As a trainee, in what way are the tasks between disputes/ corporate seats different?

[hopefullawyer101]

Obviously I know the work is different:

Disputes the process is longer- often spanning many years
Corporate- deals are put through in a number of weeks

Disputes often involves finding evidence to formulate an argument against the other side
Whereas Corporate you are working to the same end goal, albeit with the aim of getting the best 'deal' for your client.

At a basic level though, what different tasks would a trainee do in each seat?

 

[TC fiend]

Not sure about corporate because I'm in disputes but:

Disputes: collating authorities, doing research, taking and editing witness statements, conferring with clients on their witness statements, doc review, bundling (cross-citing, redacting, referencing), conferring with the court, etc.

Don't personally have corporate experience but often hear associate friends lament that they just need a trainee who can run a red line so do with that what you will....

 

[Jane Smith]

It will depend on the firm. When I was a trainee in litigation I was sent to courts all over the place to do very simple boring applications eg to ask for more time. I did a lot of paperwork, documents etc. Some disputes however are settled with one letter rather than going to court so it is all very variable. You might be asked to research a legal issue relevant to the case.

In corporate you might be writing board minutes or helping with legal due diligence about the company being purchased or putting together the documents afterwards but again it is hard to generalise as different types of firms give different tasks to trainees.