A Day in the Life of Associate Anna McLaughlin

I wake up around 8 a.m. and get ready for work. I live quite close to the office, so I can walk to work while listening to my music. We have a flexible work from home system, but I usually come into the office four days a week as I enjoy being around the team and I have an office to myself, which means I find it easier to stay focused.

I get into the office around 9:15 a.m. My first stop is the office canteen for breakfast. I usually just have a pastry and an iced coffee. I will usually bump into a couple people from other floors. The nice thing about the small office size is you know everyone, so there’s always someone you can have a chat with.

I get to my desk just before 9:30 a.m. I usually start my day by checking my emails and making a quick to-do list for the day. As a General Practice associate, I can have a very varied diet of work, which keeps life interesting. Most of my time today will be spent on a Project Finance deal, but this can be very different depending on the day!

For the rest of the morning, I prepare a revised draft of an offtake agreement. This is an agreement to purchase the output (such as energy or minerals) produced by a project. We’ve received comments from the counterparty and, as the junior lawyer on the deal, I get the first opportunity to review their markup. I go through the agreement carefully, adding comments, revising language, and flagging key issues. Once I’ve completed my review, I’ll send it to the associate and counsel before we respond to the counterparty’s lawyers.

I usually have lunch just after noon. The canteen offers several options, and the food is not only very good, but also free! Everyone eats in the same space, from partners to trainees, which creates a friendly and inclusive environment.

We have a team meeting for our Project Finance deal in the afternoon to discuss timelines, responsibilities, and next steps. I am responsible for preparing the agenda and updating the workstreams tracker ahead of the call. I do this when I get back to by desk after lunch and before the team call at 2:30 p.m.

Around 3:30 p.m. I meet some of the other associates for coffee. Because S&C fosters a welcoming and non-competitive environment, many of my colleagues have become close friends. We catch up and discuss our weekend plans together.

I return to my desk at 4 p.m. to draft the schedules for the Common Terms Agreement. The CTA is a key document in a project financing, setting out the shared terms that apply across all the finance documents: from repayment mechanics to representations and warranties. I’m working on the schedules that tie in with the individual facility agreements and ensure consistency across the suite of documents. Even as a newly qualified associate, I’m given a high level of responsibility, which is both challenging and incredibly rewarding. You’re never just a bystander here, you’re contributing meaningfully from the outset.

At 5:30 p.m. I head to the senior associate’s office to ask some questions about the Common Terms Agreement and discuss some of the outstanding points. The team here is genuinely supportive and embraces the open-door policy.

Back at my desk I finalise the drafting based on my discussions with the senior associate. I send around the updated versions of documents to the team, and I head home around 7 p.m. to cook dinner and relax.