From the 14th to the 16th of July, the three of us took part in Bright Network's Internship Experience in Commercial Law and, after hearing about Lucy's enjoyment of their internship on 'Finance and Professional Services' internship she completed the week before (you can read about it in her blog post here), we were all really excited to get going! The internship consisted of a number of talks on the first day, working on a task on day two and then on day three submitting the task and marking someone else's. The aim of this was to simulate what a physical internship could potentially be like to provide students with access to experiences they have lost as a result of coronavirus. It was a really insightful three days that we all thoroughly enjoyed and found highly beneficial so we wanted to review the experience and summarise and pass on what we learnt.
Talks
The week started out with a welcome talk from the Bright Network team explaining the timetable, expectations etc. before Robert Byk of Slaughter and May gave a very brief introductory talk. The key takeaway from this was to 'do what you enjoy, not what you think will perfect your CV or impress employers as this is what will shine through'. I found this to be fantastic advice for such a competitive career where you constantly feel the need to be doing more to add to your cv based on what you see everyone else posting about on social media or talking about at university.
Networking Seminar - Kelly Hoey, Author of Build Your Dream Network
The speaker started by pointing out that networking is one of the most vital skills to develop when going into a career in law as it is a 'relationship game' and based on who you know, which was referenced as 'the important three Ps' (people, people, people). There are three types of connection - new connections, your existing network and your peers - which are of varying importance, your peers being the most important as they are likely to be experiencing the same as you at the same time and will become the later decision makers. Importantly, networks are something that develop over a long period of time as trust is built and should be diverse to get a range of perspectives, ideas and client bases to help you develop your skillset further.
Managing You Seminar - Ben Carter, Bright Network
This talk focused on different self-management skills and the importance of well-being at work, starting with pointing out that 12 million working days were lost due to mental health in 2019. This astonishing figure has a huge effect on both managers and employers and therefore more priority needs to be given to a better work/life balance, which can be achieved through creating clear boundaries, such as learning to say no, asking for help when you're struggling and focusing on your health and fitness, for example by going to the gym. Some key self-management skills the speaker identified included organisation (for instance using lists and the 'pomodoro technique'), initiative (working things out for yourself), emotional intelligence (for example being empathetic when necessary) and effective communication (learn to communicate differently in different situations). Finally, managing stakeholders was discussed and the importance of communicating with them to understand their roles and what is important and why. A clear takeaway from this was to build genuine connections with people and always lead from the front, don't manage, but also always listen to other's ideas.
Introduction to Commercial Law - Georgia Amos and Mark Wing, Clyde & Co
The speakers identified three core legal skills that are vital in commercial law: advising on commercial agreements (e.g. drafting appropriate provisions for clients across agreements and contracts), corporate (e.g. providing practical, commercially focused advice) and litigation (e.g. advising clients on dispute avoidance and advising after a dispute has occured). The role of a partner was briefly outlined, noting their main roles lie in client and business development, advising clients on legal and commercial issues and firm specific development (for example Clyde and Co have recently developed a 'data lab' which you can read about briefly here). This was then compared to the role of a trainee through looking at a typical day in the life which involved starting at 8am, completing calls, research, feedback and meetings until they finished at 6pm. The talk finished by noting what Clyde and Co, but also likely most law firms, look for in a graduate: attention to detail, collaboration and teamwork, commercial awareness, curiosity and passion, communication, innovation, leadership and project management.
Core Skills for Junior Commercial Lawyers - Anna Rutowicz and James Major, Clyde & Co
In this talk, 4 key skills were focused on: commercial awareness, teamwork, attention to detail and communication. Within commercial awareness it is important to understand how law firms operate as a business which can be done through watching the news and then, importantly, linking this back to the firm and how it can impact them. This is important both when applying to firms but also while you are working there as clients wants lawyers who understand the business world and how external contexts, such as the economy, might impact their business. Teamwork was focused on next with the emphasis you are only ever as good as your team and although showing leadership qualities is vital, it is equally important to be able to listen and find a balance between the two. This can be demonstrated through sports teams, societies, work experience etc. and will likely be tested in assessment centres and asked about in interview when applying to firms. Another key skill was attention to detail as small mistakes can undermine your credibility, which could significantly negatively impact your application, or the credibility of the firm potentially resulting in a loss of clients and therefore business. It is vital you re-read and proof read any work you do at least once if not more, leaving gaps between each reading to ensure you are looking at it with fresh eyes and therefore will notice more mistakes. Communication was the final skill and given how many possible methods there are now, for example video calls, emails and social media, it is important to be able to adapt different styles dependent on what method of communication you are using.
