Typically, competition and regulatory work includes merger control under the Enterprise Act 2002 or the EC Merger Regulation, proceedings under the Competition Act 1998, issues arising from sector-specific regulation, state aid, public sector and utility procurement issues.

In addition to the main UK legislation, UK companies must comply with the relevant EU rules which apply directly to their conduct. There has been significant reform of both UK and EU competition law and practice in recent years, and further reform proposals are currently being considered. An interesting recent development in the United Kingdom has been the introduction of a cartel offence giving rise to liability for individuals, rather than just businesses; this adds an important new criminal dimension to competition law work. Private competition law actions are a particular area to watch, with both the UK and EU authorities keen to foster such actions.

Veronica Roberts is a partner and solicitor advocate at Herbert Smith. Now based in London, she spent eight years working in the firm's Brussels office. It was almost inevitable that Veronica's career would involve European law in some way: she showed interest in the area early on, choosing to study the subject for her degree at Warwick University. Veronica explains: "I wanted to understand how the law works in different jurisdictions and, once I was actually at university, I realised there were big differences between common law and civil law in different jurisdictions."

The promise of a more sociable career was the main attraction for Veronica - a "people person" - to the solicitor branch of the profession: "I realised that being a solicitor would mean more day-to-day contact with clients. Whether they were in-house legal counsel or directors, I really wanted to have that contact. However, at the same time I was very interested in doing some advocacy. One of my main reasons for coming to Herbert Smith was its excellent litigation practice, as I was hoping I could have the best of both worlds."

Veronica's training contract at Herbert Smith was a "really enjoyable two years - because it was so varied". She explains: "My first seat was in corporate. One of my supervisors was Margaret Mountford, who will be familiar to anyone who watches The Apprentice. After that seat I went into the litigation department, where I had the opportunity to travel to India and Dubai to help interview witnesses. I also spent some time in Brussels, linking back to my degree and interest in competition law." Veronica qualified into competition, and goes on to elaborate on the kind of work this area involves: "I specialise in a range of EC and UK competition cases. I could be persuading regulatory authorities to clear a merger or advising on compliance with competition law (eg, advising on anti-competitive agreements and abuse of a dominant position)."

Client interaction is a constant feature of Veronica's schedule. "A typical day would usually involve a meeting with a client - possibly a pre-meeting before going along to the Office of Fair Trading. At the moment I'm doing some cartel work, so I've spent a lot of time there trying to achieve leniency for a particular client." Supervising trainees is also a big part of Veronica's job and she always seeks to include them in her work whenever possible. "I talk to our trainees all the time about the research they've done to make sure that they understand why we've reached the conclusions we have."

As Veronica has become more senior, she has experienced a shift in her role and responsibilities. "The level to which you're involved in cases changes as you progress in your career. As a trainee I would have been involved more in the research of relevant points of law or responsible for putting together documents if, for example, we had a document request from a regulator. I'm still involved in the same cases now, but more in terms of strategy and in deciding how to play a case before a regulator. I'm also now the one responsible for the advice that goes out to a client."

In terms of career highlights, two memorable instances stand out in Veronica's memory: "The first was a competition-specific matter we did a few years ago for First Choice. The company wanted to get clearance for a merger, which meant getting approval from the European Commission. When we managed to get clearance for our client's deal it was a great achievement. The client wanted a quick result and we were able to provide that." From a high-value corporate case to a very human pro bono matter: Veronica's second highlight is a pro bono employment case she did in the early stages of her career. "I did a lot of this type of work when I was starting out, partly as a way of developing my advocacy skills. I was representing a female bus driver in a sex discrimination and unfair dismissal claim. When we were successful, she was absolutely elated - her whole life at that time was about the case."

The constant variety of competition law work ensures that Veronica is never short of a challenge. "I could be dealing with a cartel one minute, then a merger or general compliance the next. A hugely enjoyable aspect of my role is that to give really good competition advice, you have to understand how the client's industry works. That's a big part of my job - understanding why business decisions are taken. Clients will take us through, in detail, exactly how their business works; that could just be an explanation given to us in a meeting or it could mean being taken along to where the products are made and actually seeing the processes involved." Veronica relishes the managerial side of her job too, but finds that the ability to juggle numerous tasks is vital: "You're running with a lot of things at the same time; it's important to delegate as much as possible."

To succeed in competition law, technical expertise and up-to-date knowledge of case law are essential. "Commercial acumen is another necessity," Veronica suggests. "Competition issues are rarely black and white. In fact, there are a lot of grey areas - for example, where the legality of something depends on a set of specific facts. You really need to be able to understand how a company works so that you can put a commercial perspective on the advice you are giving. Another key skill is to be able to explain in simple terms, things that can sometimes be very complex in terms of economic methodology and legal analysis."

Veronica is quick to recommend competition as a specialism to budding solicitors: "I think it's great. It's a really interesting area and it's moving on very rapidly. Open the pages of any Financial Times and there'll be something in there which relates to competition law in some way." In terms of advice, Veronica recommends getting some good work experience. "Whether that's informal or through a vacation scheme, experience at the type of firm you think you might be interested in is really worthwhile. Many students (I certainly went through this myself) go through two thought processes. Firstly, in relation to the area of law they want to work in. Secondly, where they want to work. I did placements at large firms in London, Birmingham and Leeds, smaller firms and a small criminal practice. It was a really helpful process for me. You can't guarantee that you've necessarily made the right choice when you start your training, but work experience can at least steer you in the right direction."