1. What drew you to this firm?

Their approach to advising decision makers in business. Initially I was a client of the firm so I was aware of their practical approach to advising commercial clients. I was also impressed by how approachable the people were in contrast to some of the other firms I had dealt with previously.

2. What areas have you worked in?

Commercial and Dispute Resolution.

3. What type of work have you done in each of these areas?

In Commercial I was exposed to a variety of commercial and supplier agreement issues in the bio-medical science, dairy, engineering and franchising fields. I also had some minimal exposure to estate and probate matters.

In Dispute Resolution I have been working on bankruptcy matters and various stages of small and large scale litigation.

4. What clients have you done work for?

My clients have included, various individuals, collaborative research centres, Floor Stores Franchising, Computertots, Hoyts, AAMI, IVECO Trucks, RACV, CPA, Aperio, ITSA, Madd Gear, Australian Stem Cell Centre and Adapt-A-Lift Forklift Sales and Rentals.

5. Have you had much client contact?

Yes, more than I expected. I have managed some client relationships completely on my own, and with other clients I have been a member of a team supporting the client.

6. Have you been given much responsibility?

Yes - some of the files that I have managed on my own were not simple files, and are large and complex so there is a level of responsibility involved, particularly when I am responsible for managing the client relationship. It has been rewarding to manage files on my own as it has developed my learning about file management, client relationships and the particular area of law involved. Equally, being part of a team on other files has meant I've been able to learn from the more experienced lawyers and partners.

7. What type of training have you undertaken at the firm?

I have attended lots of internal CLE training and have also attended four courses at Leo Cussen that each ran for about 2 days. There was a lot of flexibility about further training and I was able to select the areas that I felt I most needed to develop.

8. What hours do you generally work? What is expected?

I have had early morning starts and late nights depending on my workload, or any discretionary extra work I have taken on, but on average I would say that normal hours fall within the span of 8:00 - 6:00.

9. How have you received feedback about your performance?

Feedback has been ad hoc and usually comes from the partner who has given me the task or file. The partners tend to be good about taking me through the work I have done and explaining why I need to do something differently, or how I need to expand on something further.

10. How would you describe the culture and working environment within the firm?

The Commercial and Dispute Resolution teams have slightly different cultures but overall it is a social firm. There are lots of social events for the whole firm and Friday night drinks is very casual and a good way to get to know people. It is a relatively informal and supportive environment.

11. What do you like most about working for the firm?

I work one-on-one with partners 90% of the time which means that I am usually exposed to and involved in, the whole matter rather than just a small or menial portion. The variety of work is interesting and I am pleased that when I finish articles I will not be pigeonholed - even though I will be predominantly working in one field I will still have the opportunity to work on matters in other areas and will have variety.

12. What tips would you give to someone applying to your firm?

Think about the areas of law you are interested in without narrowing your options, working in a field can be quite different to studying it.