On the cusp of qualifying, Morrison Foerster’s Lewis Ball talks headline deals, varied training and the firm’s super-friendly culture
“I wanted to take things head-on and grasp opportunities with both hands,” says Lewis Ball, a final seat trainee in the London office of US law firm Morrison Foerster. Talking to him ahead of his qualification leave, when he’ll be travelling Indonesia, Lewis is in a unique position in his career to reflect on his journey so far. “I remember speaking to my parents and saying, ‘This is the firm I really want,’” he recalls, thinking back on his TC application days. “I thought, ‘This is the place that gives me everything I’m looking for’. And I have a sneaking suspicion that this genuine enthusiasm is part of the reason why I got the job!” he tells me. “Hearing that I’d secured the training contract was a moment of elation.”
Before joining the trainee ranks at MoFo, Lewis started his legal career as a disputes paralegal in a regional firm. “I thoroughly enjoyed the work. At smaller firms, you often get a lot of responsibility, and I quickly found myself taking the lead on matters. Over my two years, I realised how important it was for me to be able to take real ownership over my own work,” he tells me, reflecting on his early career. Naturally for Lewis, he began looking for training contract opportunities in the City that would offer this type of exposure. “The opportunities to excel, the smaller trainee intake, and the values-based culture led me to the doors of Morrison Foerster,” says Lewis.
Now that he has almost completed his training with the firm, I was curious to hear about his journey from graduate to qualified solicitor. “I’ve been able to work on headline deals on the front page of the Financial Times,” he enthuses. “The work across the board at MoFo is incredibly international; I’m constantly in contact with colleagues across the US, Europe and Asia.” But it’s not just the work that’s keeping Lewis firmly loyal to MoFo. “What you don’t fully appreciate when you’re heading straight from university into a training contract is the importance of the people you work with,” he explains. “Culture is an often-underappreciated aspect of working at a law firm. So I feel incredibly fortunate that MoFo is genuinely a really lovely place to work.”
“You know that feeling when you’re getting on an elevator and you see someone else joining you,” he jokes, “and you’re dreading the ride up? I never get that at MoFo.”
His training contract has seen him sitting in a variety of the firm’s practice areas, from litigation through to finance and corporate. “I had a very varied TC,” he says, “which is admittedly more unique to the US model. Because the teams are leaner, there is more cross-practice work that you can get your hands on,” says Lewis. This was ideal, given that he wasn’t 100% sure on what he wanted to ultimately qualify into, he admits. “I started off in litigation, working on a headline matter – which was obviously very interesting work! My friends would read the news and ask me, ‘Isn’t that what you’re working on?!’” Naturally, his litigation seat was “really fascinating”, but Lewis was also eager to experience legal life outside of litigation.
His second seat was a split seat in capital markets and equity derivates. “Without the style of training contract that MoFo provides, I wouldn’t have had the same opportunity to sit across departments like these,” he tells me. Being able to see inside transactional practices across many different financial products gave Lewis a more holistic training experience. “Traditional UK firms tend to ringfence four distinct seats,” he explains, “but at MoFo you have the opportunity to experience multiple legal practice areas within a single rotation.”
After being seconded out to a global insurance client for his third seat, Lewis made his way into corporate. “Again, I’ve had exposure to headline work in my corporate seat. Recently, I’ve been working on SoftBank’s acquisition of Graphcore, as well as SoftBank’s investment of over $1 billion into UK autonomous driving start-up Wayve,” he explains. “The underlying technology is amazing, and it has the capacity to have a huge impact on our day-to-day lives.” This is part of the reason that he’s made his decision to qualify into the firm’s corporate practice, Lewis tells me. “The types of deals I’m working on are going to make cars safer to drive in the future, artificial intelligence more advanced, and much more,” he enthuses. “This type of work lives on the frontier of the digital revolution.”
As a soon-to-be newly qualified associate at MoFo, I shift the conversation over to Lewis’ take on what it means to be a successful trainee. He tells me that communication is key. “Deal pace in corporate practice can be challenging at times, so time management and efficiency is so important,” he begins. “And just as important is effectively communicating with your team. It builds confidence in those around you that you’re able to do your job well, meaning you become entrusted with more interesting and challenging work.” Being a great trainee means anticipating the needs of your team, and acting on it, he says. “Being proactive is highly appreciated. But it’s also important to remember you’re not going to know everything as a trainee, and you’re not expected to,” Lewis assures. “Don’t be afraid of asking questions – taking initiative, being thoughtful, and communicating is key.”
Bringing the conversation to a close, I ask Lewis for his advice to solicitor hopefuls looking to bag a golden-ticket TC. “Don’t be afraid to sell yourself,” he proffers. “Everyone applying has something unique; something that makes a valuable attribute as a lawyer. So don’t be scared of showcasing your best self; enthusiasm is infectious.”
Morrison Foerster will be speaking at ‘The Big Commercial Awareness Themes of 2024-25 — with DWF, Goodwin Procter, Irwin Mitchell, Lewis Silkin, Morrison Foerster, TLT and ULaw’, a virtual student event taking place on Tuesday 12 November. Apply now to attend.
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