Profile

I attended a summer vacation scheme with Lovells whilst at university and absolutely loved it. The firm's commitment to first-class training, the range of international and client secondment opportunities as well as the enviable portfolio of top-drawer clients could not fail to impress me. I could already see that a career at Lovells would provide me with varied, stimulating and challenging work and the opportunity to learn from lawyers recognised as leaders in their specialist fields. I was also struck by the culture of the firm, which aims for excellence across the board whilst maintaining a remarkably open and friendly atmosphere. Everyone here, from senior partners to lawyers and members of the graduate recruitment team are professional, supportive and approachable. In fact, when I first walked through the door for my vacation scheme and expressed an interest in competition and EU law, within no time arrangements were made for me to meet two members of the group for lunch to discuss the work there. This to me was a sign of a genuine interest in my career ambitions.

After graduating from Exeter and Rennes, I studied the LPC, along with many other future Lovells trainees. I remember being mildly concerned that the focus of my education at Law School would narrow down my options too early on in my career. However, I found that the electives (including the specialist City electives) were both interesting and taught to an excellent standard. Being tailored to the needs of the firm, their content ties in very well with the day to day work undertaken here.

Following a much needed travel break to South and Central America, I joined Lovells in February 2006. My training at the firm was fast-paced, interesting and varied and gave me the opportunity to develop a range of legal, practical and commercial skills. My first seat involved transactional and international capital markets work for a leading French bank. I then sat in our fraud and insolvency litigation department, a highlight of which was assisting with a major international fraud dispute in the US and Bermuda, which went to the Bermudian Supreme Court on choice of law and jurisdiction issues.

I was then lucky enough to go on secondment to our Paris office and get involved with a variety of corporate transactional work in a French speaking department. The work ranged from assisting with the project financing of an African satellite to helping with the acquisition of a landmark hotel in Monte Carlo bay. Working in a smaller team whilst on secondment meant that I had a high degree of responsibility, which greatly enriched my training and enabled me to build my confidence in preparation for qualification. The secondment also gave me the chance to improve the academic legal French I had learned at Exeter and Rennes by using it in a practical legal context. I now feel fully able to use the language in a business environment.

My final seat was in our Competition and EU Law group in London, which is where I have recently qualified as a solicitor. I love the variety this area of the Law can offer. Our clients are spread across a range of industry sectors and include leading banks, brewers, insurance companies, manufacturers of motor vehicles and pharmaceuticals, multimedia businesses, private equity houses and supermarkets. We advise clients on a variety of matters, including mergers and joint ventures, complex antitrust litigation, cartels and abuse of dominance as well as compliance. In addition, we regularly provide training on, and represent clients in, unannounced investigations by the competition authorities (so called "dawn raids"), which certainly get the adrenalin pumping.

There is a strong international flavour to the work in the group. For example, I regularly work as an integral part of the Paris competition team, assisting them with advice to French clients. Another major pull for me was the emphasis on black letter law. I carry out a lot of legal research when assisting with advice on any particular issue. In fact, the firm is supporting me in studying for a postgraduate diploma in EC competition law, and I am already enjoying forging a specialisation in this extremely interesting niche area.