Kristiina Liljedahl
Kristiina is an associate lawyer at B&K. She started her B&K career in 1999 as a
trainee. She works at the Dispute Resolution & Insolvency practice group.
What I did as a B&K trainee
When I started as the youngest member of the trainee team, my job description was very
diversified and included pretty much everything that can be included in the everyday work at a law
firm. It’s hard to describe a typical day, because you could never tell in the morning what was
going to happen during the day.
One day I was helping in a major photocopy-and-deliver-the-documents task, another day saw me running petitions to court in time, the third had me writing a memo in relation to a complex juridical question for a client, on the fourth I might have been translating complicated legal text into English, and on the fifth I was assisting a senior lawyer in a meeting or trial. Of course, all this could take place on a single day!
After some time and with increased experience I got more responsibilities, but the surprise and
versatility factors of my assignments remained even on the 'senior level'.
The most memorable experiences
A really surprising and positive thing was to realise that the trainees are as much part of the B&K team as are everyone else who work at B&K. From organizing an event for clients to the legendary Christmas parties, the trainees were in. I’ve also always been able to seek help from a senior colleague when in need, regarding everything from job assignments at B&K to my studies. This is still a great advantage at B&K.
One trainee assignment sticks particularly in my mind: I had to deliver an urgent shipment
of documents from the B&K office in Yrjönkatu to Hakaniemi in ten minutes - and made it!
How I benefited from my trainee period
There was nothing but benefit for me from my time as a trainee - I’m still here! Contrary
to predictions, working here did not slow down my studies - quite the reverse. The practical
experience I got gave perspective to my studies and gave me a direction for the future. I got the
chance to see how demanding it is to work as a lawyer and what kind of timetables impose extra
pressure on the work. Crucially, I saw how legal principles are applied in real life,
which is often a lot more astonishing than what is taught in the school books.
Kristiina Liljedahl
Master of Laws, associate lawyer
Borenius & Kemppinen
