Greg Falkof, Trainee

Position: Trainee
Education: Politics & Law, SOAS; GDL, College of Law; LPC, BPP Law School
Joined Clifford Chance: 2007

There are many reasons why I joined Clifford Chance. The quality of work and scale of the firm means that there are always new opportunities to keep me engaged. Coming from South Africa, Clifford Chance's extensive and well-established international network also appealed to me - the firm attracts the highest-calibre staff with a wealth of experiences and knowledge. All this means that good people stick around, and they are the best lawyers to learn from.

I wanted to ensure I joined a firm that would provide the best possible training and would expose me to new and challenging opportunities. During my previous seat in International Arbitration, we were advising on disputes between foreign investors and host states and in an earlier seat in Finance, I worked in the Energy & Infrastructure practice on developing and structuring transactions at the beginning of an international investment relationship. Working in two such complementary seats at both ends of a deal has enabled me to gain a much better understanding of the commercial imperatives that drive these transactions – it gives me a more balanced view of the bigger picture.

What I like about being here is that there’s no standard trainee experience - opportunities exist to get involved in all sorts of different work, at all levels. If you express interest in something you want to work on, then the firm and the people around you will support and encourage you. For example, I’d always wanted to work in international arbitration and before my training contract started the firm supported me during a 6-month research internship at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. I’ve recently written an article about enforcement of arbitration awards in England for an international journal and am also deeply involved in Advocates for International Development (A4ID), a firm-sponsored pro bono organisation that connects non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in developing states with City lawyers who can help them. That’s typical of the firm, allowing and encouraging you to develop aspects of your career to which you might not normally get exposure.

I’ve had a lot of great moments since joining the firm but one of the highlights has to be traveling to Oslo to present to Norwegian clients about electricity markets in the UK. Off the back of that presentation I received a call from a new client looking for advice, and it's not often that a trainee brings in new work.