Practice Area Guides
Practice area guides for vacation schemes
Know the seat before you sit in it. Understand how commercial law practice areas work, what trainees actually do, and what to read before interviews, open days and vacation schemes.
Most candidates can name the practice areas. Far fewer can describe the work.
Most vac schemers and trainees turn up on day one with a general sense of what the department does. That is fine. It is also the baseline.
The people who stand out arrive knowing what kind of work actually lands on the desk, what is currently moving in the market, and which questions show they have thought about the practice rather than searched it the night before.
Read the Vacation Scheme Guide →Taster live Real Estate
The Real Estate Taster
Step into the Meridian Park file. Learn the process, explain it to the client, then review title, leases, searches and seller replies before sending a ranked note to your supervising associate.
- Format
- Live taster
- Your role
- Real estate trainee
- Focus
- Title, leases, searches
City Firms
Start with Real Estate, then use Corporate and the full guide to compare the other seats.
Rights that attach to land. Title, leases, searches, and an instinct for what is missing, not just what is present.
Read the guideCorporate M&ALiveCorporate M&ABuying and selling companies. Due diligence, the SPA, and the execution discipline that holds a deal together.
Read the guideBanking & FinanceLiveBanking & FinanceAdvising lenders and borrowers on debt financing; the legal mechanics of how money is lent, secured, and documented. Process-intensive, document-heavy, structured around the facility agreement.
Read the guideDispute ResolutionLiveDispute ResolutionAdvising clients in disputes; through litigation, arbitration, or negotiated settlement. Unlike transactional seats, the work is slower-moving, research-heavy, and structured around arguments rather than documents.
Read the guideEmploymentSoonEmploymentAdvising employers and employees on the full range of workplace legal issues; from drafting contracts and advising on restructurings to defending tribunal claims and handling senior executive exits.
Read the guideUS Firms in London
Use these guides to compare the seats candidates often meet at US firms in London.
Advising PE sponsors on the acquisition, ownership, and exit of portfolio companies. The work combines high-end M&A with management incentives, governance, and the specific commercial logic of sponsor-led transactions.
Read the guideLeveraged FinanceSoonLeveraged FinanceDocumenting the debt that funds leveraged buyouts and other sponsor-backed transactions. The work sits at the intersection of banking, capital markets, and private equity; and the documents are among the most heavily negotiated in private practice.
Read the guideFundsSoonFundsAdvising on the formation and structuring of investment funds; private equity, real estate, credit, infrastructure, and hedge funds. Highly technical, regulatory-intensive, and increasingly important as private capital has grown.
Read the guideRestructuringSoonRestructuringAdvising companies, creditors, and investors when a business is in financial distress; through formal insolvency processes, out-of-court workouts, or distressed debt strategies. Counter-cyclical, high-stakes, and unlike any other seat.
Read the guidePut it into practice