Allen & Overy

"I was given responsibility straight away"

I chose to come to A&O because I wanted to work for a multi-national law firm, offering top quality training and working on global transactions with lawyers that are not only regarded as some of the best in the industry, but thought to be some of the friendliest.  I have not been disappointed.

I joined A&O a year ago and first sat in two three month seats in Structured and Asset Finance, and Litigation.  Both seats offered me a great insight into different practice areas of the firm, whilst leaving me with plenty of time to sample more!  I have also just finished a six month seat in the Project Finance group that is part of our Banking group.

The training and experience I have gained in Projects has been extensive.  As well as considering clients’ financial risk, when working in Project Finance there are always political and governmental elements to take into account when negotiating the position for your clients.  This makes for a very international and informative working environment with distinctive characteristics and clients in each deal.  Mainly, I have been involved in a deal where we are acting for the lenders in a project to build one of the largest petrochemical plants in Saudi Arabia and from day one I have felt very much part of the team.  I was given responsibility and matters to manage straight away and always made to feel that I was contributing something worthwhile.  I was also always allowed to participate in client meetings.  In comparison with friends in other law firms, I feel very lucky to have experienced so much already.

I am now excited at starting a six month seat in our Private Equity Corporate group, relishing in the variety that is on offer within the firm.  So far my traineeship has been exciting at every juncture, has passed quickly, meeting great people and acquiring a vast array of skills on the way.