Career stories: Xuan
Expect collaboration
Early careers
Career stories: Toby’s story
Expect responsibility
Coming from a non-law background, Toby Messervy-Whiting didn’t originally plan to go into law, but was drawn to the openness of the firm. “I decided to apply for Freshfields because it seemed like somewhere where you were valued for your opinion and different experiences, legal or non-legal, and that's definitely true. It makes it a more exciting place to work”.
He describes his training as highly varied and supportive “It’s a great place to start your career. You get exposed early on to lots of different types of work and there's a real focus on learning and development”. His degree in history and languages has been put to good use. “It’s very international. I’ve worked with local counsel from all over the world and colleagues in our network offices in every matter”.
During his time, Toby has been involved in a range of pro-bono and client work, which has helped him to hone his craft. “It’s up to you to make the trainee associate programme what you want it to be. Freshfields encourages you to take as much responsibility as you want in the work that you do. Your supervisor is there to guide you but lets you shape it in the way that you want”. Early on, he was given responsibility to interact with everyone across the firm. “I was providing updates to partners and interacting with people at a high level of the firm daily, even as a trainee”. He’s been surprised by the level of support he has received throughout. “Pretty much everyone has an open-door policy and make the effort to get to know you as a person rather than just as a trainee”.
Toby has been impressed with how Freshfields uses technology. “The firm uses lots of new technology and even as a trainee, you’re encouraged to feedback and help the firm as a whole think about how we can integrate this better into our work”.
Today, he is part of several Freshfields’ affinity networks, for example the Halo network, where he is raising awareness of LGBTQ+ issues. These networks form a strong sense of community at Freshfields and Toby is working with the leadership team to discuss relevant ideas for each. “It’s been a great way to meet people from all levels of the firm and think about what initiatives we can introduce”.
Now at Freshfields for a year, Toby reflects on his experience. “You realise that everyone is on your side,” he beams. “Before I started, I felt a bit intimidated and there’s a lot of expectation on your shoulders but as soon as you get started and get to know people it all becomes a lot more natural very quickly”.