Madrid

Laura Sythes

Trainee secondment to Uría Menéndez

I am currently on secondment to Uría Menéndez in Madrid where I am spending the fourth seat of my training contract. The office is split across two buildings with the larger building, which houses the corporate and transactional teams, offering views across Madrid (including towards the Real Madrid stadium).

I am currently in the International Arbitration & Litigation team where I have been involved in a number of international arbitrations. Whilst our clients tend to be Spanish corporations, the work is truly international - spanning various jurisdictions and often involving multiple languages. This is also reflected in the team I work with which, alongside Spanish lawyers, has included lawyers from North and South America, Australia and across Europe. The office culture is incredibly friendly, and my colleagues have been warm and welcoming since the moment I arrived (and incredibly patient with my Spanish, which is still a work in progress!)

I sat in the Disputes and Investigations team in my first seat in London and have really enjoyed revisiting contentious work whilst on secondment. At the moment, I am working in a small team to draft the Statement of Claim, which is not a typical trainee task but one which is incredibly rewarding and reminds me why I find contentious work so interesting.

Alongside my work in the arbitration team, I've also been involved with transactional work and have worked closely with the English law corporate partner here in Madrid. Working on both contentious and transactional matters simultaneously has made for an extremely varied work week in which I can go from drafting a letter to the other side’s counsel to reviewing a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) within the space of a few hours.

Working in a firm like Uría Menéndez has presented some unique, and sometimes unexpected, opportunities - a particular highlight being an invite to the Summer Reception at the British Ambassador's residence in Madrid which I attended with a colleague and met lots of people from both Spain and the United Kingdom who had a connection with the Fundación Hispano Británica.

Outside of work I've been lucky enough to have a fairly constant stream of family and friends visiting me which has given me the chance to show them my favourite spots in Madrid - this often ends up in us being sat on a sunny terrace eating tapas! When I’ve not had visitors, I’ve enjoyed spending time with the other London trainees in Spain or exploring outside of Madrid on day trips and weekends away.

I would definitely recommend a secondment to anyone. The opportunity to live and work in Spain and experience a different culture has pushed me outside of my comfort zone, helping me to build my confidence and showing me that I can thrive in new environments. I am sure I will look back on these six sunny months in Madrid with great fondness for many years to come!