Job Satisfaction at Baker McKenzie

I have been given a lot of responsibility from my first day. I have always been a client contact, which (although a bit stressful) has provided me with fantastic learning opportunities and taught me to focus on what the client wants. Day to day, I draft letters and agreements, correspond with the client and other side by phone and email and provide ad hoc assistance to senior colleagues.

I assist with preparation for court and mediations, conduct research into various areas of law, draft correspondence, and assist with drafting and compiling affidavits.

Lots of opportunities to request work across a range of areas, draft court documents and advices, conduct legal research tasks, and attend conferences and hearings.

I receive varied and interesting work across multiple jurisdictions and fields of law. I believe my opinion and input is respected and valued by the Firm.

My role is essentially a generalist "Projects Lawyer" role. I need to be across a wide range of legal areas and will generally work on these with more experienced specialists in the Firm. These areas include but are not limited to: Construction; Dispute Resolution; Banking & Finance; Property; and Corporate. My role is to essentially be a "running mate" for clients at whatever stage of a project's development they are currently at, and assist as needed from a legal perspective. This may include securing land arrangements for a renewables project, drafting and negotiating technical contracts, or working with banks and other third parties to finance or re-finance a project. My responsibilities include drafting documentation, attending or leading client calls, assisting in the satisfaction of conditions precedent or subsequent to a transaction closing, and generally providing more junior support to more senior specialist lawyers at Baker McKenzie as required.

Preparing legal advice, and reviewing and drafting relevant contractual agreements; preparing client alerts and newsletters; preparing internal knowledge updates.

Helping review and amend legal documents (incl. security documents, legal opinions, ancillary documents); responding to clients (where appropriate) and liaising with other counsel; assisting with ad hoc tasks; engaging with Pro Bono work, including long-term tasks.

Low leverage model allows for early adoption of responsibility

Drafting, reviewing, research etc.

This is team specific and varies based on the dynamics and the partners in charge. Engaged by different team members. Range of work, but mostly from one or two people. Some repetition, but I enjoy that as I can improve my performance of the task each time.

The work is varied. It is also dependent on the team you work for. Most importantly, you can often seek out the kind of work that interests you most, and you get to work with the people and partners who offer the best mentorship experiences.

M&A, Equity Capital Markets, Initial Public Offerings and providing general corporate advice.