Below, Stacy Young outlines a typical day in her life as a trainee.
9 a.m
I open my laptop and check if I have any new tasks that have come in. As I am currently working in the corporate team of the Dubai office remotely, there is a 3 hour time difference which means that my colleagues are usually well into their work days by the time I start mine.
9.15 a.m
For the past few months, the Corporate team in Dubai has been working on the legal entity separation of a large international pharmaceutical company, handling the client’s Middle East and North Africa jurisdictions. As part of this legal entity separation, this morning I am helping to draft resolutions and powers of attorney to allow the client’s parent company to handle banking matters in those jurisdictions. I also draft execution requests so that the client knows who and how to execute those documents.
11 a.m
I have a brief call with the associate supervising me on the matter to discuss legalisation and attestation requirements for certain documents under Swiss and Dutch governing laws.
12 p.m
I take a lunch break and go on a walk around my neighbourhood.
1 p.m
The firm regularly holds virtual workshops for us to brush up on a range of skills, including communication, research and professional development. Today’s workshop is on working with Word documents. While none of us need an introduction to Microsoft Word, I pick up a number of highly useful tips regarding layouts and templates that I didn’t know I needed.
2.00 p.m
I have recently been assigned to help on an urgent competition law matter with the Brussels office, concerning a client’s request for information by a national competition authority. After reading an overview of the matter and having a call with the client to discuss my responsibilities, I begin reviewing the responses that the client’s business teams have submitted and raise follow-up questions where they are incomplete or unclear.
4 p.m
I have a virtual catch up coffee with my associate mentor. All trainees are paired with an associate mentor when we join the firm. My mentor and I catch up every few weeks for a casual chat about the things on our plate, any concerns or questions I might have about work, and the new hobbies we are getting up to.
4.30 - 6.00 p.m
I have a call with a colleague to discuss how we can analyse the impact of the UAE’s new foreign direct investment law on our clients, and the opportunities it might bring for them. Based on our discussion, I begin researching into the changes introduced by the law and the sectors it will impact, and analyse which of our major clients in the UAE operate in those sectors. I summarise my findings in an email and ask my colleagues if they have any further input.
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