A seat in the Banking, Restructuring & Insolvency team

A seat in the Banking, Restructuring & Insolvency team

Trainees at Michelmores get the opportunity to train in a variety of different teams. From Corporate to Family to Transactional Real Estate there are a whole host of opportunities across all three departments (Business, Private Client and Real Estate).

I am currently sat in the Banking, Restructuring & Insolvency team (BRI), and have previously completed seats in the Corporate team and the Tax, Trusts & Succession team. So, what does a trainee in BRI do?

Contentious & Non-contentious

As you complete your training contract, you are required by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority to gain experience in both contentious and non-contentious areas of work. The work of the BRI team spans both contentious and non-contentious work, which gives a great insight into the two and can help you to decide which direction you want to go in. Not only that, but it makes for a varied seat, which helps to keep things interesting and ensures that you can develop a range of different skills and knowledge.

On the contentious side, the team deals with a variety of insolvency litigation, ranging from individual bankruptcy through to corporate insolvency procedures such as liquidation. This can mean assisting with applications ranging from the extension of an administration through to applications for the possession and sale of a property.

On the non-contentious side, the team works on a variety of banking and finance transactions. This often overlaps with the work of the Corporate team and the Real Estate Department.

Typical tasks

On the contentious side, my work has included:

  • drafting application documents (e.g. administration extension; bankruptcy petition; and extension of period to register a charge with Companies House);
  • preparing for hearings (e.g. drafting witness statements; preparing exhibits; preparing bundles; drafting instructions to counsel; and filing documents with the court);
  • attending hearings, some of which have been in the High Court;
  • attending client meetings;
  • preparing correspondence with clients, the court and the other side; and
  • instructing enforcement officers to take possession of a property.

On the non-contentious side, I have:

  • prepared and amended finance documents (e.g. director certificates and notices);
  • managed the signing process by liaising with signatories and using our digital signing software (DocuSign) to circulate documents to signatories and check that they have all been signed in a compliant manner; and
  • dealt with completed documents (e.g. sending notices; preparing completion bibles; and registering a rule change for a mutual society).

I have also prepared security reviews, considering the validity of security and whether or not the security holder will be able to enforce it. Each month I also research a handful of recent insolvency cases and prepare case summaries to form part of the team’s Insolvency Bulletin.

Beyond the office

During my seat in BRI I have been encouraged to go beyond the legal work and take an active role in marketing and business development too. This has been a great opportunity to develop not only my legal skillset but also my network – both of which become increasingly important as you progress through your career. Like the work itself, the opportunities on this front have been varied – I have played padel (look it up if you have not heard of it – nor had I) and attended a conference on recent developments in insolvency law hosted by a barristers’ chambers to name a couple.

If you have any questions about life as a trainee in the BRI team or training at Michemlores drop me an email or a message on Linkedin.