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In September, I joined the Tax, Trusts and Succession (TTS) team for my third seat of my Training Contract, having previously undertaken seats in Asset Protection and Private Property & Landed Estates. The TTS team is involved in a broad and varied selection of work, with many “mini-specialties” within the wider team.
The time I joined the team was one of the busiest times for this particular area of law as a result of the Autumn Budget which was announced by Labour on 31 October 2024.
Before the announcement, there was much speculation on the contents of the budget, in particular in relation to the Inheritance Tax (IHT) rules. As a team that works closely with clients on all aspects of their estate planning, there is always an aspect of consideration of IHT and the potential mitigation options for reducing IHT liability.
Pre-budget work
As soon as I joined the team, all my colleagues were already considering the possible changes and preparing to advise clients in light of these changes, in anticipation of the budget announcement.
From a trainee perspective, working in a team during such a busy period was a formative experience and somewhat of a “baptism of fire”. Nevertheless, in addition to the specific tax knowledge that I have built up during this period, there were also plenty of transferrable skills which were required to pitch in and assist the team.
The most important skills that I had to build during this time were organisational and time management skills. There were times of significant “bottle neck” where the amount of work on my task list was potentially more than it was possible to complete. At this time, I sought advice from my supervisor who was able to assist with task prioritisation and to re-distribute some work to others in the team.
In addition, working under more pressure than a standard day meant that I had to be very careful to continue double checking and proofing my work, as mistakes happen more frequently when you are more pressed for time. As we were trying to complete and date lots of settlements, trust deeds and other similar structures in advance of 31 October, it was necessary for everyone to check and double check everything to ensure we delivered the best quality work to our clients.
Post-budget work
Following the announcement of the Autumn Budget, I saw first-hand the collaboration of my team and other teams within the Firm (notably, TTS was working with both the Agriculture team and the Corporate team) to consider the implications of the announcement and begin to strategize on behalf of our clients.
This presented not only an opportunity for our clients but also for the Firm to be the first to publish articles and thought leadership pieces on the outcome of the budget and to show clients that we were quick off the mark to consider the impact on them. As a trainee in the team, I was involved in researching for and drafting initial thoughts for these pieces, as well as keeping up to date with any further announcements or amendments (and keeping an eye out for rival articles to avoid writing the same as somebody else!).
As a trainee, it was an invaluable experience to be “on the ground” and to be able to contribute to thought leadership pieces and to general team discussions around the opportunities and risks for clients. In some ways, when the “rulebook” on which the fundamental principles of the work we carry out changes, it presents an opportunity for more junior team members to offer their own perspective and for the team to come together and consider our advice to clients.
End of seat reflection
Overall, whilst a challenging time from a workload perspective, I was lucky to have been the Tax, Trusts and Succession trainee at such an interesting and engaging time. I was able to attend fascinating strategy meetings to discuss where the advice should go from this point as well as experience first-hand the team pulling together to deliver excellent client service.
I have also had exposure to a huge variety of work in such a short space of time because of the volume of work the team completed during my seat. I am sure that in all teams throughout the Firm, there will be “crunch points” where, for whatever reason, the workload becomes larger for a defined period of time and it is an excellent experience as a trainee to learn how to collaborate with others, communicate with your team and ensure that excellent client service is always delivered despite any challenges.
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