Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer: Meredith Loftus

Anyone who says that one Magic Circle firm is the same as any other obviously didn’t train at Freshfields. The flexibility that is offered throughout your training contract makes it very different from the other large City firms.

The option of doing three month seats not only enables you to see more departments if you’re not sure where you want to qualify, but also allows you to gain a broader variety of experience in your chosen area by giving you the option of returning to a seat as you come up to qualification. I’ve just spent six months in a corporate team, where I was involved in a wide range of work – from deals involving pubs, to sofas, to helicopters, no two days were the same. My own contributions on these transactions ranged from producing a due diligence report on a company that our client was proposing to acquire, to liaising with clients to get together the information required to draft a circular to be sent out to shareholders of a FTSE company.

As well as transactional work, I was also involved with advisory matters on points of company law, which would require that I turn my research into a client friendly response that would convey the most straightforward commercial solution to the particular question. The atmosphere in the team was extremely friendly – as well as organised events, people would regularly pop in and out of each other’s offices. The sociable environment, combined with the quality of work, made it a great team in which to start my training contract. The level of support you receive at Freshfields is a key factor in making it a fantastic place to train. Not only are there support staff on hand at all times if you’re having a computer-related nightmare when a deadline is looming, but the ongoing training that you receive enables you to keep on top of the latest legal developments.

It’s not easy to know which firm to go for when you’re studying, but if you want exciting work, interesting and sociable colleagues, and the flexibility to choose the training contract you want, Freshfields is the ideal choice.