A Day in the Life of a Corporate Trainee

I’ve been fortunate to be a part of the Gilson Gray team for over two years now. I started in Commercial Real Estate in June 2022 and naturally progressed to begin my traineeship in September 2024, with my first seat in Corporate.

I’ve learned so much already, and I felt so lucky to be coming into the traineeship already knowing the basics and simple things like our case management system. I felt this really helped me hit the ground running with corporate tasks.

Our weeks begin with a full team meeting on a Monday morning. This is a great opportunity to catch up with the team to catch up on our weekends and generally good to get the team together! We go through our schedules for the week ahead and what transactions we are working on. This is really helpful and insightful as we discuss who in the team has capacity to take on more work, and of course allows us trainees to get involved in some of the bigger transactions.

After our meeting, I like to go through my emails and make up a list for the day (including new tasks distributed from the weekly meeting) and organise through priority. Our weeks can get pretty hectic so this is the best way to keep on top of tasks, stay organised and ensure nothing important falls of the radar.

The week ahead is due to be particularly busy and I’ve had the opportunity to get involved with some transactions that are close to complete. I’ve drafted board minutes, written resolutions, sole director’s resolutions and I also assisted with the finalisation of a Purchase Agreement. I’ve had involvement with the later transaction from the beginning so it’s always good to get a matter checked off the list and see it over the line. There’s a great sense of achievement here, and knowing you’ve helped really boosts your confidence. This is also a great opportunity to ask for feedback from the Partner managing the transaction, to examine your strengths and weaknesses. Everything is a learning curve, and it’s important to know early on that feedback is never bad, but constructive.

I also distributed a Due Diligence Questionnaire to get the ball rolling on another transaction on behalf of our clients who are purchasing a company. It’s great getting involved in a transaction so early on, as this allows you to see the entire process of the purchase (which is excellent for training).

Before you know it, the corporate day is over! I’m thoroughly enjoying my traineeship so far and feel so lucky to be part of such a great team. I would definitely recommend applying for the Gilson Gray Traineeship if you have not done so already!