Team games

I recently read an account of the daily routine of a trainee in a “magic circle” City firm. She is a law graduate from Oxford and I do not doubt, given the competition for traineeships, a very able one. One statement struck me particularly: “In a law firm, each matter will have a ‘deal team’ and the key to making progress is communication…every day you will be talking to your supervisor and senior members of the team.” She went on to point out the importance of keeping in close touch with “anyone working on the deal or even the client, if you are requested to”.

Of course the “deals” may be large and complex, requiring a large number of people to bring them to fruition. Doubtless they often involve buying and selling companies, perhaps with many and varied properties, assets and relationships. Things were different in my early days. In the 1960s I was trying to build up a mainly legal aid practice