A Day in the Life with William Shields
Our trainee solicitors play a key role across the firm, gaining hands-on experience from day one. To give you an insight into what that looks like in practice, we asked our current trainees to share a snapshot of their day-to-day work across different seats. While no two days are the same, these insights offer a glimpse into the variety, responsibility and support that come with training at Warners.
William Shields
Second Year Trainee
Current seat: Commercial Property
Previous seats: Residential Property, Commercial Property, Litigation
I am currently in the last seat of my training contract at Warners before qualifying in September, which is very exciting. My first seat was in Residential Property in the Sevenoaks office, followed by Commercial Property and then Litigation in the Tonbridge office. I was fortunate enough to return to Commercial Property for my final seat in March.
What is great about being in the Commercial Property team is the wide range of different tasks I carry out day to day.
I normally begin each day by reviewing my emails and seeing what has come in overnight. I then write out a list of all matters I am dealing with before assessing which tasks require priority over others.
I then have a meeting with my supervising partner Angela to run through all the matters which we are working on together and discussing any issues which need to be addressed. I also ask Angela any legal questions I may have which she can assist with.
I then get on and begin working through my tasks, checking back in with Angela for her to review the documents I’ve prepared before they are sent out.
During my lunch break, I enjoy going for a walk around the castle and the fields near the office which are especially lovely in the summer.
After lunch I continue working on a range of transactions. Being within the Commercial Property team means my tasks vary day to day as we deal with a wide range of different matters. I will be either representing tenants or landlords on the granting or renewal of a lease, acting for developers and lenders on purchases, as well as dealing with sales and purchases of various sites for investors and other individuals. This includes the drafting of leases, contracts and other documentation, and the review of title documents, searches, planning permissions and other relevant documentation which may impact a transaction.
I also regularly attend client meetings with other solicitors within my team which is always a great place to learn and interact with interesting clients and to discuss complex matters.
I normally leave the office at around 5:15-6pm once I have set out a list of what I have to do for the next day and after I have chatted with Angela to check that nothing urgent needs to be sent off.
Being in this team has given me exposure to a wide range of high-value transactions and helped me develop both my technical knowledge and confidence in handling client matters.
If you are interested in starting your legal career with Warners, applications for our Trainee Solicitor Programme are now open. Find out more: Trainee Solicitor Programme
