A career in law www.allenovery.

com/careeruk
The essentials
Your guide to applications
and interviews
Big deal
What happens on a major
transaction and what do
the lawyers do?
39 and
counting
Graduate Recruitment Partner
Richard Hough discusses the
importance of our global network
Broadening access
Why being a lawyer
should be about brains,
not background
In the City
An insiders guide to whats
happening outside the ofce
Trainee tales
Reports from the front line
Allen & Overy
continues expanding
into new territories
Allen & Overy is an international legal practice with approximately 4,750 staff, including some 480
partners, working in 39 major centres worldwide. Allen & Overy LLP or an afliated undertaking
has an ofce in each of:
Allen & Overy means Allen & Overy LLP and/or its afliated undertakings. The term partner is
used to refer to a member of Allen & Overy LLP or an employee or consultant with equivalent
standing and qualications or an individual with equivalent status in one of Allen & Overy LLPs
afliated undertakings.
Allen & Overy LLP 2011
Abu Dhabi
Amsterdam
Antwerp
Athens
Bangkok
Beijing
Belfast
Bratislava
Brussels
Bucharest (associated ofce)
Budapest
Casablanca
Doha
Dubai
Dsseldorf
Frankfurt
Hamburg
Hong Kong
Jakarta (associated ofce)
London
Luxembourg
Madrid
Mannheim
Milan
Moscow
Munich
New York
Paris
Perth
Prague
Riyadh (associated ofce)
Rome
So Paulo
Shanghai
Singapore
Sydney
Tokyo
Warsaw
Washington, D.C.
Allen & Overy LLP
One Bishops Square
London
E1 6AD
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 3088 0000
Fax: +44 (0)20 3088 0088
Email: graduate.recruitment@allenovery.com
Web: www.allenovery.com/careeruk
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32 Staying away
06
Te knowledge
02 Te making of a modern lawyer
Graduate Recruitment Partner
Richard Hough, looks at the frms continuing
expansion into new territories and considers
whats diferent about being a lawyer in
2011, and what has remained constant.
05 Out of the comfort zone
Five trainees refect on what they have
learned by moving beyond the familiar and
going on secondment, overseas or to a client.
See also pages 11, 29, 36, 46. 66
06 Te knowledge
Whats it really like to be a trainee? Get up
close and personal with four trainees to
fnd out.
14 Going on vacation
Do anything useful this summer?We look at
the benefts of gaining some relevant work
experience.
18 Te real deal
What does it take to bring a deal together
and what do the lawyers actually do?
We unpack the Ocado fotation to fnd out.
24 City life
Trainees ofer their tips for balancing work with
pleasure in one of the coolest cities on earth.
32 Staying away
Being part of the global elite means the
opportunity to live and work overseas.
Two lawyers report back from Hong Kong.
34 Te good lawyer
Head of Social Investment, Susan Hazledine,
counters the argument that pro bono work is
just about PR.
37 Tis lawyers life
Lawyers lead interesting lives. Partner Etay
Katz steps out of the ofce to ofer up a few of
his favourite things.
42 Life beyond the frm
Training as a lawyer opens up a world
of possibilities.
44 Open door policy
Allen & Overy is leading the way in
broadening access to the legal profession and
encouraging social mobility.
47 Te essentials
Your need-to-know guide to applying to
Allen & Overy.
Contents
OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE
8
Te making of a modern lawyer 02
COVERIMAGE:
The Bund, Shanghai
early morningexercises
alongthe waterfront
promenade featuring
Pudongskyline.
Te TT Real Deal Real Real
Welcome to Allen & Overy and to our new graduate
recruitment magazine. Choosing a career in law and
choosing the right law rm are two important, and
separate, decisions especially when rms can, from
the outside, appear so similar. How can you tell them
apart and make an informed choice?
This magazine aims to shed some light on what may
lie ahead from what lawyers do at work, to a little of
what they get up to outside the ofce. Its about law in
general but its also about A&O, for which I make no
apology. This is a great law rm and I think youll see
in this magazine that our people, our culture and our
attitude are a bit different from the rest.
