Young Bermudian lawyer Kyle Masters has expanded his global knowledge and experience of the legal profession after becoming the first to benefit from a training partnership set up between a Bermudian and an English law firm.

Mr. Masters, who is an associate specialising in civil and commercial litigation at Trott & Duncan, Barristers & Attorneys, enrolled in the six-month programme with London Chancery and Commercial Chambers called 4 Stone Buildings, based in Lincoln's Inn, in a bid to gain the necessary skills and understanding to get an international edge in Bermuda's competitive legal services industry.

The work placement, which is being fully funded by by Trott & Duncan, was designed to give him a bigger insight into corporate insolvency and company litigation and ultimately to enable him to become one of the top Bermudian commercial and insolvency litigators on the Island.

Mr. Masters said that he always considered law as a career, but his first choice was forensic pathology, however maths was not his strong subject, so he elected to study English at university in Canada.

He got into listening to court radio and, on his return to Bermuda, he did some work shadowing lawyer Llewelyn Peniston's office, as well as former prosecutor Wayne Caines, before Nathan Samuels, a lawyer at Mello Jones & Martin, who had just graduated from law school, told him about a one-year law conversion course at BPP Professional Law School in London, which he applied for and was accepted onto, allowing him to turn his four-year degree into a Graduate Diploma in Law in 2007, followed by a year at the Bar Vocational Course at the College of Law.

"The bar is fiercely independent and also self-sufficient, so as a result of that everyone is very competitive," he said.

"It taught me the importance of client service and turning things around quickly and effectively, as well as opening my eyes to the range of styles of advocacy and law."

The 26-year-old was offered a pupillage under the supervision of one of Trott & Duncan's founding partners, Delroy Duncan in July 2008 and qualified as a barrister and attorney in Bermuda a year later.

Since then, he undertook the training programme in London, where he was located a stone's throw away from London's Royal Courts of Justice, spending his time attached to his mentor Peter Griffiths, a senior and respected barrister in the area of commercial and insolvency litigation, with whom he was given good exposure to a busy and diverse workload.

Acting as a trainee, Mr. Masters carried out various pieces of legal research for Mr. Griffths, drafted an array of court and legal documents and advices, as well as assisting with preparation for and attending with his mentor in client conferences and at trials and hearings.

Over the six months, due to the volume of work Mr. Griffiths and the other barristers at 4 Stone Buildings regularly take on, Mr. Masters gained valuable experience and was able to prepare for the kind of court applications that a commercial lawyer may face in his practice, including interim injunctions, freezing orders, winding-up orders, and other company-related applications.

Due to working with barristers and solicitors in the field of commercial litigation on a consistent basis, there was also the opportunity for him to network, attending conferences and seminars put on by 4 Stone Buildings and other solicitors' firms, and Chambers, specifically designed to foster relationships between attendees.

"It gave me the opportunity to work abroad, which is quite a different experience from going to school abroad in the sense that it isn't just a line on your resume, it is an actual set of experiences that you get which you are not exposed to in Bermuda," he said.

"In some ways it is a test of your mettle because you are away from Bermuda and it is just such a fresh experience.

"It also opens your eyes to the fact that the world is a lot bigger and it shows you how to be assertive in your client care and in your work as well.

"There you see how almost everyone is trying to get their edge from the Silks down to the junior lawyers, so you really have to make yourself well and stand out from the crowd."

Mr. Masters said he enjoys the cut and thrust of the higher court room manoeuvres the most, writing applications and forming evidence, which plays to his strengths in English.

A typical day in his life can range from working on a big case with Mr. Duncan to overseeing smaller cases, such as employment cases or land and construction disputes, on his own.

"I like working in litigation," he said. "I would like to be here for a few years and to establish myself and become know as an effective litigator who says that when something is going to be done it is done, as well as looking after my clients' best interests."

Asked what he would say to any young Bermudian thinking about following in his footsteps, he replied: "I would say talk to anyone you know in the field first if you are interested.

"Also, be prepared to do anything - there were occasions when I worked for free."