Life as a Trainee in the Real Estate Department is extremely varied. The team covers Property Litigation, General Real Estate, Development, Construction, Corporate Transactions and Planning. The team is split between London, Cardiff, and Oxford, with the Cardiff team specialising in Corporate Real Estate transactions and the Construction team being based between Oxford and London. Despite the geographical distance, they are one big team – with a trip to the Cardiff office on the cards!

Being a smaller team, I was given a lot of responsibility from the get-go. Due to the client-based nature of the work, I found myself regularly talking to clients (I was the first point of contact for clients and was given the opportunity to lead calls and run with a transaction) which was really rewarding. As well as the office work, during my time in the Real Estate team, I attended a trial in Bristol for a major restaurant brand, assisted a judicial review hearing on renewable energy in the Royal Courts of Justice, and met with innovative leaders in the retail and hospitality industry at a meet and greet event in one of London’s up-and-coming retail-exhibition aparthotels.

On a day-to-day basis, I assisted with the drafting of numerous agreements associated with transactions for our corporate occupiers. On the planning side, I became involved in planning applications and objections, preparing cases for judicial review and advising on planning obligations to assist the wider team. Development work at Lewis Silkin is really exciting given our “ideas, people, possibilities” culture. Many of our clients are from the media & entertainment, sport or creative sectors which provides the opportunity to become involved in exciting projects such as the regeneration of the London Olympic Park and the construction of new film studios. I loved being able to advise on some big names, not only in the real estate or construction sectors, but also working with fashion or hospitality clients to help them create retail or office spaces which reflect their brands.

As with all of Lewis Silkin’s departments, the team could not have been more supportive or friendly!