from across the firm, widen their internal network and see how bits and pieces of other areas of law are interweaved to make up the corporate transaction puzzle. I found this aspect really enjoyable and being at a heart of a transaction, often in a co-ordinating role, makes a seat in corporate very rewarding.