Our ofce is located in a fantastic, vibrant part of
London. With this in mind, weve asked some of our
trainees to introduce you to some of their favourite
venues for R&R. We also describe what kind of
experience you can look forward to on a vacation
scheme and what its like to go on a secondment as
a trainee. And what about the work itself? In the
The real deal, weve brought one of our deal teams
back together to reect on the late nights, the
pressure, the paperwork and, ultimately, the
satisfaction of putting together a successful
transaction. David Morley, our senior partner, talks
about one of his passions broadening access to
the legal profession and we explore how and why
we are active in the pro bono sphere. We also nd
out from some of our alumni how an Allen & Overy
training has led to careers elsewhere.
Finally, my team has prepared a section at the back
of the magazine The essentials which should give
you all you need to know about training with A&O.
And, after years of visiting campuses to meet
prospective candidates, Ive put together my own
hints and tips on how you can give yourself the best
chance of success.
It can feel like theres a mystique about law
especially when you start talking about the global
elite. In reality, theres no mystery, just a lot of very
bright people working very hard together to help our
clients achieve their goals. What you need to decide
is whether you like the look of the work, the clients
and the people especially the people.
Good luck and I hope to meet you, either on campus
or at our Bishops Square ofce.
Caroline Lindner
Graduate Recruitment Manager
Welcome
Te making of a modern lawyer 03
In the last 18 months,
we have opened ofces in
Australia, Qatar,
Northern Ireland,
Washington, D.C. and
Morocco. We now have
39 ofces around the
world a truly global
presence and we will
not be stopping there.
02 Te making of a modern lawyer
Te making of a
modern lawyer
A lot has changed since I rst came to Allen & Overy as a vacation scheme student 24 years ago
25 if you include a stint in the post room the year before. No more so than now with the legal and
business world facing developments of almost seismic proportions. Te economic downturn has
left clients demanding better value, greater expertise and lower costs, while at the same time the
issues they need advice on have become more complex and more international.
I want to describe to you how we as a frm are responding and
what this altered landscape means for the people who join us
as trainees. But before I do, I want to focus briefy on a theme
that is in stark contrast to the trend of accelerating change.
As I look around, I see that a lot at Allen & Overy has stayed
pretty much the same. Te ofces are diferent our move to
Bishops Square has proved universally popular but the
people are very similar in terms of outlook and a good number
of the trainees I joined the frm with in March 1990 are still
here as partners. I think its worth refecting on why that is the
case. Why do people choose a career at Allen & Overy?
Part of it, of course, is to do with each other. Weve grown up
as lawyers and become good friends, as well as colleagues.
We know we can depend on each other. I recently saw the
same trait among our summer vacation students as well as
experiencing the frm at close quarters, they became close as a
team. But its not just the people I trained with.
Allen & Overy has, I think, a knack of hiring people who
understand what it means to advise a client on the most
signifcant matters afecting its business, the weight of that
responsibility and the satisfaction that comes from delivering
technically excellent and commercially astute advice.
Over the years, Ive worked my share of late nights out of
necessity, I hasten to add, never to maintain appearances
yet the commitment required is always justifed when I
refect on what an interesting and fulflling experience my
time at the frm has been to date. Long hours are a fact of life
for a lawyer and it could be a turn-of pressure, fatigue,
take-away pizza etc. but at Allen & Overy that is rarely the
case. When the going gets tough, you gain energy and
inspiration from those around you. Te quality of the people,
their willingness to pitch in, to ofer up ideas and
to collaborate professionally never ceases to impress me.
Our trainee solicitors are the perfect illustration of this team
ethic. As a partner in the Corporate practice, I share a room
with a trainee. I work with trainees all the time and they have
the same focus and drive that Ive seen throughout my career.
But they also have personality. Teyre interesting characters
to be around, and thats very important in a people business.
Te other constant during my career with the frm is its
culture, which has two key and complementary aspects. Te
frst is complete professionalism and a mindset to explore
new and better ways of doing things. Standing still is not an
option for Allen & Overy our strategy is ambitious, but
realistic, and we are looking for the next generation of
lawyers to make sure we deliver on it. And the second is
approachability and teamwork. Im not sure Ive ever heard
an Allen & Overy lawyer say they havent the time to help a
colleague or at least not without agreeing a time when they
can or known one with any delusion of self-importance.
