Freshfields associate Chloe Mattison was seconded to LOCOG's brand protection team. Chloe joined Freshfields as a trainee in February 2010 and qualified into Dispute Resolution

Describe London 2012 in three words.
Fast-paced, exciting, fun.

Describe a typical day.
I was seconded to the Brand Protection team, so a typical day would involve some or all of our many work streams, including liaising with the client services team, which looks after the sponsors, in relation to sponsors’ reports of brand infringement or requests for approval of new advertising campaigns. I would also review and assess reported infringements of London 2012’s intellectual property rights and speak to alleged ‘infringers’ – a very broad range of people – about their use of Olympic or London 2012 intellectual property, and explain the relevant legislation to them in simple terms.

I also did a lot of work in negotiating and drafting contracts with major public bodies to allow for the mutual use of brands. This was really challenging as LOCOG are bound by conditions relating to brand use imposed by the International Olympic Committee, but the public bodies we dealt with were often very surprised by these restrictions and reluctant to agree to them.

In between all of that there was a lot of cake.

How does a day at LOCOG differ to one at a Freshfields office?
Many more meetings – often as the only lawyer in a room full of non-lawyers asking questions on completely new topics. Also, rather than just having a few clients on a few big ongoing matters, potentially anyone in the business was my ‘client’. I therefore often received isolated queries on wide-ranging issues (and I usually didn’t know the answer).

The highlight of your secondment?
Acting as the brand protection officer at one of the London 2012 build-up events and personally intervening to stop an attempted ambush marketing stunt. It was very nerve-wracking but also very exciting, and you’ll be pleased to know I was successful!

What have you learnt in your time there?
Apart from learning a huge amount about Olympic sport and Olympic history, the key thing I’ve learnt is how a business actually functions. Having only ever worked in a pub before I came to Freshfields, I had never had any insight into life inside a business. It was interesting to learn about the different teams, how those teams interact with each other and with the legal department, and what is required to stage a major event like the Games.

What’s the most unusual thing you've been asked to do?
Checking the Olympic Park for brand infringements… through a telescope.

Which Olympic event would you like to compete in and why?
The canoe slalom. It just looks quite fun.

What's the best thing about working on London 2012?
Never being bored.

Describe a perfect day off in London.
Watching Manchester United win and eating a lot of delicious food.

Did you get any tickets in the ballot?
In the second round, yes. A slightly bizarre mix of football, hockey, table tennis and synchronised swimming. But the synchronised swimming tickets have now metamorphosed into athletics tickets which include the men’s 10,000m final…

What non-Olympic sport would you like to see added?
Rugby. Seems fair if we have football.

Seb Coe or Steve Redgrave?
Neither. Chris Hoy after what he did at the last Games! He was incredible at the Velodrome test event earlier this year. And he does look lovely on the Bran Flakes packaging.