Commercial litigation involves the resolution of disputes arising in the corporate and commercial sectors, such as asset and venture capital projects, banking transactions, civil fraud, corporate governance, EU/competition, financial services regulation, mergers and acquisitions, share capital reorganisations and professional negligence.

The 1999 Woolf reforms aimed to create a quicker and less expensive system that encourages the early settlement of disputes through mechanisms such as alternative dispute resolution. There is disagreement as to their effectiveness, but fewer cases do now reach the courts.

Julian Copeman is a partner at Herbert Smith, an international firm with a stellar reputation for litigation. Julian read history at Cambridge University even though law had already piqued his interest. He explains: "I spent some time in my gap year as a paralegal. I considered doing a law degree, but decided to stick with history, which I really enjoyed, and to convert afterwards. I'm pleased that I did - I think it gave me a broader perspective on things."

Having done his CPE and LPC at The College of Law in Guildford, Julian joined Herbert Smith as a trainee - clearly a "fantastic experience", borne out by the fact that he's still there. The chance to try different areas during his training contract helped to clarify where he wanted to qualify: "I originally thought that I wanted to do corporate, but I really enjoyed the two litigation seats I did and here I am 15 years later."

Herbert Smith is internationally renowned for its commercial litigation expertise. As a partner in the litigation and arbitration division, Julian is at the very heart of things. He describes his practice: "The majority of my work is advising major companies and financial institutions in big contractual disputes in the High Court. By way of example, I'm currently involved in a big case for Sky against a technology company in relation to a contract to build a computer system to manage customer relations that went horribly wrong. We've been in court since October 2007, so it's a huge trial. I'm predominantly working on quantum - that is, working out what the damages should be, taking into account the extra cost of redoing the whole system and the financial losses due to not having a system when there should have been one and the effect that had on the customers." Other notable cases include "a bank fraud case where I was acting on behalf of a Danish bank against a former managing director", and another for an oil refinery in Russia involving "contractual failure to build parts of it and the financial effects of that". In addition to various financial institutions, Julian acts for large companies such as BAA.

Julian is a testament to the fact that there's no such as thing as a typical day for the busy litigator: "In the past week I've been working on the Sky case, finalising our closing submissions, checking trial transcripts, manically drafting and reading the other side's documents. A few weeks before, I was in court quite a lot, running around and pulling together various documents, providing notes to counsel and sitting in during cross-examinations. A typical day at the office might include meeting with a client to discuss a new case, talking through whether they've got a claim and then heading back to the desk to do some more drafting or correspondence. I'm always juggling various matters, in addition to overseeing the work of various associates, so there's rarely a quiet moment."

Julian recalls three of his professional highlights: "First, there was the big bank fraud case, which I started on as a trainee and was brought back on as an associate; by the time it finished, I was a partner! It was several years of hard work culminating in a judgment requiring that the £60 million be paid back. Second, I was involved in a series of cases in relation to the effectiveness of credit hire agreements. My client was Helphire, which gives drivers a replacement car where there has been a no-fault crash and the other driver's insurer has to pay for it. The insurers challenged the scheme because it was costing them. We went to the Court of Appeal, which decided that we should do some test cases. So we selected four example cases. One aspect, to do with how impecuniosity affected matters, went as far as the House of Lords and we succeeded in having the law changed. To get to the House of Lords and then change the law was very exciting!" On a different scale altogether, Julian's third highlight was working as a trainee in a local advice centre and helping to secure a modest payout for a woman who'd been wrongly dismissed: "She came into the office with a bottle of wine and a cake for me, and that was one of the best moments - the result really mattered to her, so that was very touching."

But with the highs come the inevitable lows, explains Julian: "If things aren't going that well, you can feel beleaguered, even if you've already told your client that chances of success were low. You feel like you're on the back foot, but you just have to knuckle down and get on with it. However, I do enjoy the fact that it's never boring."

Julian pinpoints the skills that make a good litigator: "You've got to be robust because there are times when it does get quite punchy, although you should never resort to being aggressive or rude. You also have to have a forensic ability to look at an argument and work out a response, a lot of which is about getting through huge amounts of paperwork. You have to be able to pick out the important points and not get bogged down in all the rest of the detail."

His top tip is to try before you buy: "You should do a vac scheme and work out as best you can whether this is something that you want to do. And if you're really sure that you want to be a litigator, then you may also want to try doing a mini-pupillage as well. Obviously, my view is that it's better to be at a law firm, but if you're dedicated to the idea of advocacy, then you might like to see whether the Bar is for you. So try it out - becoming a lawyer is a long process and it's not something that you want to embark on lightly without having given it full thought."

On top of "very good academics and common sense", an ability to work as part of a team is crucial in this field: "There is a lot of teamwork, which is one of the nice things about being a solicitor, so we need people who can pull their weight. This is something that is easily demonstrated through student activities, whatever they may be, so make sure you've got some good examples when you're asked about them at interview."

Finally, you also need to get a feel for the commercial and wider world, emphasises Julian: "You don't need to be running a company while you're at uni or reading the FT cover to cover every day, but we do expect people to be aware and have some general commercial sense of how the business world works. We're a commercial firm dealing with commercial issues, so you have to have an interest in that. If you don't, you won't enjoy your work." He also makes the point that you have to enjoy the law itself: "As litigators, we're arguing about what the law is, just as corporate lawyers use their knowledge of the law to make sure a contract or agreement is compliant. So while they are different ways of applying the law, in the end, knowing the law is essential for whatever type of lawyer you want to be."