Tis is a frm that thrives on people without ego who enjoy
working together to achieve results for our clients.
So, its been good so far; now lets pan forwards. And as I said
earlier, the future is defnitely looking diferent, even though
the character of the frm will remain the same.
Te practice of commercial law has changed, especially for
the largest frms advising the largest clients. Our revenue
streams, for example, are dramatically diferent 60% of our
income now comes from outside the UK. Nearly 70% of the
matters we take on involve ofces in two or more countries
and 25% involve fve ofces or more. A far cry from my time
as a trainee when working with colleagues in another ofce
was the exception, rather than the rule.
What this means for lawyers and trainees is that, where we
previously benefted from some international exposure, now
it is an everyday occurrence; something that you are expected
to take in your stride. Transactions are increasingly cross-
border, and you cant do that kind of work based solely in
London. Tis has two principal consequences. Te frst
is that we need, and have built, a global network of
ofces run by people who embody this international ethos.
Richard Hough, Graduate Recruitment Partner
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
04 Te making of a modern lawyer
In the last 18 months, we have opened ofces
in Australia, Qatar, Northern Ireland, Washington,
D.C. and Morocco. We now have 39 ofces around
the world a truly global presence and we will
not be stopping there. Te second is that overseas
travel is now regarded by our lawyers as an
expectation as much as it is an opportunity.
Our lawyers, and perhaps you in due course, are
increasingly spending time in other ofces around
our network, or on secondment to clients. You can
read about what thats like later in this magazine,
but having an international mindset is no longer a
useful quality its an essential part of the job and
youre unlikely to succeed without it.
Tese extensions to our network, and the building
up of our presence in established markets such
as France, Germany and the U.S., are expressions
of our confdence. We are investing during difcult
times in anticipation of better times ahead, putting
ourselves in a position to improve our service
to clients when and where market conditions
improve. Having that kind of confdence and
ambition is energising; it puts a spring in your step.
As lawyers, our own role is continuously evolving.
No longer the practitioners of dusty old common
law and precedent, we are strategic advisers to
an international client base and, increasingly,
entrepreneurs for the frm, exploring opportunities
with clients and prospective clients, developing and
sharing ideas for their businesses and pitching
Allen & Overy as the frm to help them realise their
strategy. Tats a relatively new aspect to our role and
an exciting development. So, it was with real pleasure
that I saw how enthusiastically and convincingly our
vacation scheme students embraced a client pitch
exercise earlier this summer. If they join us as trainees,
those pitch skills and that confdence will put them in
very good stead.
Having been at the frm for over 20 years, I often
get asked What does it take to be a lawyer at
Allen & Overy?. Weve put this magazine together
with the simple aim of answering that question, and
so I encourage you to read it. But the short answer is
you need to be interested in whats going on in
the business world with emphasis on the world
aspect. Everything we do is about helping clients
develop their business, so that should also be your
focus. Other than that, intelligence, an eye for detail,
a sense of humour, team spirit, endurance the list
goes on. Te best advice I can ofer is to come and
meet us and make your own mind up. I hope you do.
Casablanca Paris
Sydney
Hong Kong
Washington, D.C.
www.allenovery.com/careeruk Out of the comfort zone 05
Shanghai-based Megan Chen, studied Law at
the LSE before joining the rm as a trainee in
September 2009. Following her secondment in
Shanghai, Megan will be qualifying into the
Banking practice.
I was born in China and moved to the UK at the age of
three, so it was one of my ambitions to spend my
secondment here. Shanghai is a highly sought-after
seat and I was really lucky to be selected.
My secondment is with the rms Corporate
department but, as the only English trainee in the
ofce, I have also had the chance to work across other
areas of the rm, which has been really rewarding.
I am only at the halfway stage of my secondment but I
have already found myself learning a huge amount
about the Chinese legal system, which is based on
Germanys and is really different to the UK common
law system. For one thing, there is much greater state
control over the legal sector, which can make the
process of advising clients more challenging as its
much harder to predict what the outcome of a case is
going to be.
