When I first came to Freshfields, I only knew the firm by reputation. I was headhunted from another firm, and I'd never really paid much attention to the opposition. I came along to the interview and it just clicked. On my first day in the corporate department, when I actually met the people I'd be working with, I knew I'd made the right choice.
The environment at the Paris office makes a huge difference to the way we work. It's always professional, but never stuffy. There are about thirty of us in my department, and no-one feels they have to stifle their personality or character just because they're at work. After all, who wants to work in an office full of clones?
I specialise in securities law. And although I've grown comfortable with particular clients and particular types of work now, there is always a new challenge and no shortage of opportunity to push myself. Different types of work force me to learn new things or find new ways to test myself, like working in different sectors or on listed and non-listed transactions.
Work here is so varied. It's partly because the law itself is constantly adapting and forcing you to be flexible in your approach, but it's also down to the way we work, crossing national boundaries day-in, day-out. And of course, it's because we handle so many different types of transactions, often balancing various jobs at the same time. You've got to embrace this variety because if you're expecting the same job day after day, it's not the right place for you.
Practice area:
Corporate
Education: