A day in the life of a National & Leeds Law Society Representative

Hi my name is Daniel, and I am the National and Leeds Law Society representative for the Leeds Junior Lawyers Division. I work as a trainee solicitor at Ison Harrison in the company commercial team and I have a keen interest in corporate and commercial law.

How does a regular day go for you?

Arriving at work I check my emails to determine if there are any urgent tasks that need to take priority before reviewing the case list and working through the required tasks. Working in the company commercial team it can be hard to predict what a regular day will look like as there are various areas of law that are covered from commercial contracts, banking arrangements to pure mergers and acquisitions.

Tasks that are required to be completed during a business acquisition or disposal depend on the different stages of a transaction. Typical tasks may include reviewing due diligence, setting up data sites, drafting and reviewing ancillary documents, drafting and reviewing main transaction documents (SPA, Disclosure Letters etc) or having meetings with the client to receive updates on the transaction. I personally enjoy the disclosure calls with the client as this is an opportunity to get to understand the client’s business and you get to chat with them on a more informal basis to build trust as part of the transaction process.

The other thing I enjoy about working in the company commercial team is that the work can be very varied. Whilst predominantly focusing on corporate M&A I also enjoy the technical knowledge required for share restructuring like share for share exchanges, share buy backs and capital reduction demergers.

What made you want to get involved with the LJLD Committee?

When I moved to Leeds, I didn’t know anyone in the legal profession however at university I enjoyed being involved in the wider legal community be it playing sports or attending social events organised by the university law society. When I found out that there was a local junior lawyers division that put on similar events I was excited to get involved and to engage with the community in Leeds.

I think that it is important to have a strong support network around you whilst you study, and practice law and the Leeds Junior Lawyers Division allows you to connect with likeminded individuals in similar stages of their career. It is refreshing to go on the journey to qualification with friends who can offer support and guidance when things get difficult and to realise that you are not alone in the process.

I was inspired to join the committee as I didn’t have a traditional route into the legal profession, and I think it is important to shine a light on the alternative routes that are available to juniors in accessing the profession. With the changes to the qualification process and the introduction of the SQE it is important to ensure that junior solicitors voices are represented in these conversations. I am proud to have hosted two ‘Routes into law’ panel events at Leeds Beckett and ULAW highlighting these issues and I hope to build on this in the coming year.

What does your role require you to do?

I primarily act as a link between the Leeds Law Society, the Law Society and the Leeds Junior Lawyers Division. I attend the Junior Lawyers Division meetings and provide input on the decisions that are made and see if there are any way that these can be linked to any initiatives set up by the Leeds Law Society or the Law Society. I attend the Leeds Law Society meetings to provide an update on what the junior lawyers are doing and to provide a voice to juniors in discussions on events and policies that are being discussed. Often the Leeds Law Society may be putting on an event that they may want juniors to attend in which I will relay back to the Leeds Junior Lawyers Division. I attend the national junior lawyer events whereby we collaborate and share ideas as to what we are doing nationally to try and improve other national junior lawyer divisions offerings to their members.

My role allows for a unique insight into different sections of the profession from university through to qualification and there is a desire to create a pathway from university, into the junior lawyers division and ultimately into the law society.