One of the biggest challenges has been adapting to a
completely different culture, which can be tricky, even
for a native Mandarin speaker. This is my rst
experience of spending a serious period of time living
and working in China so there is lots for me to learn,
whether its nding my way around the city on public
transport or knowing the right etiquette when going
out to dinner with a client. Things eventually fall into
place and after three months I think Im almost there.
Shanghais night-life is denitely a major perk of being
here and, with so much going on, its impossible to
get bored. The city has an amazing bar scene, which
caters to the expat community and young up-and-
coming Chinese professionals. Ive also enjoyed
some of Shanghais more traditional attractions. The
French Concession area of the city is a favourite place
of mine to visit on weekends. I like going there to
watch the older people congregate to practise Tai Chi
or to play chess in the open. Its important to keep an
open mind and to make the most of all the
opportunities on offer; you never know when youll get
the chance to come back!
For junior lawyers, going on secondment is about exposure to a different side
to working life. Five Allen & Overy secondees share their experiences, starting
with Megan Chen based in Shanghai. Additional proles, for secondees based
in London, Milan and Abu Dhabi, are on pages 11, 29, 36 and 46.
SHA
NGH
AI
OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE
Whats it really like to be a trainee? Four intrepid
trainees, pictured in and around Bishops Square,
spill the beans on late nights, colleagues and who
really does the photocopying.
Te knowledge
Akshay Agrawal
The biggest surprise has been
just how approachable everyone
is. People are always popping
into our ofce for a chat (which
is rarely work-related!) and are
always willing to help if you are
stuck on anything.
Te knowledge 07 06 Te knowledge
Kate Dobson
I once got called into the ofce
on a Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
and worked through until 6 a.m.
the next day... But its true what
they say the unsociable hours
are compensated by the buzz of
the deal.
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
08 Te knowledge
Te knowledge
Juliana Farrell
I once had to go over
to a clients mansion
in a trendy upmarket
London suburb to
witness the client
sign a 100 million
guarantee.
Adam Baldwin
There are no social
barriers within the
rm so you feel a
part of something,
much more than just
another trainee.
www.allenovery.com/careeruk Te knowledge 09
Studied European Legal
Studies at Westminster
First seat Corporate
(Financial Institutions Group)
Secondseat Banking
Thirdseat Real Estate
Fourth seat Abu Dhabi
A&O is the perfect example
to demonstrate that City
assertiveness is not the only
way to be in the top tier. The
rmis known for being the friendly
giant and you really experience
its welcoming atmosphere from
the outset. Most importantly, this
attitude extends, in particular, to
the clients a unique approach
with a personal touch.
Double check, double check,
double check thats my
mantra. When youre working
under pressure, things can easily
get missed. If you damage the
condence your clients have in you,
it can be very hard to rebuild it.
Speak upwhen you have a
comment tomake even though
you may think it is irrelevant at
the time. At A&O, no question is a
silly question and any observation
made by any member of the
team is taken as a meaningful
contribution towards nding
a solution.
I once hadtogoover toa
clients mansion in a trendy
upmarket London suburb to
witness the client sign a 100
million guarantee.
Atearingmy hair out moment?
Being led on a wild goose chase
trying to get a simple answer from
the European Commission!
Responsibility comes early
and you quickly see that
you are taken seriously. On
one project, I was the rst point
of contact for all departments
involved within A&Oand helped
co-ordinate workstreams between
Corporate, Banking, ICMand
Tax. Simultaneously, I was heavily
involved in transaction process
work drafting contracts, record
keeping, document reviews etc.
In addition, the client contacted me
directly to seek advice on discrete
issues.
What have I saidthat I instantly
regretted? Do you need a
hand with that? at 5.30 p.m.
on a Friday evening.
If youve done your work, go
home. Contrary tothemyththat
partnerslovespendingdaysand
nightsintheofce, they muchprefer
leavingworkontimeandspending
timewiththeir familiesandfriends
they areonly ever intheofce
lateif thereisagoodreason. They
encouragetheir teamstoadopt the
sameapproach.
Sure there are some late nights
andearly starts. I worked until
5 a.m. on a closing of a deal. It was
challenging but the excitement
of weeks of hard work coming
to a successful conclusion was
extremely satisfying.
