Eveliina Salonen
Eveliina has a Master's degree in law and she works as a project coordinator for the Lutheran
Evangelical Association in Finland (LEAF) in Kenya. She plans development projects for LEAF and for
the Evangelical Church of Kenya.
What I did as a B&K trainee
At first, I worked as a courier for B&K: tram rides to the local court, trips to the post
office, shopping for supplies etc.
Little by little our we got to do more and more actual paperwork and I was 'promoted' to a desk
job, looking into the balance dues of bankrupt estates and helping the lawyers with various
assignments.
The most memorable experiences
I mailed a totally incomplete, sloppy and mistake-ridden account to a big client of ours.
Because of that, many people probably felt like sending me to a far away and hot place, which they
in a way succeeded in, because right now I’m sitting under a pepper tree in Nairobi with my laptop.
Back then the staff had mercy on me, though, and I wasn’t sacked or anything. It was a humiliating
experience, though.
As a whole, I was impressed by B&K’s dynamic progress into new areas of business and the
ambitiousness and skills of the staff.
The familial atmosphere among the staff was especially enjoyable. Although at the time
B&K was one of the leading law firms in Finland, it was very small compared to current size,
having only four partners and three associate lawyers.
How I benefited from my trainee period
My studies benefited from getting a practical perspective on the business of law.
The things I’d learned from books and in lectures acquired a new dimension when
experienced in practice.
My time at B&K provided me with a good knowledge of the everyday work of a law firm.
Any images of the glamorous lives of lawyers seen on TV were replaced by a realistic
view of an attorney’s work - in both good and bad ways. And what’s more, the work
experience I got at B&K helped me identify my own goals in life.
Eveliina Salonen
Master of Laws, project coordinator
Lutheran Evangelical Association of Finland
