8.30am: I arrive in the office. I am in my third seat in the Newbury office in the family department. I grab a coffee and check for any messages or emails which have come in. I was at court yesterday at a final hearing. The case settled on the door of the court but we spent the rest of the day getting the order approved by the judge and having a celebratory lunch with our client.Our offices are open-plan so I sit near the whole team. This is extremely helpful when they discuss cases or talk to clients on the phone, as a lot can be learnt just by listening.9.00am: I collect the post and once it has been checked, I distribute it. I then make a list of what I have on that day and if I have some capacity or am snowed under, then I discuss this with Daisy, one of the associates in the department who monitors what I have on to ensure I have a range of work and am kept busy at all times.9.15am: One of the partners in the department, Claire, has a new client coming in for a meeting and has asked me to go along to take a note. I read the background information before he arrives. The client has been served with a divorce petition by his wife's solicitors; Claire advises him accordingly on the whole divorce process. I start preparing a detailed note of the meeting and send him our terms and conditions.11.15am: I return to my desk and sort out the papers from yesterday's hearing. There is a lot of paper involved in a final hearing, with the bundles stretching to four files in this case. I dictate a note of what we discussed at court; even though the case has settled it is still important to have a clear note of the advice we gave the client. I also apply for decree absolute. This is the final stage in divorce proceedings. We have a good department workspace which contains all the precedent documents that we use. I get everything checked before it is sent out.1.00pm: Lunchtime. The sun is out, so I go to the canal with some of the other trainees to catch up on the weekend news. 2.00pm: I have been asked to prepare the documents for an upcoming first appointment hearing. This is the first stage in financial proceedings, where the judge gives directions as to how the case will proceed. It can also be a good opportunity for the parties to negotiate.

Our client has exchanged financial information with her husband so I use this, together with the information on the file, to draft a chronology, statement of issues and a questionnaire arising out of his financial disclosure.3.10pm: A client arrives to drop off some information about some offshore bank accounts she believes that her husband is concealing. I go down to discuss this with her. It is an important part of my job to deal with clients without getting drawn in to giving advice.3.20pm: I start to put together the bundle for the first appointment; this means sorting out and photocopying all the relevant documents in the case which counsel will need to prepare for the hearing.5.20pm: Daisy has asked me to draft a divorce petition based on unreasonable behaviour. The client has sent in some examples and I have a look at some of the other petitions to see what I should include. It is important to keep the particulars of behaviour as neutral as possible although the clients don't always want to! I start to put together the petition but will finish it off tomorrow.6.00pm: I finalise my time on the time recording system and check there is nothing more anyone needs before heading home.