9.15am: I arrive at the office clutching a coffee, catch up with a couple of colleagues, then settle down at my desk to read through emails and check my calendar to see what the day has in store.10.00am: Quick briefing from a partner on a new matter that he needs some research on. We get to work with all the fee-earners in our departments, not just the supervisor we sit with. It means I get to see lots of the different types of work the department does. I head up to the fourth floor library to get some advice on where to begin looking.11.00am: Having scoured the numerous resources in the library, I discuss my findings with the partner. Between us, we decide the best course of action to meet the client's needs is a reduction of share capital. I begin drafting the various documents needed, including board minutes, statements of solvency and other ancillary documents. This is typical of the good level of responsibility I get in corporate R&T.11.15am: I take a call from the QC we have instructed ahead of a Companies Court hearing for a Part VII transfer, another matter I'm working on. We discuss his amendments to the witness statements I have drafted and when they should be filed at the court. It was nerve-wracking dealing with senior barristers to begin with but thankfully I have had quite a lot of exposure to this and it gets easier every time!11.30am: Quick coffee and a scan of the latest industry publications. It's important I keep up with what's happening in our clients' market places. I return to the witness statements making the amendments recommended by Counsel. 12.00pm: My supervisor briefs me on a new matter that has just come in. She asks me to organise the various conflict checks that must be performed to ensure we can act for that client and to draft a retainer letter outlining the terms upon which we would act.

1.00pm: I head out to grab some lunch from one of the many eateries to be found on Fleet Street. As it's a sunny day, I join a couple of trainees in one of the Inns of Court gardens for lunch. 2.00pm: I participate in an 'all-parties' call with a partner ahead of a proposed exchange tomorrow morning. I take a note of the teleconference and we discuss how the exchange procedure will work, what documents each party needs to complete, and which documents need to be sent to which party. Following the call, I telephone the client to brief him on what needs to be done ahead of the completion. I walk him through which documents need to be signed and emailed across to us for the deal to go ahead on schedule. 3.30pm: I am called by one of the associates to take some documents down to Companies House that must be filed today so I quickly draft a covering letter and head out in the sunshine. 4.30pm: The conflict checks for the new matter have now been completed with no adverse results, so I finalise the retainer letter and send it out to the new client. 5.00pm: I return to the reduction of share capital documents that I began in the morning and finish them so I can get first drafts to the partner by the close of the day.7.00pm: Having checked there is nothing more I need to do for the day, I look through my calendar and work out what I need to do ahead of the completion meeting the next day. Once this is done, it is time to join the other trainees in the pub for a catch up.