Allen & Overy

Jay Jamnadas

I qualified into the Tax department in March 2009 after completing my training contract at Allen &Overy. I spent my third seat in the Tax department, and I decided to qualify there because I really enjoyed the work.

One of the great things about Tax is the variety of work that comes into the department. To give an example, I recently assisted in a corporate transaction where we provided tax advice to a company which was purchasing another company (the target company) and its subsidiaries. This involved drafting a tax deed to ensure that the tax liabilities of the target company remained with the seller where those liabilities arose before our client purchased the target company.  Once the deal completed, we had to deal with stamp duty that is payable on the purchase of shares. My colleagues in the corporate department often seek advice from me on questions of stamp duty.

We regularly work with the ICM department providing tax advice on the issue of securities like bonds and preference shares, for example. This is an area that junior associates and trainees really get involved in. We also get queries from the Banking department about provisions in loan facility agreements or regulatory issues relating to funds.

In addition to providing advice to other Allen & Overy departments, the Tax department has a strong stand-alone practice. Banks are some of our largest clients, and the transactions we work on include tax structured finance, where we advise on the tax efficiency of structuring transactions.
As an associate, I have found that I have been given much more responsibility than when I was a trainee. During negotiations with the other side's lawyers, I have sometimes taken the lead, and I have more client contact.  I have also become the contact point for colleagues in other departments.