Rashmi Desai, Trainee
Title: Trainee
Education: Economics, Politics and International Studies, Warwick University; LPC, College of Law
Experience: Clifford Chance vacation scheme
Joined Clifford Chance: 2007
What made Clifford Chance stand out for me was the people I met when I did a vacation placement. You expect people to come across as intelligent and articulate but when I came here I was also struck by how friendly and relaxed they seemed. It’s very busy but there’s still a light atmosphere, no-one’s weighed down by their work – which is a preconception I think a lot of people have from the outside. It was also a very international group of people and I think that adds a different dimension to your experience. I’m in my second seat now, in Capital Markets where a lot of our work has a US aspect and you have to adjust to a different way of working with US clients and lawyers.
It’s true, you do have some very long days when deals are going through. But the time you put in is appreciated and recognised and you’re working as part of a team. That team dynamic is very important, it’s what gets the work done and it’s what makes it enjoyable. It may sound odd but even when you’re working hard there’s a lot of humour. And the firm does a lot to make things easier for you in a practical sense – dinner on site if you need it, including good vegetarian food, which is important to me, and the opportunity to duck out and hit the gym.
I think working for a big law firm means that there will be long hours at times – and it’s important to remember that it’s not every day – and that will be the case at any of the major firms. What is different between firms is the people you work with and the kind of environment and culture the firm encourages. In the case of Clifford Chance it’s very professional but also relaxed and informal, and the people are interesting and diverse. It makes for a great place to work and develop a career.
Having already done a seat in Corporate and Capital Markets, I’m doing my third seat in Litigation, where I will be working with Law for All on the pro bono side. For my fourth seat I’m hoping for an international secondment as I’m very keen to qualify into an international office, possibly Dubai or Abu Dhabi, both of which are closer to home, and also to really exciting developing markets.
Clifford Chance is at the cutting edge of those markets – recently I’ve been working on an Eastern European company listing, working as a team that featured people from the US, Canada, Australia and learning about how our clients work. I spend a lot of my time sitting with partners and associates who are looking at new problems and saying ‘Is this possible? What if we do it this way?’ and that’s very exciting.
There’s a real emphasis here on understanding the context of what we are doing, the bigger picture. Of course, we are providing legal advice but a lot of what we are doing is really straight business – helping clients to run their businesses and achieve their goals. And even as a trainee you have a lot to contribute. Very often I’ll be asked to do the first draft of a document and to get involved by dialling into the conference calls and attending the client meetings. You have your eyes and ears open all the time, picking up what the partners and associates are doing and beginning to work as a lawyer even though you are still only a trainee.
I’ve always felt that I’m part of the team, rather than an onlooker, and my colleagues have been really positive about feeding back on my work, encouraging and inspiring me and giving me the opportunity to speak. It’s a great environment in which to learn and you know that you are working on the deals that will make the news, but you’re also having a good time. I think that’s pretty important too.
