A Day in the Life: Trainee Solicitor, DLA Piper

1030 A client has come to the offices for advice. When this happens I'll accompany a partner or associate to a meeting for up to hour and a half. For example, in tax, a client may think about a structure he wants to invest in, therefore, a meeting would involve giving them preliminary advice. .

1200 I take my lunch break. .

1300 I spend the next hour or so following up what was discussed during the morning meeting. I also begin initial research on some of the major points that came up. This involves me going through our internal research and external databases. During my follow-up I may begin proper legal research of certain points that have come up in the meeting. .

1500 I'm working on two different matters and after this I'll go back to another matter I've been involved in. I will have to put together a draft document, or contract and produce the first draft of it for a deal that I'm working on. Depending on what type of document I'm putting together, it could take me a few hours or an entire week to finish. The time spent on things can vary widely. .

1800 It's flexible as to when I finish my day. It really depends on how much work you've got or what sort of thing you're working on. I can't say there's an average time my day ends. I work about 40-45 hours a week but this can fluctuate.

. It's not a predictable job where you have a fixed diary. There's a very high turnover of work here and it's exciting and challenging to be able to switch from one thing to another while remaining efficient. You never get bored.