Having studied European Law and lived, studied and worked abroad I was very keen to work in a dynamic and technically challenging area of law with an international dimension. A career in commercial law at a leading international City firm was therefore a natural choice.

I was originally drawn to Herbert Smith due to its international presence, especially in Europe, and the breadth of excellence the firm has across all of its practice areas, in particular the firm's Litigation and Arbitration, and EU and Competition groups. Being conscious of the fact that the type of work done by leading international law firms was very similar I knew that my choice of firm would be based on the culture of the firm as well as the obvious factors, such as its reputation, and I wanted to experience this first hand.

After completing a vacation scheme at Herbert Smith's Brussels office in the summer of my second year at university and doing vacation schemes at two other leading international City firms I knew that Herbert Smith was the firm for me. The firm's reputation, international opportunities and breadth of practice were important factors, but what distinguished Herbert Smith for me was the wide mix of people that I met during the vacation scheme and at various drinks events and the firm's emphasis on recruiting individuals with different interests and skills and letting them develop these in a flexible and supportive training environment. This meant that the firm was very supportive when I decided to do an internship at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia during my gap year. Herbert Smith even helped me fund the internship.

After the initial shock of starting work after five months of travelling in Asia I soon settled into my first seat in one of the firm's general corporate groups. Doing corporate as a first seat is a great way to start a training contract as the work is exciting and fast-paced, and gives you a taste of the work done in other groups in the firm and how they interact with each other in large corporate deals. This then makes it easier to decide in which of the core or specialist areas you would like to sit during your training contract. The type of work I did varied a lot and as with any first seat it involved firstly picking up the Herbert Smith house basics as well as the usual trainee corporate work such as setting-up data rooms, drafting due diligence reports and carrying out legal research.

For my second seat I sat in the Projects group in the firm's Paris office. Whereas the Projects group in London does a wide variety of projects work, the group in Paris is largely focused on oil and gas projects in Africa. This meant that there was a balanced mix of general corporate work and specialist oil and gas work with which you quickly had to become familiar! The Africa element added an extra layer of complexity to the work and the international dimension that I sought. Being part of a smaller team, doing the same type of work, for the same calibre of clients means that as a trainee you get a lot more responsibility and this is one of the big attractions of doing a secondment. In addition to the work being interesting, varied and challenging, I was able to practise my French and make the most of living in this vibrant city.

The level of supervision and training during my first two seats has been very high. The firm is committed to your legal and professional development which means that in addition to the specific departmental training there are opportunities to attend workshops to develop legal as well as soft skills, such as presentation and drafting skills. Most of the learning and training actually takes place when you are "doing" and due to the firm's open door policy there will always be someone there who is happy to explain things and answer any questions. There is also a strong support network amongst trainees and an active social side too, with regular drinks events and the trainee ball.

Having just come back from Paris I am currently settling into my third seat in the EU and Competition group, and life in London in general. I am looking forward to the coming six months as, if the first two seats are anything to go by, this promises to be another challenging and interesting seat!