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Choosing a City law firm is a difficult task, particularly for a non-law student. At face value, all the large City firms offer a range of corporate work and the opportunity to work for interesting clients. From my perspective as a student, however, Lovells stood apart for three reasons.

First, Lovells has a reputation for being approachable. Working for a large organisation as your first job on leaving university is a challenge. Work etiquette is different to university life, the hours can be longer and the standards are higher. Given the steep learning curve ahead of me, I wanted to join a firm that made the process as accessible as possible.

Secondly, Lovells is positioned as one of the largest international firms outside the magic circle. As a trainee, you want to work on big deals and for top quality clients. You do not, however, want to work on deals that require trainees only to do administrative jobs. Lovells promised to allow me to work on headline deals and have real responsibility as a trainee.

Thirdly, I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks at Lovells as a vacation student. The vacation scheme was incredibly useful as each department gave a presentation on the type of work they undertake and their role in the firm. The combination of large corporate work and other specialist areas of law provides trainees with an opportunity to experience both general corporate work and specialist legal work during their training contract.

My experience of Lovells as a trainee has confirmed the expectations I had as a student. In my first month, I knocked on several partners doors to discuss my training contract, and they all stopped what they were doing to help me. I have also worked on big deals, but have been given responsibility for small parts.

Over the course of my first two seats, I have come to appreciate aspects of Lovells that I would not have considered as a student. Most importantly, Lovells takes trainee development very seriously. Applying the law and studying it require different skills. Lovells has a two-week training programme for all new trainees which is followed by regular training throughout the whole of the first seat trainees. Each department in the firm gives a presentation to first seaters, and each department in which you sit gives you department-specific training. Being taught best practice from day one is a huge advantage for what is going to be a long-term career.

In my first seat I spent time in Real Estate, where I was given my own files to run and my own clients to look after. By the end of the six months, I felt comfortable advising clients on my own and amending leases and licences without supervision.

I am currently sitting in the commercial banking part of the dispute resolution department. The seat has been a fantastic opportunity to learn how the courts work and the relationship between clients, solicitors and barristers.

On reflection, I definitely made the right choice by joining Lovells. The expectations I had on joining the firm have been both confirmed and surpassed. Everyone at Lovells is expected to work hard and be committed to the firm, and if you want a strictly 9 to 5 job, Lovells is probably not for you. If you are willing to work hard, however, Lovells is a great place to start your law career.