7.10am: I arrive at the gym to play squash with another trainee. I enjoy the fact that there are a small number of trainees, as you get to know both year groups.

8.30am: I arrive at my office and check the to-do list that I wrote the night before. My first task is to consider a claim form received from the other side. The case involves a collision between two vessels. We act for the insurers of one of the vessels who consider that the claim is over inflated. After reading the claim form, I discuss the issues with the partner concerned who asks me to research possible defences in relation to mitigation and then draft a report to clients.

10.30am: I receive a call from a partner on a new employment matter. The partner asks if I can attend a conference call with a client. I enjoy the fact that as a trainee at Ince & Co, despite sitting with a partner in a specific area, you get a wide variety of work from different practice areas.

10.45am: I attend the conference call on the above. The matter concerns an individual who considers she has several claims in discrimination against her ex-employer. I draft an attendance note of the call and send this to the partner on the case, who asks me to consider relevant employment statutes.

12.00pm: I attend a social committee meeting. We discuss various issues in relation to the annual May Ball, sports fixtures and Ince drinks. At Ince & Co there is a wide variety of extra-curricular activities that you can get involved in.

1.00pm: I join the other trainees for a buffet lunch and a lecture on marine insurance warranties. Ince & Co runs frequent in-house lectures that are both informative and relevant to the fields we work in.

2.00pm: I go and discuss a marine case with a partner. This case involves a missing yacht that has been taken from our client and is believed to be off the coast of Italy. We decide to draft an order to the court asking for the defendant to disclose the location of the yacht and asking the court to grant sole ownership of the yacht to our client. I liaise with court clerks concerning the content of the order. I do some research on the Merchant Shipping Act to see if the court has the authority to make such an order.

4.00pm: I receive an email from an assistant on an insurance matter asking for some assistance in preparing bundles for a hearing the next day. The assistant also asks if I can attend the hearing.

4.30pm: I carry out some urgent research concerning the service of an application notice and the rules in relation to legalisation of the documents in a Middle Eastern country. This case concerns a vessel that crashed into another. As a result a port was closed, and the area became heavily polluted. We are serving an application notice in an attempt to bring proceedings before the courts of England and Wales. I send an email to our Dubai office asking if anyone has any experience in these issues. Ince & Co's international offices are often a very useful source of information. Sure enough I receive an answer from a colleague in Dubai. I draft an email to clients with the required information.

5.30pm: The final job of the day is to review some documents on an energy case and draft summaries of these documents for counsel. This case concerns the renewal of an oil rig in South America. The renewal was carried out to a very poor standard and is the subject of arbitration proceedings as as a result.

7.30pm: As a result of meeting a tight disclosure deadline, the partner in charge of the energy case above takes us out for drinks at a nearby bar.