Tara gained an honours degree in Western
Classical Music from UCT (University of Cape Town).
Six months after I finished my degree I thought I'd go to the
States and continue my studies. But the US would have proved too
expensive as I wouldn't have been able to work and earn money off
campus. My Dad is from Northern Ireland, so I could come to the UK.
My sister was already working in London, which meant I had a place
to stay, so over I came.
On arrival it was a
struggle
I couldn't get a job in music - not even to work on the shop-floor
of HMV - so to begin with I got a job as a restaurant manager. Then
a friend of my sister's got me a two-month contract at EMI. Before
the contract ended I applied internally for another job and got it.
The job involved working alongside Freshfields lawyers, including
an associate on secondment to EMI, and I liked them. They were
bright and clearly loved their job. Pretty soon I became interested
in a career in law.
I applied to a couple of other law
firms
Both were niche firms. One specialised in media and the other in
intellectual property. I don't think that the media firm believed
me when I said I wanted to understand corporate and finance. And
the work at the IP firm was just too narrow.
I didn't believe that Freshfields would
be interested in me
I thought that they would have their sights set on Oxbridge
graduates and I wouldn't fit in. So, without a training contract, I
embarked on the GDL studying for it part-time over two years while
I worked full-time at EMI. It was tough, much harder than I
thought.
After a year, and with encouragement
from friends, I eventually applied to Freshfields
I found the interviews quite tough but that was no bad thing. I
liked the fact that I was being interviewed. The process made far
more sense than silly workshops and mass assessments. Their
questions were straightforward and I felt they were really
interested in me. They offered me a contract.
I then did the LPC at BPP in Holborn and after the long slog for the GDL it was a walk in the park.
Structured finance was my first
seat
It was very interesting but a steep learning curve. My team
concentrated on tax structured products - nice and cerebral. One
case involved an investment bank wanting to hedge its position and
off-set its tax risk through financial instruments. We had to
advise whether these should be loans, guarantees or derivatives. It
was interesting and involved thinking ahead and analysing several
'what if?' scenarios.
Next was a seat in corporate - private
M&A
Some of the work was really interesting such as a luxury goods
brand thinking of moving into the pension reinsurance market by
buying an existing company. This involved research into the company
and into the pensions market. It also involved working with
colleagues in the regulatory team to sort out the client's
application to the FSA. I did several first drafts including the
Q&As.
There was also some boring stuff - mark ups and 'bundling' (document management) but it has to be done and you learn a lot from doing it.
I'm now doing a three-month seat in IP
and learning about trademark issues and
infringements.
I don't know where my next three-month seat will be, but for the
last six months of my training I'm going to ask for a secondment -
either to a client or a Freshfields office - preferably in New York
or Japan.
If I had any advice to would-be
Freshfields trainees ...
It's to keep an open mind. If you set your sights on becoming a
litigation lawyer you won't really try in your other seats, and
it's surprising what you learn about the sort of work you like and
the people you want to work with.