Legal Drafting - Catherine Howard, Herbert Smith Freehills
The key point of this talk was that any advice given to a client needs to be clear, easy to understand and not intimidating which can be achieved through good structure, presentation and preparation. A good set of legal advice notes will contain an executive summary (summarising the advice given), a factual background with any questions that have arisen and the relevant law and how this applies to the client's situation and any facts/questions presented above. In terms of presentation, things to consider are diagrams, shorter sentences, footnotes, simplified explanations (to the point anyone could understand), questions (to lead through your analysis), and subheadings, as all of the above will make any document easier for a client to digest. Finally, in preparation, you should take your time to research and take notes before writing to successfully take the reader from point A to B to C in the writing. It is also important to have little distractions when writing so your whole attention is on the work, therefore it is recommended to work at times and in places you are unlikely to be interrupted and to turn off computer pop-ups and notifications.
Global Investigations: Advising Clients in the Eye of a Storm - Eniola Oyesanya and Camilla Sanger, Slaughter and May
Global investigations cover many different strands of the law such as criminal, regulatory and civil and although law is central to the investigations, there are numerous other overlaying factors, such as ethics, public opinion and guidelines. There are a number of stages to an investigation as laid out in the following: problem emerges, scope problem, employees questioned, document review and analysis, interview witnesses, report findings and then enforcement occurs. The key questions asked as parts of these investigations are what happened, why did it happen, when and where did it happen, what is next and who is interested in the outcome. Most investigations are multi-jurisdictional and therefore involve travel, have high stakes as the company survival is often at risk, and have significant client contact and variety.
Anatomy of a Private Equity Transaction - Khalid Hayat, Sidley Austin LLP
Private equity is described as "finance provided in return for an equity stake in potentially high growth companies" (BVCA). This typically occurs through a 'buyout' in which a business/company is acquired by a private equity fund, together with a management team and there are three key parts to this transaction: acquisition, equity and debt. There are generally 5 stages to the lifecycle of a buyout - acquisition (1A), financing (1B), portfolio (2A), restructuring (2B) and exit (3). During stages 1A and 1B, the target is acquired through transaction documents, due diligence, financing and regulatory clearances. Following this, in stages 2A and 2B, growth acquisitions are made and banks and bonds are restructured to ensure the growth of the company. Finally, during stage three, sale process co-ordination and vendor due diligence occur along with new transaction documents to sell the stake in the company. Each transaction for a company to either be acquired or sold can take up to a year and generally goes through four stages: an auction process, exchange, completion and post-completion.
Legal and Business Research - Zara Sproul, Allen & Overy
Legal research is a practical, solution driven and often time pressured task that will frequently be undertaken as a lawyer and particularly as a trainee or associate, however it is important to remember that it is not an academic debate as you would write at university. The key advice the speaker gave was to understand all aspects of the question and research the problem within it, take ownership of the research and ensure it is correct as it likely will not be checked, and consider the client's situation specifically to determine what is suitable. Common mistakes identified were: not updating research, not suggesting solutions, giving opinions, not having an executive summary (described above), not cross-checking sources, not having a clear structure and not listing sources. In relation to sources, there are many that can be used when advising clients dependant on their needs, which is the first point of consideration. Following this, information can be found on legal databases, in legislation or in registered sources (for example, the land registry or companies house).
