Working as a Solicitor Apprentice, there is never a 'typical' day, which is why I enjoy the role so much. The work is varied and the environment is fast-paced, meaning each day is completely different to the next!
I normally arrive at the office at Riverbank House around 9am. After grabbing a quick coffee and having a catch up with one of my colleagues, I settle down and check my emails to see if anything urgent has come in overnight. I also check my calendar to see what I have planned for the day, and if any preparation work is needed for those calls and meetings.
I always start each day with writing out a 'to do' list. I prioritise those tasks with a tighter deadline, and I also set reminders in my calendar for when that work is due.
9:30am
I attend a weekly capacity call with the junior lawyers in the team, where we all discuss our workload, if we have capacity, and what kind of projects we would like to take on. This is always a great opportunity to volunteer for a job you would like to gain experience in.
10am
I attend a data protection call with a client. Having recently updated the client's website privacy notice, we spoke through the documents and made sure the client was happy with the various amendments made. The client mentioned that it would be beneficial for us to provide training to them and their employees on requirements of the GDPR, so following the call I discussed the best approach on delivering this training with one of the data protection officers in our team.
11am
I begin drafting some notes for the training session that will be delivered to the client. These will be checked by a senior fee earner.
I have a monthly catch up with my supervisor at midday. I take her through what type of work I have been doing in the past month, how my studies are going and how I am managing juggling my academic work with my client deadlines. The team are great at supporting me with anything I may need throughout my apprenticeship.
I attend a lunchtime training session on the formation of contracts. This is a great informal session where colleagues can grab some lunch and acquire some knowledge and raise any questions. The slides at the session are circulated after and will provide for a great resource to refer back to for my training and development.
2pm
I attend a pro bono call with a food foundation in order to determine the scope of the work required by us. I make a note of the call and develop action points for those attending. I diarise a follow up call with a senior fee earner to run through my next steps for drafting a recruitment notice for the food foundation.
3:30pm
I conduct some research on recent enforcement action in the UK in relation to companies failing to comply with certain data protection regulations. I integrate these findings into the internal GDPR enforcement tracker I am responsible for updating.
4:30pm
I attend an internal meeting with my team's social committee, which I have recently joined. We discuss our upcoming Paris trip in March and possible activities we could do whilst there. We also make some suggestions for other socials we could add to the diary for the team, such as a 'team bake off'.
5:30pm
I run through my action list and make sure it is up to date. I post my time sheet for the day and check my calendar for the following day, to make sure I am prepared for any important client meetings.