Name: Jane Stark
Job title: Newly Qualified Solicitor (August 2006)
Universities attended: University of Sheffield
Degree obtained: Law LLB
Age: 38 years

Jane joined Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in August 2004 after studying law at Sheffield University.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has given me the opportunity to work on complex and challenging projects in an international environment with a range of dynamic and interesting people. Freshfields has an amazing support structure including assistance with research, paralegal and secretarial support. Often your supervisor will also be a mentor to you. This all helps you to produce work of the highest possible standard and to achieve your full potential.

Vacation placements

I did two vacation placements before starting my training contract, one of which was at Freshfields. Freshfields stood out from the other law firms because they offered me the opportunity to undergo the very best training at the highest levels of the law. The wealth of support and opportunity a firm the size of Freshfields offered was second to none. I sat in the Employment, Pensions and Benefits department and even as a vacation student I was immediately involved in a discrimination case and given real work to do. I was made to feel like a valued member of the team and found everybody very friendly and helpful, regardless of their level of seniority or how busy they were.

Previous Careers

I came to the law as a mature student having had two previous careers. On leaving school I worked for the civil service for a number of years and then went to work for an airline as cabin crew, a job I did for seven years before I decided to return to education and study law at Sheffield University. Whilst studying law I decided that I actually wanted to practise it and applied for vacation placements and training contracts.

Despite my unconventional background, Freshfields had the foresight and open-mindedness not only to value my previous experience but more importantly to see it as an asset, give me a vacation placement and subsequently a training contract. Interestingly, on starting my training contract I noticed that many of the people in my intake had also had previous careers and had a wealth of experience outside the law. Clearly Freshfields was a firm that genuinely wanted individual and interesting people as its lawyers.

Training

I started my training contract in the corporate department and was immediately plunged into a number of different projects including a business sale, an acquisition and a re-structuring. My work was mainly focused on mergers and acquisitions and my tasks included setting up a data room, research and drafting. My learning was supported with weekly trainee training sessions and regular team meetings. I arrived in the department at a very busy time and was fortunate enough to be involved in a number of large deals which I saw through to their conclusion. I have since spent three months in Employment, six months in Litigation, three months on a client secondment to IBM and my final six months in Real Estate (where I qualified in August this year).

For me, Real Estate at Freshfields was the most exciting seat because you run your own property files, negotiate leases and licences yourself and are a client’s first point of contact. Some of my most exciting projects in the last two years include high-value commercial property sales, a hostile takeover and attempting to issue proceedings against the Central Bank of Iraq. It is hugely satisfying to work with bright, friendly people, for top clients and to be involved in deals that make headlines in The Financial Times.

Challenging roles

Typical trainee roles include drafting and negotiating a huge range of documents, attending client meetings and preparing attendance notes, due diligence, research and preparing advice. I particularly enjoy the negotiating and being a point of reference for my clients.

While there is the opportunity to go on secondment to one of Freshfields’ many international offices, I chose a client secondment. This proved invaluable: I was given a significant degree of responsibility. I was the procurement lawyer at IBM responsible for negotiating contracts with IBM’s suppliers. At over £10m, many of these contracts were extremely valuable to IBM and negotiations included meetings with partners from other law firms and in-house counsel (who were several years more experienced than me) at which I would be the only IBM legal representative. I have learnt a great deal during my training contract and have enjoyed it immensely too!