Update:
Leaving bp:
I didn't expect leaving my client secondment to be as emotional as it has been. I came to the realisation that things were never going to be the same with this set of colleagues ever again. I ended up spending my whole last week saying goodbyes and tying things up.
I have absolutely loved my time at bp. As well as learning how an in-house team works and the different concerns that a company has, I have just really enjoyed getting to know people here. It's been an eye-opening experience where I have seen the different considerations people have around work and home life. I have also realised that in-house teams are generally a lot more agile than private practice lawyers. In-house lawyers support the business, whereas private practice lawyers are the business. That means you have to go with the flow and pick up new skills along the way.
Upon reflection, I also realised that I learnt the most about the people and the business from the lunches we had together. There are some people I will continue to stay in contact with for a long time who I never did any work for. I think that has been the beauty of taking time out to spend with one another.
Dubai:
I don't think I was quite ready to leave for Dubai on Friday, but the the flight was easy enough and the place we are staying was very nice. As you will know, however, Iran sent close to 400 missiles towards the UAE on Saturday night. To be perfectly honest, it was a terrifying night because we could hear the missiles, drones and explosions of interceptions. The NRF Risk Lead had phoned earlier in the day to tell us if we heard an alert, we should get to an internal room with no windows and stay low. At around 2am, we got 3 alerts, and I ended up lying awake in the bathtub with a pillow listening to the sounds of chaos outside. In the morning, I was exhausted and unsettled.
I ended up getting a migraine (probably from the stress), but I still went out for lunch with the Australian trainees who had arrived. As we were walking back, we heard another missile and then the telltale "boom" as it was intercepted, and we hurried back to the hotel.
Although none of us have left the hotel since, I feel a lot calmer about the situation now. None of the missiles are aimed at us, and we are as safe as we can be cooped up on one of the lower floors of our hotel. The firm has been amazing. They were in contact with us all weekend and they have asked us whether we want to stay or if we want to come back when flight paths reopen. They are also scheduling daily calls with each of us to see if we are okay. We have been given a little bit of work, but nothing too onerous, as the office is not open and everyone is working from home.
In the end, we have been spending a lot of our time up by the pool. The weather is lovely and we might as well enjoy our time without much work! Personally, I don't want to get on an aeroplane. I feel much safer down on the ground, well below the missiles. Being up in the air is where all the explosions are happening and I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with that. If we did have to leave due to escalations, I will request that I go to Kenya instead of London because I have family there and it is in the opposite direction of the war, rather than directly into a warzone.
Not the update I expected to give, but thanks for following my journey anyway!
Leaving bp:
I didn't expect leaving my client secondment to be as emotional as it has been. I came to the realisation that things were never going to be the same with this set of colleagues ever again. I ended up spending my whole last week saying goodbyes and tying things up.
I have absolutely loved my time at bp. As well as learning how an in-house team works and the different concerns that a company has, I have just really enjoyed getting to know people here. It's been an eye-opening experience where I have seen the different considerations people have around work and home life. I have also realised that in-house teams are generally a lot more agile than private practice lawyers. In-house lawyers support the business, whereas private practice lawyers are the business. That means you have to go with the flow and pick up new skills along the way.
Upon reflection, I also realised that I learnt the most about the people and the business from the lunches we had together. There are some people I will continue to stay in contact with for a long time who I never did any work for. I think that has been the beauty of taking time out to spend with one another.
Dubai:
I don't think I was quite ready to leave for Dubai on Friday, but the the flight was easy enough and the place we are staying was very nice. As you will know, however, Iran sent close to 400 missiles towards the UAE on Saturday night. To be perfectly honest, it was a terrifying night because we could hear the missiles, drones and explosions of interceptions. The NRF Risk Lead had phoned earlier in the day to tell us if we heard an alert, we should get to an internal room with no windows and stay low. At around 2am, we got 3 alerts, and I ended up lying awake in the bathtub with a pillow listening to the sounds of chaos outside. In the morning, I was exhausted and unsettled.
I ended up getting a migraine (probably from the stress), but I still went out for lunch with the Australian trainees who had arrived. As we were walking back, we heard another missile and then the telltale "boom" as it was intercepted, and we hurried back to the hotel.
Although none of us have left the hotel since, I feel a lot calmer about the situation now. None of the missiles are aimed at us, and we are as safe as we can be cooped up on one of the lower floors of our hotel. The firm has been amazing. They were in contact with us all weekend and they have asked us whether we want to stay or if we want to come back when flight paths reopen. They are also scheduling daily calls with each of us to see if we are okay. We have been given a little bit of work, but nothing too onerous, as the office is not open and everyone is working from home.
In the end, we have been spending a lot of our time up by the pool. The weather is lovely and we might as well enjoy our time without much work! Personally, I don't want to get on an aeroplane. I feel much safer down on the ground, well below the missiles. Being up in the air is where all the explosions are happening and I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with that. If we did have to leave due to escalations, I will request that I go to Kenya instead of London because I have family there and it is in the opposite direction of the war, rather than directly into a warzone.
Not the update I expected to give, but thanks for following my journey anyway!
