Karen D'Souza

I am currently undertaking a seat in the Real Estate department working in the retail team. I have been in this seat for little over three weeks but I am already managing the day to day running of a large number of files.

Where and what did you study?

I studied Law at the University of Sheffield.

Describe your office in 5 words.

Hectic, sociable, conducive, sophisticated and professional.

What are you working on at the moment?

Today my work has included drafting a contract for sale and deed of transfer for a commercial property, undertaking a completion for the sale of a residential property, commenting on and negotiating draft deeds for the surrender of a lease and liaising with two different sets of solicitors on the same matter to effect a complicated completion of an assignment of a lease. Needless to say it has been a hectic day!

What has been your most intellectually challenging piece of work?

My most intellectually challenging piece of work to date has been the drafting of a service contract (which outlines the terms of employment) for a director of a company. I was involved in this assignment during my seat in the Corporate department.

Although the service contract was relatively small it involved detailed consideration of each clause and, during the review of the contract, I had to justify why particular clauses had been included or varied. I had to pre-empt what the other side’s solicitors would comment upon and approach the drafting with commercial focus.

What seat have you enjoyed the most?

My second seat was in the Corporate department, working in the Capital Markets team, which deals primarily with Alternative Investment Market (AIM) listed clients. Although a trainee could not run their own files I enjoyed assisting on large matters. This in itself could be challenging as I had to stay on top of developments in the transaction in case I was called upon. I was able to attend numerous client meetings throughout a large deal we were working on, which offered a real insight into how the client perceives a transaction.

The work in the Corporate department was challenging both in terms of the legal knowledge as well as organisation and time management. Throughout my seat I had constant support from my team and was never embarrassed to ask questions.

How much client contact have you had?

I have had a consistent level of client contact. At Halliwells, there is always a willingness to expose trainees to this aspect of the work in order to improve their transactional/legal knowledge as well as their skills set. I have had the opportunity to attend client meetings as well as liaise directly with clients over the phone taking their instructions. This has afforded me the chance to build up a real rapport with clients as well as making me a much more confident communicator.

Any daunting moments?

One of the most daunting experiences I have had with a client involved an all-day (and pretty much all night!) mediation involving six other parties. I had worked up to the mediation for months with my supervisor and had constant conversations and correspondence with our client. It was exceptionally rewarding to achieve a settlement at the end of this which was agreeable to our client.

How well do you know the trainees at the other offices?

At Halliwells, there is a real feeling of genuine integration between the various offices throughout the country. This was fostered early on in our training contract when the entire trainee intake gathered in Manchester for a two week induction programme. Throughout this period we were given the opportunity to really get to know one another both professionally and socially. The impetus from the induction is carried on throughout the training contract and trainees from the other offices are invited to come over to Manchester (and vice versa) on numerous occasions. This means that there’s often an excuse for a few drinks after work and the obligatory banter on which office is best!

Can you tell us a lawyer joke?

Q: How many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: How many can you afford?