Philip Lyck

Law student, Corporate/M&A

I started as a project law student in the Corporate/M&A practice group in the third semester of law school and subsequently continued working in the group as a law student. As a law student in Corporate/M&A, I primarily assist the lawyers in conducting legal research, but I also work with practical tasks such as preparing closing binders for M&A transactions. Corporate/M&A is organized in several smaller groups, each with its own specialisation, and therefore the student assignments also vary.

The tasks relate to company law, private M&A and public M&A. For example, one of our regular tasks is to check the news in these areas so that we can update the firm’s lawyers and clients on relevant news in legislation and case law.

As law students, we are given assignments that can be completed in a day or within a few days, but we may also work on assignments for longer periods of time. Recently, a fellow law student and I worked on an M&A transaction that spanned many months, and we were involved in it from start to finish. Our tasks on this project have primarily consisted of establishing and structuring a virtual data room for due diligence, assisting in the Q&A process between buyer and seller and assisting in the preparation of transaction documents. It has great educational value to work on large projects, where you are involved over an extended period and learn from the experienced assistant attorneys and attorneys. You become part of a project team and quickly gain a lot of responsibility.

Another advantage of working in a large law firm is that there are many practice groups in the firm that we as law students can be assigned to. I am also part of our Compliance & Sustainability group, where we work on ESG, climate reporting and sanctions, among other things.

Gorrissen Federspiel supports our academic programme. As law students, we can apply for a travel grant if we want to study abroad. I will make use of this myself in the autumn of 2023 when I will be going to Sydney, Australia, to study. Gorrissen Federspiel supports and encourages your wishes to travel abroad, gain experience and acquire new knowledge. This means that we can take a leave of absence from work so that we can return to the position of law student after our exchange programme.

There is a strong team spirit in the firm, which is an advantage both professionally and socially. Student events are organised regularly, and in general there is a wide range of social activities such as padel, football, yoga, Friday bar and other activities.