Position: Senior Associate, Private Equity
Education: LLB (Hons) and Diploma in Legal Practice, University of Edinburgh
Joined Clifford Chance: 2008

I trained and qualified in Edinburgh and then worked in New Zealand before returning to the UK and joining Clifford Chance in 2008. I wanted to join a Magic Circle firm and chose Clifford Chance because it is recognised as having the best Private Equity practice in the world.

Because I had qualified in Scotland and New Zealand, I did the relevant parts of the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT) over the course of about a year to become qualified in England and Wales. My background had been in corporate finance and I did a fair amount of private equity work in New Zealand.

We work with private equity houses to help them acquire or dispose of businesses, to grow the businesses that they own, and to incentivise the management teams. Examples of businesses owned by private equity include Prêt a Manger, Boots, AA / Saga and The Original Factory Shop, to name just a few.

My day-to-day role involves advising clients, drafting documentation and negotiating that documentation with lawyers representing the other party. You definitely need excellent communication skills - you soon learn that correspondence has to be a lot punchier and more succinct than when you were at university. Being able to use different kinds of negotiation approaches and techniques according to particular situations is also very valuable.

One of the most rewarding recent projects I've been involved with was the sale of Simple skincare on behalf of Duke Street, with whom we have a longstanding relationship. After an auction process, we helped to secure the successful sale to US beauty business Alberto Culver Company - it was really satisfying to see all the hard work by the entire Clifford Chance team pay off.

I also worked on the recent transaction for long-standing client 3i, in relation to the disposal of Inspectorate, a global commodities testing and inspection division, to Bureau Veritas for £450 million. Inspectorate operates in almost 100 countries worldwide, so it was extremely interesting to be involved in a truly global transaction.

Private Equity has been through a tough time but Clifford Chance is considered the best and we are determined to work hard to try and keep that ranking. I get a real buzz out of delivering a good service for clients and the firm offers great opportunities for me to further develop my skills and get the kind of experience I need.