The biggest surprise has been
howwell-prepared I felt in making
the transition fromstudent to
trainee after completing A&Os
bespoke LPC.
Yes I knowhowtorell the
paper tray on the photocopier.
Youll nd out that support staff are
your greatest friends but sometimes
you do have to do it yourself.
Lawyer joke? It was so cold last
week that I sawseveral lawyers with
their hands in their own pockets.
Studied Philosophy
at Shefeld
First seat Corporate (M&A)
Secondseat Banking
(Global Loans)
Thirdseat ICM
(General Securities Group)
Expect to deal face-to-face
with clients early on. Lawschool
may make you a master of some
of the technical details, but dealing
with real clients face-to-face and
having to call themseveral times
a day is a different matter entirely.
Studying doesnt necessarily
prepare you for this.
You soon learn to be
organised. Whether you have a
client who wants advice every step
of the way, or one who is happy to
take a back seat and let you run
with the transaction, both expect
you to be completely on top of
their deal.
Read it. Print it. Read it again.
Print it. Read it again.
Its actually amazing howmany tiny
errors you spot within written work,
emails, documents etc. There is
nothing more embarrassing than
handing work over to a partner and
watching themcorrect a spelling or
grammatical error in red pen even
if they do it with a smile.
A great trainer can make all
the difference. My trainer is lovely.
We spend a lot of time discussing
important things like clothes, style
magazines and horrendous TV
programmes. Obviously, we spend
a lot of time working hard toobut
in an easy atmosphere which brings
out the best in you.
Good enough doesnt cut it at
A&O. If you do a good enough
job, you wont get asked to do
another by that associate or partner.
Its better to take a bit longer and
give it your best effort its your
reputation youre risking.
My biggest rookie error?
I was sending an email attaching
some documents to a client.
As soon as I hit send, I sawit.
I had accidentally copied in to the
email my friend fromoutside A&O,
who happens to work at a rival City
bank to the client. The client told me
not to worry about it, but I will never
make the same mistake again.
Expect to have the odd late
one. I once got called into the ofce
on a Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
and worked through until 6 a.m. the
next day. I then had to be back at
work for 11 a.m., which didnt leave
much time for sleep. On another
occasion, I worked until 5 a.m.
straight through from9.30 a.m.
the previous day. But its true what
they say the unsociable hours are
compensated by the buzz of the
deal you are working on.
Trainees get perks, too. I was
invited to an amazing closing dinner
with cocktails and champagne,
while a friend was given a bottle of
champagne after one of his deals
and a day off in lieu. The recognition
of a job well done is priceless.
Juliana Farrell
THE REALITY
Kate Dobson
THE TRAINING
Out of the comfort zone 11
Jared Tausz, a London-based secondee, studied
Theology and Philosophy at Durham and joined
Allen & Overy as a trainee in September 2009.
Jared will be qualifying into the ICM practice
following a secondment to Goldman Sachs.
The pace of life at Goldman Sachs is just as you
would expect fast. The days go by so quickly and its
very much a case of blink, and youll miss it. Often, Ill
be juggling ve or six different tasks at the same time,
so I have to be able to achieve a very quick turnaround
when called upon.
A lot of the work Ive been involved in during my
secondment has been helping set up general
corporate liquidity facilities for Goldmans relationship
loans between the bank and its clients. Each loan
agreement takes about three weeks to complete from
start to nish and the legal team at the bank are
involved every step of the way. Its a pretty hectic
process, which means I have to keep on top of my
inbox so that nothing slips through the net and Im
always communicating with the deal team to let them
know where I am in the process. There is a real sense
of satisfaction at the end of a really busy day when
youve managed to keep on top of everything and
people are pleased with your work.
One of the pitfalls you could fall into as a trainee would
be to make out that you know the answer to every
question, when in fact you dont. If youre not sure of
something, its much better to ask the person on the
other end of the phone to hang on while you go and
check, and then go and nd them the answer
quickly.
Im sure Ill take a lot away from the Goldman Sachs
experience, but the most useful aspect of working in a
commercial environment is being able to understand
clearly the way clients work and what makes them
tick. Its invaluable experience as, in the end, these are
the people who are going to be using your services in
the future.
