I joined Nockolds as a trainee in March 2021 working in the firm’s London office. I have been commuting to the office on my bike every day from Clapham, which has been a refreshing change of pace (prior to joining the firm, I had been working from home for the entire year and finished the LPC remotely too).
The London office is open plan and overlooks Liverpool St. station. In my first few weeks, most of my London colleagues were still working from home, so there would only be around 3 or 4 of us in at a time. Starting my training contract in a quiet, almost empty office was certainly a strange experience. But the office has been slowly populating over the last three months, meaning that I meet new faces week by week!
Despite the social restrictions due to the pandemic, I have settled in quite well and have been made to feel at home by everybody. The firm have organised a number of social events over Zoom since I joined. A particular highlight was the virtual cocktail-making tutorial – I made a horrendously acrid espresso martini which I am glad nobody else had to taste! Also, as restrictions have eased off over the last few months, I have been able to travel to Bishop’s Stortford for a lunch with the other trainees, with whom I am in regular contact day-to-day.
My first seat has been in the Corporate and Commercial team. My colleagues have been really supportive and approachable. In the office, I also sit next to the Partner, James, which has really helped my learning experience. My work has been really varied between corporate and commercial matters. For example, I have worked on a film location agreement for one of the UK’s most popular TV shows, I have drafted key ancillary documents in corporate share transactions, and I also worked independently on post-completion matters for a large corporate deal (which included dealing with a time-sensitive undertaking!). Three months into my training contract, I already feel like I am learning a lot and I am really enjoying myself!
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