Ravi Mukhawala | 4th seat Trainee
020 7880 4347
Current seat: Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Previous seats: Real Estate & Projects, Construction
08:50am
I arrive at the office just before 9am, grab my morning coffee and settle down at my desk. My current seat is in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution department. I’m enjoying this seat as it’s unlike any of the other departments I’ve spent time in so far. I start the day by checking my inbox for any new emails that have come in.
09:15am
A dispute had arisen between a client and service provider of theirs as to termination of a contract. Our client sought to terminate the contract, whilst their service provider argued that their termination was invalid. I was tasked with reviewing the termination provisions in the contract and advising the client whether their termination was in fact valid. Reviewing and summarising contractual provisions is an interesting and relatively common task for a Trainee.
10:30am
A new task arises whereby a minority shareholder of a company felt that the actions of the company were unfairly prejudicial to them. My supervisor asked me to research provisions of the Companies Act 2006, in particular, (1) what constitutes unfair prejudice against a minority shareholder, and (2) the rights of a shareholder to require an audit of a company. Research is a crucial element of practising law as it is always evolving. I’ve learnt that no matter how experienced a Solicitor is, no Solicitor will know the answer to every question!
11:30am
My next item of the day was to instruct Counsel (a barrister) for their input on a case of alleged fraud and forgery. I prepared a detailed instruction to Counsel, ensuring I include all salient details and documentation. This was so that Counsel was fully apprised of the situation and was able to effectively advise both us and our client.
01:00pm
I tend to take my lunch break around 1pm. Today, as the weather was particularly warm for the time of year, I walked to Whitecross Market with a couple of colleagues. The market has a number of food stalls and a variety of cuisines. A lunch spot I would highly recommend!
02:00pm
I was asked to prepare a first draft of a Letter Before Action in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules. In litigation, before a claim is issued, an aggrieved party would typically serve a letter before action putting the recipient on notice that court proceedings may be brought against them. The main purpose of this is to give parties the opportunity to resolve the dispute before issuing formal proceedings and going to court.
03:00pm
A hard copy hearing bundle was due at court for an upcoming hearing, and the deadline was at 4pm. I had to put my letter before action on hold to ensure the court deadline was not missed. Fortunately, the bundle was already prepared, and the court was relatively nearby, so the deadline was met.
04:00pm
I returned from court and continued with my Letter Before Action.
Today I also received confirmation that I have successfully obtained a Newly Qualified Solicitor position that I applied for in the Real Estate & Projects department. This is the team where I began my career at Devonshires and I’m looking forward to returning in a few months’ time once I have completed my Training Contract.
05:00pm
We were instructed on an appeal of a court decision and needed a copy of the transcript from the original hearing to assist with preparing for the appeal. I was asked to research how this can be obtained. From my research, I found out that I simply needed to fill out a form EX107 and submit this to the court where the original hearing was held.
05:45pm
I check my emails one more time to see if there is anything urgent that needs to be done before logging off. Tonight is the quarterly pizza and drinks social in the office, I’m looking forward to catching-up with friends and colleagues across the firm.
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