OUT OF THE
COMFORT ZONE
LON
DON
10 Te knowledge
Studied Law at
Southampton
First seat ICM(Securitisation)
Secondseat Banking
Day one can be pretty
daunting. Being presented with
so much information, I suddenly felt
like I knewnothing. But nowthat I
amthree months into my training
contract, I feel settled and that I
ammaking a real contribution to
the rm.
There is a big picture
mentality here. While the work
you do as a trainee may often be
limited to particular documents
or other discrete aspects of a
transaction, you always have to
be aware of the impact on other
areas of the deal. Keeping a record
of changes is key to staying on top
of things, and maintaining that big
picture in your mind.
What has surprised me? Just
howwelcoming and supportive
the department has been. My
colleagues are all very busy people
with lots of work of their own, so I
was half expecting people to be too
occupied to help out a newtrainee.
But everybody I have encountered
has been so patient, and more than
happy to help me.
Trainees are an important part
of the whole team. I always feel
like my work is appreciated and the
client contact I have experienced
on a daily basis has been an added
bonus. I amregularly the rst point
of contact for clients which means
that I have been able to contribute
personally towards resolving their
queries.
Partners do listen to trainees.
But it is important that the trainee
is condent and certain in what he
or she is saying if its a difference
of opinion, the chances are that the
partner is right but they still want to
hear what you have to say. Do your
research, then feel free to express
your view.
Everyone is human. It is denitely
A&Os viewthat we should strive to
be the best, not cut corners, and
be thorough in everything we do.
However, I think it is also accepted
that we are all human. We are all
very grateful for the Document
Checking department every now
and then.
Its not all work, work, work.
When the summer sun is hitting
the 6th oor terrace on a Friday
lunchtime, the BBQlaid on is simply
perfect. They even have a cool-box
of ice creams. You almost feel like
you are away fromthe ofce
almost.
The social scene here is
fantastic. There are no social
barriers within the rmso you feel a
part of something, much more than
just another trainee. There are plenty
of opportunities to meet people by
getting involved in sports teams
and social events and many people
within the rmare fast becoming
some of my closest friends.
My favourite lawyer joke?
Aman says Imsending out
1,000 Valentine cards signed,
Guess who?. But why? asks
the woman next to him. Ima
divorce lawyer, the man replies.
Studied Law at Oxford
First seat ICM(CorporateTrustee)
Secondseat Corporate (M&A)
Thirdseat ICM
(General Securities Group)
Fourth seat Banking
(Restructuring)
Fifth seat Budapest
The best piece of advice
anyone has given me was to
be enthusiastic. Its cheesy, I
know, but it really does make a
difference. Theres so much going
on here work, sport, pro bono and
community activities so the more
you get stuck in, the more youll get
out of it.
Despite the mystique, partners
are people too. Their doors are
always open, just like everyone
elses, and they wander around
the ofce chatting just as much as
the rest of us. Apartner I had never
met before came into my ofce and
started talking about his passion
1980s rock. Ten minutes later he left
and returned immediately to put his
headphones over my head so we
could discuss the lyrics!
You have tobe able tomanage a
clients expectations. Sometimes
what they ask for is not in their best
interests and you have to be able to
tell themthat.
Sometimes youll be pushed
outside your comfort zone.
When my trainer was away I
became the rst point of contact
on a deal involving an update on a
Russian banks bond issue. It was
highly time-pressured and a lot
more complicated than I had rst
thought. I was getting hundreds of
emails (sometimes very heated!)
fromall sides requiring changes and
compromises to be made quickly.
Its important that you work
with people you like youre
going to be seeing a lot of
them. All the teams Ive worked
in have always been really helpful
and a lot of fun. This is important
as you are often required to work
for long periods of time with a small
team. Still being able to have a joke
at 3 a.m. makes a big difference.
Getting out of the ofce is
important and were in a great
place to do it. When its a quiet
day, a fewof us will head out to a
local place called Poncho No.8
which makes amazing fajitas. Well
take our lunch to the lawn in front of
the ofce or to one of the terraces,
and just sit lounging and eating in
the sun for an hour or so. Its always
a pretty good way to spend your
lunch break!
