Case studies: Trainee solicitor: Chris Edwards

Chris has a first class honours degree in ancient history from the University of Edinburgh and is a trainee solicitor.

I decided to become a solicitor as I wanted a career that was well respected, intellectually stimulating, challenging, well paid and with good long-term prospects.

In my last year at university I applied for and was offered vacation schemes by two law firms. I enjoyed the workplace environment at Hogan Lovells and accepted their job offer. They paid for me to study full time on the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and then the Legal Practice Course (LPC), which I undertook at BPP University College , and gave me a living allowance.

They also provided me with some funds whilst I travelled in the six months before starting at the firm.

The most important academic skills I gained during my degree were time management and a focused attitude toward research. If you are going to enjoy law then you're the kind of person who enjoys analysis and applying factual knowledge to new scenarios. Law doesn't involve simple retention of facts. It is more important to learn principles and to train a ‘gut instinct’, which can then be fed by research.

A typical working day involves arriving into work at around 9am and reading my new emails. My supervisor also discusses any work which has come in. I then work on these matters, usually with some extended research or drafting a client note.

I head downstairs for lunch at about 1pm, unless there is an urgent matter when I prefer just to grab a quick sandwich and get back onto the work. At some point during the day I usually have a training session or a graduate recruitment activity to assist with.

I usually leave the office at between 6.30pm - 7pm, unless there is a specific matter which needs me to work late. I have never worked later than 10.30pm, however.

The nature of a training contract means that you change department every six months, usually into an entirely different area of law. I started in pensions, then I went into real estate litigation and I am now in financial institutions. My responsibility has increased, as well as the expectations of those around me.

What I enjoy most about my job is that the people are friendly, the qualified lawyers are helpful and supportive, the work is interesting and I am extremely well paid for my age. There are times (infrequently) when the hours are long, the clients seem ungrateful and your team is under stress. However, this is an understandable result of what is a high pay bracket and competitive environment.

I would like to stay on at my current firm post-qualification and develop my understanding and experience of a particular legal sector, becoming a partner in this firm or another firm in time.

City law is an interesting alternative to the financial disciplines of accountancy/banking. You are challenged with interesting concepts and asked to find difficult solutions to complex issues. The work is of the highest calibre and you frequently read in the national press about transactions or stories that you have been involved in.

The advice you tend to hear most often when considering a career in the city's legal sector is to work on ‘commercial awareness’. But the key is to develop an actual interest. Download some free business podcasts, watch some financial news segments on television, read some articles from the business magazines and, yes, even pick up the Financial Times once in a while (but read the Lex column and the lead articles, not the whole thing). Eventually the vocabulary and jargon will make sense and you'll be able to follow ongoing stories and themes. Once you've done that, commercial awareness should come naturally and you'll know if it's the kind of work for you.