Lyssandra Sears joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe as a trainee in September 2006. Lyssandra obtained a 2:1 degree from Sussex University in Development Psychology. She went on to spend a couple of years working for Sony Music, first in London and then in New York. She then completed the GDL and LPC at the College of Law, London. She is currently in her third seat in the Corporate Department.

I very much enjoy the work I am involved in at Orrick. Whilst not all of it is fascinating, I feel I am learning a great deal all the time. I am now in the corporate department, my third seat, having completed seats in litigation and employment.

The atmosphere is very positive at Orrick. Before starting my training contract, I imagined that City law firms would be stuffy, dry environments, but thankfully, that’s not at all what I find here. Yes, everybody works hard, and you are of course expected to do your bit, but the people are approachable and supportive.

Working in a truly international firm is very exciting too. You hear so many languages in the corridors and there is such a great pool of experience across all the offices. I was worried before starting that, since Orrick is a US firm, there would be a satellite feel to the London office, but that is not how it works in reality. Everyone has respect for each other’s areas of expertise and knowledge of local jurisdictions. We regularly have video linked meetings which help make us feel that we are all part of a global team.

It has been very exciting to be involved in high profile cases which get reported in well known papers and journals, or working on transactions with, or through issues for, high profile clients. In litigation, I enjoyed watching the progress of the very complicated case that I was working on and witnessing all the strategizing that goes into such cases. I dealt with a broad range of matters in my employment seat, including negotiating compromise agreements and handling all manner of issues directly with clients. In my current seat I have been working on AIM listings, as well as other UKLA/FSA/LSE matters. We also have some exciting acquisitions in the pipeline but I better not divulge any more about those because that’d be telling…