David Meiklejohn

JOURNEY TO THE FIRM

I joined the firm as a trainee in 2022, having studied Scots Law at the University of Glasgow before undertaking a one-year English law conversion degree and the accelerated LPC. I wasn’t aware of many others who had gone down this route before I started, but I was fortunate enough to go through the process alongside two other Glasgow graduates.

I was drawn to apply to Slaughter and May by the calibre of the firm and its work. My application was somewhat speculative (and the only application I made to a firm in England) and it was not an easy choice to move south. In the end, I decided that the quality of training and work on offer at the firm was worth the risk! Happily, I have had a fantastic time here – and I enjoy the variety and challenges of the job and working alongside brilliant people.

MY TRAINING CONTRACT

During my training contract I completed seats in Competition, Pensions, Employment and Incentives, Disputes and Investigations, Corporate and a client secondment. I enjoyed all these experiences, which were varied, and it was exciting to work on high profile matters that I could read about in the news. This included working on one of the largest lawsuits in English legal history and for clients including US tech companies and a UK biotech pioneer.

My client secondment was to Diageo, where I worked across the corporate, corporate finance and company secretariat teams. As well as being highly enjoyable, the secondment was a formative experience – it was helpful to be on the other side of the lawyer-client relationship and see what clients value from their advisers.

OUR MULTI-SPECIALIST APPROACH

One of the distinguishing features of Slaughter and May is our multi-specialist approach. Having qualified into the firm’s Corporate practice in 2024, I work in different sectors across the broad spectrum of corporate law, including public and private M&A, private equity and general advisory work. This adds to the challenge of the job, as there is a lot of ground to cover and no two transactions are the same.

This variety and challenge is one of the aspects of my job that I enjoy the most. In the last six months, I have worked on a private auction process in respect of a European regulated entity, a public takeover of a UK listed company and a joint venture in relation to an asset in the Middle East. This has involved working for clients across industries such as insurance, energy and convenience food.

PRO BONO WORK

There are a lot of ways to participate in the life of the firm alongside the day job. In particular, I have been involved in a range of pro bono activities. This has included volunteering at the Islington Law Centre, where attendees are provided with free legal advice on matters such as tenancy law and consumer law. I also helped to prepare the firm’s Legal Toolkit for Charities, which helps charity professionals navigate certain legal matters to assist them in delivering essential services more effectively.

INVOLVEMENT IN NETWORKS

I am also a member of the firm’s Christian Network, which meets weekly to support Christians to live out their faith in the workplace. We also hold events to introduce others to the Christian faith – being involved in the network is also a great opportunity to get to know more people from across the firm.