Teamwork and Collaboration - Ben Carter, Bright Network
The speaker described teamwork and collaboration as the joint action of people working towards the same end goal with the main difference being, in teamwork, work and tasks are delegated between similar people and overseen by a leader whereas in collaboration different individuals work as equals to complete the goal. To maximise collaboration and consequently stick to work for 64% longer than if work was completed individually (Stanford study) it was suggested you define a common goal to create a purpose, manage conflict by sharing ideas professionally in a safe and open platform and have a simple task management process. Notably, the speaker identified the skills of being a good team member as communication, active listening, leadership over management, reliability, respectfulness and the ability to address problems and forgive mistakes. These, along with breaking work down into manageable tasks and being respectful to one another's ideas are vital to building up the strength of a team and therefore improving the outcome.
Applications and CV Advice - Robert Byk, Slaughter and May
Similar to this speaker's opening talk for the week, the closing talk focused on the importance of personal experiences and evidence in relation to these and showing your skills and achievements. Many firms will have differing application processes, for example some will only require a CV and cover letter, whereas others will ask for video applications or application forms to be completed and therefore it is important to check exactly what is being asked for when applying to firms. All firms however are looking for similar skills such as enthusiasm, intelligence, resilience, people and communication skills, common sense and commercial awareness. These can be displayed through your CV and cover letter however it is vital to show how you have developed these rather than just telling the employer, for instance 'I am resilient'. Specifically some firms will only want to see a factual based CV, merely listing your experiences, such as Slaughter and May, not a skills based CV in which you would describe what each experience has taught you so this is another important factor to consider. When it comes to interviews, take time communicating and don't just say something to fill an awkward silence, ensure that you are only answering the questions asked of you and not answering the question you wanted to, and at the end of the interview always ask questions and listen to the answers as this displays a genuine interest in the firm and can provide you with answers you could not find elsewhere.
The Work Task
On day two, we were set a task surrounding a company acquisition with numerous different sections to simulate that of a trainee's task in a law firm. This involved researching and presenting the key parts of an acquisition transaction in relation to the company discussed, looking at different due diligence considerations, reviewing a non-disclosure agreement to identify errors and researching and comparing two types of dispute resolution (litigation and arbitration) to give advice as to which the client should choose. This task was then marked by another peer on the internship on day three to complete the week.
Personally I found this task massively beneficial as it gave an insight into the work a commercial lawyer might undertake and allowed me to understand the basics within an acquisition transaction, developing my knowledge further. Although it was challenging having only covered four, unrelated areas of the law in my degree so far so I was clueless going into the task, I felt a lot more confident coming out of it in my abilities to research and work through any difficulties I faced.
The Review
Although a massively busy three days, I found the experience to be really rewarding and beneficial both in listening to what the speakers had to say and the task itself. Having not yet studied commercial law, this provided a great insight into life as a commercial lawyer and has undoubtedly sparked an interest in me that I will continue to look into as I consider my future career options. Many thanks go to Bright Network for putting on such a well-structured event with fantastic speakers and providing students with an opportunity that many have had removed as a result of coronavirus. Below are some comments from other students on the internship and how they found it:
"To sum up by Bright Network internship, I would describe it as: invaluable, intriguing and promisingly prospective. Why you may ask? Invaluable because it is not often that you get the chance to speak to several magic circle law firms and learn from their personal experiences. Intriguing because the internship opened up the door further into the world of law and allowed us to imagine ourselves building our characters to secure a role. Finally, prospective, because one day, I'm sure the majority of us will be working alongside the firms that showed us into the legal sector and what it has to offer by using our skills learnt on the internship."
- Millie King
"I started the experience having done minimal research about big corporate words like due diligence and M&A because I was intimidated by them! Researching for the work sample really allowed me to engage with these terms in an approachable way and I now look forward to taking my own initiative in understanding the commercial dealings that drive our economies every day."
- Nadia Cheng
"After completing another one of Bright Network's internships, I was really excited to start the commercial law programme. I felt Bright Network did a great job of finding a brilliant range of speakers from very prestigious law firms, and there was a lot of extremely useful information ranging all the way from applying to law firms to the commercial world as a whole. Overall, the seminars combined with the work sample have given me a much deeper insight into what a career in commerical law has in store for myself and how hard I will have to work there." - Lucy Payne
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