We caught up with Kelvin, an Associate, who studied Psychology at Monash University and completed his Masters in Law at the University of Bristol before completing the LPC at BPP.
Kelvin has recently returned to London after a secondment in the Singapore office. As a former Akin Gump Trainee Solicitor, Kelvin shares his experience of a typical day as a trainee in the London Investment Funds practice.
9:00 am
I arrive at the office, located where the bustling City meets hipster Shoreditch; there are no shortage of breakfast or coffee options given the numerous cafes in the area! I get to my desk and go through any emails that have come in from the US and Asia overnight and review my to-do list for the day. I also spend a few minutes reading the Financial Times to keep up with commercial developments – several of the matters the firm advises on regularly appear in this and it’s nice to have the inside story!
9:30 am
A client is preparing for a large fund launch which involves negotiating several trading documents with various banks and other service providers throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. I ensure that the list tracking each document required for launch is up to date, in addition to calling the banks and service providers to clarify queries which the client has raised. Being the client contact for this part of the transaction, it’s important to keep on top of everything in case the client asks for a general update or the status of a particular document, which can happen several times a day.
11:30 am
I collate comments to an agenda received from our colleagues in the US and Singapore for a weekly update call with a client and send out the agenda for the call, which is to happen later this afternoon. As I finish sending out the agenda, an associate asks me to call our Cayman counsel to clarify their comments to a limited partnership agreement which were sent through via email the night before. After clarifying these points, I speak to the associate who asks me to mark-up the agreement to reflect the comments of the Cayman counsel and then send this out to all parties involved in the transaction.
12:30 pm
I attend one of the firm’s lunchtime training sessions, which are delivered by partners and external speakers such as leading commercial QCs. This time, one of the partners in the Cross-Border Transactions team goes through Loan Agreements and important considerations to keep in mind in a restructuring context. Teams across Akin Gump’s international offices also dial into this session – lunchtime talks such as these are a great way of ensuring expertise is shared between our extensive network of international offices.
1:30 pm
Shortly after lunch, a partner comes into the office and asks me to research a question from a hedge fund manager about whether being appointed to the management committee of a limited liability partnership results in the appointee incurring any additional liabilities. After spending roughly an hour looking into the question, the partner and I sit down to discuss my findings after which I am asked to provide a written research memorandum which is to go directly to the client.
3:30 pm
An associate emails me asking for help putting together the first drafts of an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) Agreement and a Management Agreement, both of which are key documents in a hedge fund structure. I am also asked to free-draft some clauses reflecting the objectives of the client. This is a great opportunity to develop my drafting skills.
5:30 pm
I attend our weekly client update call and take notes during the call. Listening into calls like this provides a good opportunity to develop my knowledge of investment funds and experience first-hand how partners interact with their clients. After the call with the client, the London and US teams have another call during which they formulate an action plan to help achieve the client’s objectives. I am asked to provide a brief, written summary of the call with the client as well as a draft of the action plan, both of which are to be distributed to the teams in London, Singapore and the US.
7:30 pm
With my work for the day done, I jot down my to-do list for tomorrow and head to the gym before then heading home.
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