I joined Herbert Smith in 1996 in the real estate division. I’m currently an of counsel, which is a senior role for lawyers with recognized expertise in their field, but below partner level. I originally studied law at the University of Nottingham.
The culture
We’re a big firm, but I think we’ve got a small firm atmosphere, a collegiate atmosphere where everyone is very approachable, and open to discussion. The firm has an open door policy, which is very important in encouraging approachability, and that’s true right from partner level downwards. People are open to discussion and free to discuss issues, and that’s not just defined to work issues either, in that Herbert Smith’s not a place where non-work discussions are in any way discouraged and so it’s an open and free working environment.
What we're looking for
Clients needs always come first, but we need to be proactive and forward thinking in our approach, and understand the clients strategy. Excellent knowledge of the law is a pre-requisite, but it’s increasingly important to tailor advice to the commercial circumstances of the client, and also to have an understanding of other basic concepts of law and practice areas which are not your areas of specialism.
Why choose Herbert Smith?
Corporate and litigation are at the firm's core. Both are very important to the firm, but so are the specialist departments, which albeit smaller, are still an integral part of the overall advice that we give to clients as a full service firm. For example in my field of real estate, it’s important to have a basic core knowledge of corporate and tax law, because transactions are becoming ever increasingly more complex and tax driven. Complex corporate structures and knowledge of the basic understanding in those practice areas is important as much as a core understanding of real estate law.
The Norges deal
On the Norges deal I worked closely with the lead partner, and together we advised the client right from the competitive bid process, though to negotiating the heads of terms, and negotiating the transaction documents, and exchanging and completing the deal. We also carried out a huge due diligence exercise involving the real estate construction and planning aspects.
What was rewarding about the deal was that the nature of the documents was such that there were no models that you could use as a precedent. Much of the drafting was bespoke, and that required an additional thought process over and above what would often be the case, and that was very challenging, but hugely rewarding when we saw the deal through to a successful conclusion.