A day in the life of Mike Bennett

My day always starts with a ‘good morning’ from a very happy and hungry Labrador retriever who is always keen for me to let him out so he can go on patrol in the garden. Mrs Bennett takes receipt of her first cup of tea of the day from the comfort of her bed and the two teenagers in the house get the first of several wake-up calls. The obligatory check of the phone for emails and messages received overnight happens over porridge.

The commute into the office via public transport not only affords me the opportunity to feel rather self-congratulating in taking a small step to reduce the Bennett household carbon footprint, but to also send any urgent client communications, catch up on local and national news and immerse myself in a good audiobook.

I arrive at the office – but nothing happens without a strong cup of coffee! I have our office manager to thank for choosing a respectable brand. I check in with colleagues and plan the day ahead.

My work in the Real Estate team is varied and no day is the same. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s simply ‘lease drafting tennis’ – there’s far more to it than that! Today, my morning is largely taken up dealing with the early stages of an acquisition of a large industrial site for a property investor client.

There are all sorts of issues to grapple with, from reviewing the occupational tenancies affecting the site and the most recent search results, to advising on the conditions which ought to be included in the contract and which the seller should be bound to deliver before my client is obliged to buy. A welcome team meeting breaks up the morning, with discussions around client events, workloads and client service delivery featuring.

Lunch presents a choice between a gym workout and a large Belgian bun – the latter all too often winning out.

My afternoon involves a quick catch-up with a client target and later dealing with the exchange of an agreement for lease of an industrial unit. This is on behalf of a landlord client who is required to carry out certain works and secure planning for a change of use prior to the tenant taking up occupation.

I catch up with my busy Restructuring and Insolvency colleagues on the property aspects of a sale out of administration which they are dealing with and discuss a potential new LPA receivership appointment instruction.

I have a short client meeting at the end of the day to take receipt of new instructions and then it’s a review of time entries and team financials. A final check of emails and then my departure from the office. Invariably thoughts turn to the evening’s menu – hope its chips!