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OUR PEOPLE & CULTURE

A day in the life of...

Matthew Peel

Associate

Starting work at a large international legal practice can be a daunting prospect to begin with. There are so many new faces and impressive individuals who all come across as incredibly professional and knowledgeable. However, my impression from day one of working here is that although the lawyers work hard and are leaders in their fields, they are approachable, sociable and above all, real human beings.

From the first time you set foot in the London office you have a ready made social group in your trainee intake. These are the people you will come to know and rely on for gems of knowledge like how to find a particular precedent or who in a department deals with certain areas of the law. They will also become the people you go for lunch and drinks with. More often than not an e-mail will be sent round the trainees asking if anyone wants to meet in the canteen for some food, or to go to the pub for a drink, especially on a Friday night. There is also an annual trainee Christmas party where all the trainees across the practice get together. The recruitment team do a fine job in recruiting trainees who are of the same mentality and generally you will find you will get on very well with your intake.

Outside of your intake you will often socialise with the members of your department. You might find that your supervising partner will take you for lunch or the associates in your team will organise impromptu drinks and invite the trainees along. There is a very inclusive atmosphere here and the trainees are included when there is socialising to be done. Often there will be specific events organised within a team. For example, I was invited to a night at the Comedy Club near Leicester Square but just missed out on attending the race day at Brands Hatch due to a seat move! There are often social opportunities when a big deal closes. On one large PFI transaction where the whole team worked very hard our client invited us to the races for the day to say thank you. There is a real sense that when you have put in hard hours for the good of the practice then the partners will recognise this and organise some ‘down-time’ for their team.

There are also practice-wide events that occur across the year. There is an annual ball where everyone is invited to a black-tie event with a dinner and dancing afterwards. The tables at dinner have a mixture of people from different departments so not only is the event a great night out, you also get to know more people in the practice, and they get to know you.

The practice offers many sporting opportunities with all the major sports represented. The teams also have their social aspects when all the players and supporters get together or go on tour. There is no elitism in the sporting events and anyone can be involved, regardless of ability.

Overall, the main feeling I have from my time here is that you are expected to work hard when necessary but when the working day ends then there are more than enough opportunities to get to know those people you work with away from the office environment and trainees are readily welcomed into the fold.