A Day in the Life of a Junior Commercial Solicitor
If you are eyeing up a career in commercial law, you have probably wondered what an actual working day looks like behind the sleek glass facade of a city law firm. Is it all high-stakes court battles like you see on television? Or is it endless document review fueled by caffeine and panic?
As someone who spent years on the front lines as a property litigator: and now leads legal training here at Speed Mooting: I can tell you it is a thrilling mix of both.
While every day brings a fresh set of unpredictable challenges, let me take you through a fictionalised day drawn directly from my real experiences as a junior property litigation solicitor working between Liverpool and Manchester.
7.00 am – 8.30 am: The Commute
My day begins long before I reach my desk. Coffee in hand and with one eye on the traffic updates, I drive from Liverpool to Manchester.
This time in the car is less about multitasking and more about switching on. I stick on a podcast, an audiobook, or just the radio and let the drive wake me up for the day ahead. By the time I reach the office, I am in work mode and ready to get stuck in.
8.30 am – 9.00 am: Fuel, Focus, and the Overnight Inbox
Arriving at the Manchester office, my first ritual is heading straight to the staff kitchen. Major commercial firms boast exceptionally impressive hot drink machines and complimentary fruit or cereal bars. I pour myself a giant, steaming coffee: vital fuel for what is ahead.
Back at my desk, I scribble out today’s to-do list and check for anything that has landed in my inbox since I finished work yesterday. In the commercial world, time zones and urgent business never sleep; it is entirely normal to find messages from clients or supervisors that landed in your inbox at 2.00 am...
9.00 am – 10.00 am: Tackling an Encroachment Advice Note
With my coffee steaming beside me, I dive straight into my first substantive task: drafting an advice note on an encroachment issue.
What is encroachment? In property law, encroachment happens when someone builds a structure: such as a fence, an extension, or even scaffolding: that physically trespasses onto another person's land or property boundary.
My client is a landlord whose tenant has unknowingly built part of a permanent storage shed over the boundary line into an adjoining yard. I review the title deeds, check the ordnance survey maps, and draft a clear, commercial advice note outlining our client’s legal remedies and negotiating leverage.
10.00 am – 10.30 am: The Weekly Team Meeting
Our property litigation team gathers for our weekly catch-up. We go round the table sharing workloads, flagging upcoming court deadlines, and discussing potential business development (BD) events.
Our supervisor also passes down management news from the firm's partners. These meetings are crucial for spotting who is drowning in work and who has capacity to take on a new instruction.
10.30 am – 11.30 am: Coffee Refill and Interrupted Focus
I grab a quick second coffee and dive back into my encroachment advice note. Of course, uninterrupted deep work is a rare luxury in a junior solicitor's life.
My concentration is broken twice: first by an urgent client call wanting an update on a lease covenant breach, and second by a new enquiry call from a prospective client needing immediate advice on commercial property damage. Learning to switch gears instantly between drafting and client-facing communication is a core skill you build over time.
11.30 am: Dispatch to the Supervisor
I put the finishing touches on the advice note and send it across to my supervisor for review. As a junior, hitting 'send' to a partner always brings a tiny flutter of nervous anticipation: did I miss a crucial clause? Did I interpret the case law correctly? (Spoiler: usually you got the main point, but expect a few red track-changes back, it's how you learn!)
11.30 am – 1.00 pm: Drafting Particulars of Claim
Next up is heavy litigation work: beginning to draft Particulars of Claim for a commercial rent arrears claim.
What are Particulars of Claim? In civil litigation, this is the formal court document filed alongside the claim form that sets out the detailed legal and factual basis of your case: explaining exactly how much rent is owed, under which lease covenants, and what specific orders the court is being asked to make.
Drafting particulars requires razor-sharp precision. Every single figure, date, and clause reference must align perfectly with the tenancy agreement. One typo can derail your whole pleading.
1.00 pm – 2.00 pm: The Mandatory Lunch Walk
By 1.00 pm, my brain is fried in the best possible way. For me personally, leaving the office building entirely and going for a brisk walk during my lunch break was an absolute non-negotiable must.
Whether it was grabbing fresh air around Manchester’s Spinningfields or wandering through the city streets, stepping away from the screen clears your head and stops afternoon burnout in its tracks.
2.00 pm – 3.00 pm: Quarterly Client Conference
After lunch, I join a partner for a client conference with a major retail landlord client. Every quarter, we sit down with their asset management team to review their entire portfolio of retail letting units.
We go unit by unit:
Which leases are expiring soon?
Which retail units are currently vacant?
Which tenants are due for rent reviews or lease renewals?
These conferences are typically attended by a partner, a senior associate, a junior solicitor (that's me taking copious notes!), and two or three client representatives. It is a fantastic masterclass in commercial awareness: you see firsthand how legal strategy directly serves wider business goals.
3.00 pm – 5.00 pm: Managing the Inbox Flood
The late afternoon is dedicated to clearing emails, responding to opposing solicitors, chasing claims from court, reviewing work sent to you from trainees and paralegals and updating clients. In a busy commercial practice, your inbox is a relentless tide that requires constant management.
5.00 pm – 6.00 pm: Reviewing Supervisor Feedback
My advice note comes back from my supervisor with track changes. I review the edits, note where my analysis was tightened up, and send the final version off to the client. Seeing how an experienced partner refines your draft is one of the fastest ways to level up your legal writing skills.
6.00 pm – 9.00 pm: Heading Home and Unwinding
I pack my bag, and battle the M62 back to Liverpool, have some dinner, and make time for a gym session or an evening walk. You need physical activity to reset after sitting at a desk all day.
9.00 pm: The Final Inbox Check
Before closing my laptop for the night, I do one final check of my emails for anything urgent. Why? Because in litigation, things can: and frequently do: become urgent without much notice. An injunction application lands late in the day, or an opposing party serves a sudden smoking gun document. A quick five-minute scan ensures nothing slips through the cracks overnight and that you know how early you need to start work the next morning!
Build Your Confidence Before You Step Into Practice
Life as a junior commercial solicitor is fast-paced, intellectually demanding, and endlessly rewarding. But transitioning from law school to a high-pressure commercial firm doesn't have to feel like jumping into the deep end without a flotation device.
If you want to build the exact core skills you need to thrive in firms like this, come and join us at the Legal Skills Academy. We provide a supportive, low-pressure environment where aspiring lawyers can sharpen their skills, master commercial awareness, and build unbreakable confidence.
