Bird & Bird

What it involves:

A mix of contentious IP work (trade marks, copyright, patents) and data-protection-adjacent matters, depending on the specific team. Several trainees describe it as "soft" contentious work rather than full-blown litigation, alongside more commercial IP tasks like trade mark searches and watch-notice reviews.

Example trainee tasks:

Preparing and updating hearing bundles and exhibit lists; drafting correspondence and witness statements, then proofing before filing; trade mark searches and reviewing watch notice results; Multi-country collation of advice and reviewing/drafting data protection documentation on combined IP/data protection matters; reporting data breaches; reviewing evidence and helping with hearing preparation; booking and confirming transcribers and other hearing-related services; drafting emails directly to clients.

Who trainees work with:

A mix of associates and partners on the immediate team, plus direct client contact via email and calls, and third parties like transcribers and other service providers when a hearing is coming up.

Early responsibility:

Client contact starts early and is fairly hands-on, one trainee described "significant amounts of client contact, both on calls and via email," and another was given responsibility for drafting client emails directly rather than just reviewing them.

Support and supervision:

Some trainees describe being assigned a supervisor with scheduled check-ins, whilst others sit directly with their supervisor or partner, and others have open-door access to seniors generally.

A first month might involve:

Getting oriented on live matters through bundle and exhibit list work, shadowing or supporting hearing prep, starting on trade mark searches or watch-notice reviews, and beginning to draft short client correspondence under supervision before taking on more of it independently.

What it involves:

Contentious casework in the run-up to and around hearings, research and document-heavy work, with a steady rhythm of internal catch-ups on live matters.

Example trainee tasks:

Weekly catch-up meetings on live matters and outstanding tasks; legal research; preparing hearing bundles; drafting defences and settlement agreements; drafting court documents; letters and correspondence; taking attendance notes at hearings; attending client calls and meetings.

Who trainees work with:

Supervising associates and partners directly, clients on a periodic basis, and barristers/counsel around hearings.

Early responsibility:

One trainee described being given "more responsibility than expected" early in this seat, though client contact was more limited.

Support and supervision:

This will vary depending on the supervisor and matter.

A first month might involve:

Getting up to speed on live matters through research tasks and bundle preparation, starting to draft shorter documents like correspondence or attendance notes under supervision, and sitting in on client meetings and hearings before taking a more active role in them.

What it involves:

Working across several live matters in parallel rather than one deal at a time, with a workload the trainee described as noticeably more predictable than the contentious seats they'd sat in earlier in the contract.

Example trainee tasks:

Document proofing and drafting; client correspondence; attending negotiation calls.

Who trainees work with:

Senior colleagues, clients directly via correspondence, and other parties/counterparties on negotiation calls.

Early responsibility:

Client correspondence is a regular part of the workload in this seat, handled mostly by email and Teams call, with supervision from more senior colleagues on the calls.

A first month might involve:

Getting oriented across the live matters you're allocated to, starting with document proofing and drafting support, sitting in on negotiation calls before taking a more active role, and beginning supervised client correspondence.