Second-seat trainee Charlie Parker shares his experience of a typical day in the London office as part of the Corporate team.
7:30 – 8:00 After waking up and getting ready for work, I check my emails before heading into the office.
8:15 – 8:20 I arrive and stop off at the coffee machine for my morning fortification, before heading to my pre-booked desk and getting my laptop set up for the day. Our hot desking setup means I am often surrounded by colleagues across various different departments, which has been great for building up my network within the firm.
8:20 – 9.00 I’m in earlier than usual this morning to prepare for the monthly Corporate Knowledge Session, in which I, and another Corporate trainee, will be delivering a presentation to the department via Microsoft Teams at 9:00.
9:00 – 9:30 Corporate Knowledge Session. The first half of the session is delivered by a guest speaker, and today’s subject is changes to the Trust Registration Service. If you are curious, see James Frampton’s recent article on the changes
here.
9:30 – 10:00 The second half is delivered by the two trainees. I spend most of my speaking time discussing the criminal offences brought in under the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022.
10:00 – 10:20 After the Knowledge Session, I review my emails and see a DocuSign envelope (our electronic signature platform) which I sent out yesterday has now been signed by all parties on Project Radio (a corporate demerger to be effected by way of a share capital reduction). I save the documents to the matter and share them via email with the client’s Tax advisers.
10:30 – 11:00 A partner wants to chat about progress on Project Cinnamon (in which we represent an impact investment fund), so we jump into one of the free meeting rooms and have a catch up. I bring my laptop and take a note of the next steps which we need to take.
11:00 After coming out of the catch up, I see cakes are being set out on the table.
It’s for our annual “Chat for Charlie Waller” (not Parker …) initiative (see more
here) – an event during which we are encouraged to take a quick coffee break and chat with our colleagues to raise awareness of mental health issues.
I avoid the temptation of sugary delights, but set a reminder in my Outlook calendar to donate on the event’s JustGiving page, with proceeds going to the Charlie Waller Trust.
11:05 – 12:15 Another Partner has sent me a documents list on Project Portugal (a split-exchange and completion share acquisition). I am asked to identify the outstanding points which need to be resolved prior to completion next week. Once done, I draft a (fairly long) email to the other side’s lawyers.
12:15 – 13:15 Lunch – I pop outside for a Mexican burrito from my favourite lunch spot (if you know, you know).
On my way back to work, I navigate through crowds of people who have amassed near our building. Fortunately, they are not looking to get into our office, and instead I realise they are actually queueing to get down onto the new Elizabeth Line.
The surface entrance/exit at Liverpool Street is just outside our door – very convenient for colleagues who commute!
13:15 – 13:30 I return to find an Exeter-based associate who has just arrived and is getting settled at one of the desks near me. We chat and I offer to show him around the London office (as this is his first time visiting).
My impromptu tour finishes up at the building’s impressive café, after taking in the various breakout areas, collaborative zones and quiet spaces that Michelmores lawyers can freely use throughout the day.
13:30 – 14:00 I check my emails and see there are actionable tasks on Project Pencil (a corporate restructuring). Our client is happy with the paperwork I prepared yesterday (consisting of board minutes, stock transfer forms and share certificates) and the matter Partner has asked me to get them sent out for signatures on DocuSign.
14:00 – 14:15 A calendar reminder prompts me to send out a chaser email on Project Green (another impact investment matter). Although the contracts have all been finalised and agreed upon, I draft a pleasant but firm email to remind certain parties that the contracts will not be executed until we receive their wet-ink signatures in the post (it is pleasantly surprising that not everything is done digitally!).
14:15 – 14:30 With Project Portugal set for completion next week, a Senior Associate has asked me to check the amount of funds we need to receive from our client (who is the purchaser).
I review the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement and, after getting my head around the mechanics of the payment structure (which includes Initial Consideration, Deferred Consideration and Performance-Based Consideration), I provide her with the correct figure.
14:45 – 18:00 I spend the rest of the afternoon preparing the first drafts of a suite of documents on Project Radio. The documents include a principal demerger agreement and the various board resolutions, shareholder resolutions and ancillary documents which go along with it.
18:00 – 18:15 I email the supervising Associate, asking him to review the documents which I have drafted and flag some particularly technical points that I would like to discuss with him tomorrow.
18:20 I leave the office with my work for the day done.
18:30 On my way home, I pick up a couple of peanut butter milkshakes from the Brick Lane Coffee Shop. My flatmate (another Michelmores trainee who has been working from home today) and I have become regular patrons of this hidden gem!
Whilst the tasks mentioned in this blog accurately describe the work undertaken, the project names are fictitious in order to protect client confidentiality.
