Position: Associate, Corporate, Financial Institutions Group
Education: Law, National Law School of India, Bangalore; LLM, Warwick University
Joined Clifford Chance: 2006
Qualified: 2007

Why Clifford Chance? I think the firm’s international experience and network means it’s well positioned to anticipate the needs of people from different backgrounds and to value their different perspectives and insights. This makes it very well geared up to take on foreign-qualified lawyers.

I remember when it came to making a decision about which firm to join, I just felt more comfortable with Clifford Chance. The firm seemed very open to my background and wanted to accommodate my experience and academic background. I came in on an 18-month training contract that took my experience in India into account, so I wasn’t starting all over again, which was important to me.

Coming to this 30-storey building for the first time you’re bound to feel a little intimidated. This is a very big firm, but I think there’s a very strong sense of ‘one firm’ here. It’s also a very diverse place, which makes it interesting. I think we combine very effectively across time zones and use our diversity as an advantage in advising our clients. At the same time, the fact is that on a day-to-day basis you are working with your own team and, from my first day here, I found that people throughout the firm were very interested in helping me. You can walk into pretty much anyone’s office and say ‘Do you have a minute?’ or ‘I’ve been told you’re the person to ask about …’ and they’ll make time for you.

Your training contract is also a great way of getting to know people and building up your network. I was seconded to the Barclays General Counsel's Office for six months and to Barclays Capital (BarCap) for three months. Secondments are a chance to understand clients’ businesses and their needs at a much deeper level. You also build stronger relationships with the client and when you return to the firm you’re in a great position to help your colleagues.

A lot of the client work I do now relates to insurance. Recently I have been a part of the team working on what was hailed as a 'historic' reorganization of the Lloyd's insurance market. It’s pretty exciting to see your deal discussed in the Financial Times or the Economist. We’re working at the cutting edge of the sector, looking at regulatory issues and liaising with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on how the law and policy should evolve for the future. It’s intellectually demanding and different every day. Our clients come to us because they have encountered a problem that is new so we’re looking at issues that haven’t been tackled before, breaking new ground.

It is astonishing how quickly time flies when you are keeping busy and working day-to-day with interesting people on challenging matters. I now supervise a first-seat trainee and catch myself reflecting on how it seems like just yesterday that I was signing my training contract with Clifford Chance.