Profile

I joined Lovells as a trainee in 1994 and then qualified into the London banking group in 1996. As a junior lawyer I spent several years working on a variety of banking and finance transactions including acquisition finance, real estate finance, restructuring and general banking before specialising in project finance.

For the last 10 years I have advised on a wide range of UK and international project and infrastructure based financings and acquisitions in a variety of sectors, including roads, healthcare, rail, airports and accommodation, acting for major banks, financial institutions, equity investors and borrowers. Much of my work is international and recent projects have taken me to Canada, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Greece to name but a few. The combination of banking and project finance offers immense breadth and variety in terms of the work I do — one day I might be advising a borrower or consortium looking to invest in a large UK light rail project and the next advising a group of banks providing billion dollar funding to a Greek roads project or lending to a Caribbean healthcare project.

Straddling the twin disciplines of banking and project finance also offers real depth to the work — one has to understand the commercial basis and risks involved in a transaction, in order to advise properly on the financing aspects. Being closely involved with financing also puts you at the heart of the day-to-day transaction with the clients. Our teams often include colleagues from other practice areas within the firm who provide expertise in areas such as real estate, tax, environmental, employment, IP or pensions law. The learning curve is steep and the work challenging, but working with talented colleagues as part of a close-knit team on these sorts of deals is immensely enjoyable and supportive.

I am one of the partners that is on the graduate recruitment panel and enjoy contributing to the future success of the firm by meeting and talking to students, graduates and vacation scheme students about their aspirations to join Lovells and their career in law. Lovells traditionally values its trainees and their future potential very highly, so to meet trainees who have joined the firm on the basis of discussions or interview with me is very satisfying. As a Lovells trainee myself, one of the great experiences upon becoming a partner was meeting for lunch in the partners dining room with partners who had supervised me as a trainee or with whom I had been a trainee. In fact, a great many of the partners are themselves trainees of other partners, which highlights how well Lovells develops and nurtures trainees and associates over the long-term.

One of the difficulties one faces as a student or graduate looking to join an international firm is how to assess and evaluate the firm as a potential employer, career proposition and working environment. The quality and reputation of the firm, its work, clients and its training programme are all vital aspects of the decision. But ultimately, all else being equal, I think the people and culture are paramount. My decision to join Lovells was based on all of these things but the friendliness and approachability of the partners, trainees and recruitment team were a deciding factor — and one which has proven the right one over and again.