Each day as a trainee solicitor at RDP Law is stimulating and engaging, and no day is ever truly the same. However, a day in the life might look something like this.

8:30AM

Upon my arrival at the office, my first port of call is always to check my emails. I will also check my calendar to see what appointments or reminders I have inserted for the day. Following this, I will begin to map out my tasks for the day ahead, dealing with the most urgent first. I find the more organised I am, the more efficient and pro-active my working day is. I then quickly pop to the kitchen to make that all-important coffee!

9:00AM

Typically, I will touch base with my supervisor to review my current work and the day’s tasks. This gives me an opportunity to address any queries. Today, one task is to put together an application for a notice to the registrar in respect of an application for adverse possession, which will include a statutory declaration signed by our client. The deadline for submission is fast approaching.

9:20AM

I prepare the above application and supporting statutory declaration, which I then send to the client for approval and signing.

11:45AM–1:00PM

Upon receipt of an email in response to my enquiry from a prospective expert as part of a dispute, I prepare a formal Letter of Instruction to the expert in question. The matter itself is relatively convoluted, which means I need the Letter of Instruction to be as clear as possible.

1PM

Lunch in the break room. Usually a flatbread and a banana, prepared the night before. I use this time to have a chat with colleagues in other departments.

1:30PM–3:15PM

My supervisor has asked me to draft a Letter Before Action on a newly opened file. To ensure that the letter covers all the necessary points, and to make sure I fully understand the nature of the dispute, before writing I conduct a full review of the documents and correspondence provided by the client.

3:15PM

I have a Teams call with a client, which I attend with my supervisor. Before the meeting takes place, I conduct a full review of the file and conduct any necessary research in readiness, and I brief my supervisor on the contents of the matter before the meeting takes place. This particular dispute surrounds the handling of a trust and how the trust fund is to be used.

Following the meeting, I discuss it with my supervisor and then write up a detailed attendance note.

End of the day

I make sure that all my time recording for the day has been posted and check my emails to ensure that nothing urgent has arisen before I head home.

Work/life balance is crucial, and RDP are always very supportive of this. After I have finished work, I get some exercise. I live in Cardiff, and a run around the barrage rounds out the day.

Written by Sam Saysell. Sam works in the Dispute Resolution team, on a range of types of litigation including property, commercial, and contentious probate.