What's it like to be a Reed Smith Lawyer?

I am a first seat trainee solicitor at Reed Smith sitting in the Employment Group. I studied law at the London School of Economics and completed my law degree in 2006. Having a family background in law, a career in law was always going to be a natural choice. I have been fortunate enough to gain a wide variety of legal work experience before commencing my training contract with Reed Smith. Working with the Mayor of New York’s legal team and at a leading commercial law firm in New Delhi were the highlights. I found both experiences challenging and fascinating and it confirmed my passion for law and my desire to work for an international law firm.

Life in the Employment Group

It is exciting and varied; I have drafted compromise agreements and employment contracts, completed hearing bundles and undertaken numerous in-depth research tasks. I have also attended a Preliminary Hearing at the London Central Employment Tribunal; I found it much more captivating than I thought it would be with both sides really engaging with the judge. We have fortnightly ‘know how’ sessions, where new cases or legislation are discussed. I have presented case update reports at these sessions and I find that the sessions are an invaluable way to keep abreast of all the latest developments in employment law.

Trainees at Reed Smith have the opportunity to get involved in many different CSR initiatives including Pro bono. One initiative is the Liberty Letter Writing Clinic which Reed Smith organises on behalf of the National Council for Civil Liberties (Liberty). Liberty receives queries from the public and we advise them with these, with the help of Queen Mary University students. I have also drafted an employment agreement for a client from the Prince’s Trust.

Diversity and Inclusion

We have an extensive Diversity and Inclusion programme at Reed Smith and I am involved with our London Diversity Committee. My role on the Committee is to coordinate activities at a trainee level and organise and attend events on behalf of the firm.

I recently mentored a student from the Young Asian Social Enterprise programme as part of the PRIME scheme. PRIME is a social mobility scheme that offers students who can't fall back on social connections the chance to get the work experience opportunities that their talents deserve. The student attended one week’s work experience at our London office and spent a few days with me in the Employment Group. October 2013 was Black History Month and the Law Society held a series of events to commemorate the occasion. Reed Smith sponsored the events and I volunteered to attend the Inspiration Evening Event. I was impressed by the enthusiasm of everyone who attended and the contributors on the panel discussion. Perseverance, persistence and passion were the key traits that resonated throughout the discussion.

I am currently preparing a commercial awareness seminar to be held in March 2014 for the BLD Foundation (formerly the Black Lawyers’ Directory). I will also be attending the next NOTICED meeting on promoting diversity in the legal sector, so 2014 looks set to be an exciting year for me and our diversity programme.

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