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It's been five years since I did a vacation scheme at Lovells, and the reasons I decided to apply then for a training contract here still apply today. In a firm of this size you really do get involved every day with work that has an international dimension. The clients I am working with now come from all over Europe and Asia and the work I do in construction litigation often deals with the legal systems and practices of other countries. On my vacation scheme I remember being given some high quality work to do and even at that stage, I felt my input was appreciated. Being a trainee here means you are part of a team, and trainees are encouraged to take ownership of tasks whether it be drafting agreements or drafting advice based on legal research.

Lovells also has a great reputation as a supportive employer, which looks after the pastoral and training needs of its employees. I've found that the training here is very good, and within the various departments more specialised training is given to all legal staff above and beyond the training contract.

After finishing my law degree and getting an offer from Lovells, I decided to study Mandarin in Beijing, China. I completed my course at the Beijing Language and Culture University and then interned briefly in the Lovells Beijing office, where I researched contractual risk management on energy projects in China and saw first-hand the strength of Lovells' presence over there, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and a "friendship" scheme (the Sino-Global Legal Alliance) with the leading Chinese firms in other Chinese cities. I hope to return to China as a qualified lawyer one day, and Lovells is well placed to provide secondments for those with aspirations to work in East Asia.

I studied the LPC at Nottingham Law School, then decided to travel around the world for the best part of a year before arriving at Lovells in 2007. My first seat was in the Corporate Transactions group, where the pace of the work was fast and I was exposed to the different working methods of clients from various exotic places, which included a visit to Kyiv, Ukraine. I recognised the importance of sharing legal knowhow and expertise in a law firm, and was surprised to find out just how many groups within the firm would give input into a single transaction at short notice. I look forward to going on secondment to Paris next and taking on more hands-on work in a smaller office.

My advice on applying for a training contract would be to sort out in your mind what you want from a law firm, whether it is blue-chip clients, a congenial working culture, training, international or client secondments, then talk to the current trainees about their experiences in each of those fields. It's not true that all the City firms are the same - judging by what I've heard from some of my law school friends now training elsewhere in London, I made a very good choice!