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In Vault's Practice Area Resource Centers, among other things, we highlight Q&As from various attorneys employed at law firms who have ranked for prestige in the relevant practice area. In this series, we will highlight some answers from attorneys at ranked firms regarding what their typical day is like working in a given practice area. Today, we feature some answers from our International Law Practice Area Resource Center.
Paula Anderson, Partner—A&O Shearman: "A lot of my work involves traveling to conduct interviews on the ground in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. When I’m not traveling, I spend much of my time reviewing and editing interview memos, preparing investigation reports for company boards and management, interacting with regulators, drafting and editing briefs, working with financial and forensic accounting experts, and appearing in court on behalf of my clients.
I’m also the relationship partner for a number of the firm’s key clients. In addition, I have served as the associate development partner at the firm responsible for initiatives such as trainings and mentoring programs to support the career development of our associates. I also sit on the Recruiting and Pro Bono Committees and am actively involved in our inclusion networks and related initiatives.
Additionally, I do a lot of pro bono work in the international arena. Every year, I conduct trial advocacy trainings in East Africa in partnership with a nonprofit organization called Lawyers Without Borders (LWOB). We team up with LWOB to lead advocacy trainings for prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement personnel in those jurisdictions focused on prosecuting cases of human and wildlife trafficking, as well as child sexual exploitation cases. I conduct similar training for prosecutors at the International Criminal Court, focused on prosecuting war crimes and crimes against humanity.
These are just a couple of examples of the breadth of our pro bono practice. Lawyers across our 49 offices completed more than 119,000 hours of pro bono work in 2023."
Philip Stoup, Partner, Freshfields: "A typical day as a capital markets lawyer really varies, which is a big reason why I love what I do. If I’m working on a transaction, my day could involve coordinating all the different work streams to make sure everyone is on task and meeting the client’s timelines and objectives. It could also mean drafting and negotiating key agreements and important disclosures. From a corporate governance perspective, I might be answering critical questions for the company, such as how to be in compliance with certain SEC requirements or how to handle complex board decisions, or advising on what I think the best path forward is from a legal and/or a business standpoint."
Christian Albanesi, Partner, Linklaters: "The good thing is that there is no typical day because it really depends on the status of a given case. It could entail preparing for a hearing; appearing at a hearing; or working on a submission, on a letter, or on correspondence to the tribunal or to the other side. There are no two days that are alike, and a big part of the job is looking for other opportunities."
Amara Mullins, Partner, White & Case: "It’s not easy to point to a “typical” day since our work can vary so much, but I spend many of my days working closely with clients to address time-sensitive strategy points, whether on the direction we should take in a litigation or regulatory matter or on the risks of rolling out a product to market in various jurisdictions. I balance these ongoing time-sensitive demands against strategy on our longer-term cases, for which I’ll meet regularly with clients and counsel teams; advise clients on the pros and cons of proposed courses of action; pressure- test advice from our many local counsel teams to ensure that it’s contextualized within our clients’ global interests and objectives; draft submissions; guide our clients through trials, mediations, and negotiations with counterparties and regulators; identify and prepare fact and expert witnesses; and much more."
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