Sara Brooks - Trainee Solicitor
"Before joining the firm I did internships with the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Asian Development Bank and the International Bar Association in London. I wanted to come to Freshfields so I could keep doing work with an international dimension.
I first encountered Freshfields at Melbourne University, where I was the student IT manager for the International Law Journal, which the firm sponsored. Later, I worked as a paralegal for a firm in Melbourne which was involved in a huge construction law arbitration. A Freshfields Partner from Paris presided and everyone, including me, was really impressed by the way he ran things.
The Melbourne law firm was a pretty relaxed environment and I thought British firms would probably be a bit stuffy. It's not like that here, though.
Yes, the work is intense and there's lots of it. (The weekend is usually my own, but I don't tend to make evening plans during the week.) At first I didn’t notice how much I was learning. Not just about the law, but about how what you do contributes to a whole deal.
I get plenty of responsibility, have direct contact with clients and am encouraged to show initiative rather than waiting to be told what to do. And that's great because it's much more satisfying being able to manage situations myself."
Sara Brooks
Trainee Solicitor
Engineering (Elec) at the University of Melbourne
Law at the University of Melbourne
Seats: Corporate, Finance (Structured and Asset)
Joined February 2007