Meet Bianca - Trainee

What seat

Dentons London office. I am a first-year trainee currently in my second seat (asset, trade, and export finance) but I am moving soon to my third seat, a secondment to Toulouse to support our client Airbus.

Graduation year

I graduated in 2021 with a Joint MA in English and Medieval History from the University of St Andrews.

Why did you decide on a career in Law?

Unusually, studying history made law a natural choice for me. Like history, law requires strong written and verbal skills, an interest in research, a flair for constructing fact-based arguments, and the ability collaborate well with others. A career in commercial law felt like a natural next step. I am regularly amazed by how many other history graduates I run into around the firm.

Why did you choose to train with Dentons?

I was initially attracted to Dentons' reputation for high quality work and extensive training contract offering. However, when I had the opportunity to meet other trainees, my decision was reinforced by the firm's approach to hiring candidates from diverse backgrounds. Having moved to London from Texas to start my training contract, I immediately felt at ease in my cohort and was grateful for the breadth of different experiences represented. I was also encouraged by Dentons' generous approach to pro-bono work, and since beginning my training contract I have had the opportunity to assist groups like Asylum Aid, Reprieve, and eyeWitness to Atrocities. Looking back, I would choose Dentons again on the basis of the firm's exceptional investment in trainees. The firm, especially at the partnership level, prioritises trainee growth and provides the training, feedback, and individual support needed to excel.

Tell us about your training contract. What does this involve?

My training contract involves four six-month seat rotations through different departments here at Dentons. It's an ideal opportunity to test the waters of different practice groups and find a niche while carrying real responsibility within a team.

What kind of tasks do you complete on a typical day?

A typical day as a trainee varies enormously across departments! In banking, I often find myself corresponding with clients and counsel across the globe, drafting documents and emails, attending client calls, and helping my team progress ongoing matters. In my previous seat, my day-to-day work usually involved in-depth research tasks, preparing documents for court, drafting witness statements, and speaking to experts.

At basic level, the daily work of a trainee is hugely varied but always centers around supporting your colleagues and clients which makes it an enormously rewarding experience.

What do you enjoy about being a solicitor?

One of the most exciting parts of being a trainee solicitor is the real variety of work and responsibility placed on you, even at an early stage of your career. The work itself is interesting and connects to real life problems and international markets. Although the work is fast-paced, I love the opportunity to challenge myself. In particular, it is encouraging to see when my work makes a material difference to the outcome of a case or project for my clients. Watching a deal you have worked on be announced internally at the firm or even on the news is a fantastic reminder that the work you contribute, even as a junior, does make a difference.

What are the challenges?

As a little bit of a perfectionist, especially in the first few weeks of my seat, I initially found the most significant challenge to be my own (unreasonable) expectations that I could complete tasks perfectly upon the first attempt. Learning how to ask effective questions and recognising the essential learning process helped build my confidence over my first year as a trainee. The other, long-term challenge of being a trainee is the daunting realisation that there will always be a moving target of new things to learn. Global commercial trends change daily, and it is a solicitor's job to constantly improve. Dentons has encouraged upskilling among trainees by allowing us to develop our own innovative solutions to problems within our departments. For example, I have been creating my own AI-bot to review documentation- a departure from my normal comfort zone. While this constant learning process can undoubtedly be challenging, it is also a motivating factor and makes the daily work of a trainee infinitely more interesting.

How do you strike a healthy work/life balance?

I am a strong believer in hobbies as a way of reducing stress and striking a healthy work life balance. I frequently stop off after work to go mudlarking - a type of urban archaeology- along the river Thames and I love curating my collection of small finds. I also enjoy cycling and am currently trying to improve my French language skills before moving to Toulouse this autumn, both of which provide a positive outlet after a long day of work.

Realistically, I think the best way to solidify a long-term work life balance is to look for supportive team. Although being a trainee lawyer does inevitably require a willingness to face long hours and difficult tasks, my team has always prioritised a healthy balance through their flexible hybrid working policy and empathetic support of me as an individual on a day-to-day basis.

What are your career ambitions?

In the short term, my career ambition is to broaden my understanding of law and the dynamics between different jurisdictions and markets through my time on a six-month international secondment. I am especially looking forward to building on my experience supporting clients and further honing my technical skills so I can be well-rounded and well prepared for the practice area I chose to pursue. I am also keen to continue supporting pro-bono projects throughout the duration of my training contract. In the long term, reaching partner-level is another challenging goal to which I aspire.