Example Achievement Log for a Solicitor

A year in the life of a Solicitor's log

• Feb - achievement: Completed sale of Harrington Mill industrial site, £2.3m transaction. Due diligence revealed latent asbestos; renegotiated completion price down 12% and secured remediation warranty. Deal closed on schedule.
• Mar - feedback: Partner Hammond said in team meeting: 'The environmental due diligence on Harrington was thorough. Catches like that save clients real money.' Felt like proper recognition for the detail work.
• Apr - task: Took over SRA compliance audit prep when assigned partner went on secondment. Compiled three years of file samples, billing records, and client money statements. Deadline met with three weeks to spare.
• Apr - achievement: Settled hostile neighbour dispute for commercial client: boundary claim that had been live 18 months. Negotiated with opposing counsel over six weeks; client paid £45k instead of estimated legal costs to trial of £120k-plus.
• Jun - task: Conveyancing pipeline stalled when colleague went on leave. Picked up seven open files including two completion meetings. Got four across the line by month end, all without delays to clients.
• Jul - feedback: Client contact at Brenner Holdings emailed partner: 'Your Solicitor explained the tax implications clearly without jargon. That made a real difference to our decision.' Partner forwarded it to me.
• Jul - achievement: Drafted revised partnership agreement for client firm; addressed vague exit clause that had caused two previous disputes. New clause passed legal review and was signed off by all four partners in one round.
• Sep - task: Covered court attendance for colleague's emergency leave. Appeared in two interlocutory hearings on commercial contract dispute; one ruling went against us. Asked for detailed feedback and revisited strategy afterwards.
• Oct - achievement: Concluded acquisition of software reseller: £1.8m deal with earn-out clause. Managed IP verification and key-person employment protections. Closing completed without renegotiation despite buyer's last-minute concerns.
• Oct - task: Attended in-house regulatory training on GDPR and data handling. Updated three client matter templates to reflect new data protection obligations and flagged gaps in firm's client data retention policy.
• Dec - feedback: Senior partner Williams said at appraisal prep: 'You've handled complex transactions calmly this year. The acquisition work in particular showed good commercial judgment.' Gave me space on next year's growth targets.

What makes a strong entry

How this becomes your review in November

This year I completed five significant transactions totalling £6.1m in value, including the Harrington Mill sale where environmental due diligence renegotiated the price down 12%, and the software reseller acquisition where I managed IP and employment protections without late-stage renegotiation. I also settled the boundary dispute that had been open 18 months, bringing the client's exposure down from an estimated £120k-plus in trial costs to a £45k settlement. Beyond deals, I took on the SRA compliance audit prep on short notice, covered conveyancing and court work during colleague absences, and completed partnership agreement drafting for a client firm. Feedback from both clients and partners has highlighted commercial judgment and clear communication, particularly on complex transactions.

Starting your own log

Don't try to reconstruct a year you have already had. Start from today, one line whenever something happens, and let it build. The Perform Review Achievement Log does this for you and can capture wins straight from Slack, and how to start an achievement log covers the wider playbook.

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