The biggest surprise has
been just how approachable
everyone is. People are always
popping into our ofce for a chat
(which is rarely work-related!) and
are always willing to help if you are
stuck on anything. It really is a very
friendly, relaxed place to work.
What would your advice be
to someone applying for a
training contract? Put in the time
to do a decent application form.
I would also strongly recommend
doing a vacation scheme as it is
the only way to see, rst, whether
the lawis for you and, secondly,
whether A&Ois the place you want
to be.
Adam Baldwin
THE CULTURE
Akshay Agrawal
THE PEOPLE
To nd out more about the
reality, the training, the culture
and the people at A&O see
our Myth Buster lms at
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
Te knowledge
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
From the moment you join the rm, youll be involved in
helping our clients to protect and grow their assets.
Find out about the realities of training at Allen & Overy
and check out our Myth Buster lms on
www.allenoveery.coomm///ccaaaarrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuuuukkkkkkkkkkk
Breakfast
meeting
08:05
Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?
this used to be the maxim of the undergraduate.
Summers were for picking fruit, reading on the beach
and falling in love. But with as many as 83 university
leavers now reported to be jostling for every graduate
position*, a gaping hole under work experience on your
CV is unlikely to improve your chances with prospective
employers. For those with ambition and direction, there
is no time to hesitate.
One of the most effective ways to boost your chances
of securing a position is to get some work experience
while still a student. Its pretty much a given that
employers will look more favourably on graduates who
have spent their time outside university productively.
The simple fact is that if youre serious about getting a
head start with your career, then you need to be looking
at internships, open days and anything else that gets
you inside the door and in front of someone from whom
you can learn and on whom you can make a positive
impression.
For those considering a career in the legal sector, a
vacation scheme with a reputable rm is a fantastic way
to start the ball rolling. Most major City rms offer paid
summer placements to students about to enter their nal
year of undergraduate study, and with it the chance of
gaining an invaluable insight into the workings of a
commercial law rm. For many, this will be an opportunity
to decide whether law is truly the career for them while
also putting to bed some of the common misconceptions
held about the industry. Make a good impression over the
course of the summer and you may even return to
campus the proud owner of a training contract.
But dont expect it to be a holiday. Vacation students
arent just there for the ride they are treated as trainees
and expected to make a valuable contribution to the rm.
The graduates we spoke to about their placements all
of whom have since accepted training contracts with
Allen & Overy worked alongside partner-led teams on
some headline-grabbing deals.
So a work placement is serious and demanding. But its
not all work, work, work. In between the assignments
and presentations there are team dinners, drinks
evenings and even the odd ice-skating outing. Well
worth setting the alarm clock for, dont you think?
* Biannual survey, Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), 2011
Going on vacation 15
vacation
Going on
14 Going on vacation www.allenovery.com/careeruk
16 Going on vacation
2
1
Simon studied Law at Leeds
and attended Allen & Overys
2010 summer vacation scheme,
spending three weeks in
London followed by a week
in the rms Dubai ofce.
Simon will be joining the rm
in September 2012.
I sat in two departments in London
Antitrust and Intellectual Property
Litigation and was lucky enough
to get involved in some of the live
cases the departments were
handling, which was pretty exciting.
The whole experience was a
massive eye-opener for me
personally. My preconceptions were
that, given Allen &Overys
reputation as a big City lawrm,
Id nd myself placed in a frosty,
aggressive environment. This
couldnt have been further from
the truth. I was working with some
of the most highly skilled lawyers in
their respective elds, yet people
were approachable and throughout
the scheme my questions were
always taken seriously, however
nave they might have appeared.
Perhaps the most important thing I
learned was what it means to work
as part of a teamfor an international
lawrm. Teamwork has become a
bit of a buzzword these days, but
the reality of working for a rmlike
A&Ois that very fewtasks are dealt
with by one person and, more to
the point, deals are invariably
handled across more than one
jurisdiction and therefore ofces.
The chance to spenda week
working in Dubai was one of the
main reasons I chose to do my
vacation scheme with A&O. It
turnedout to be the highlight of the
whole experience andwas a
chance to get a taste of what it
wouldbe like to be a trainee in one
of the rms international ofces. I
arrivedduring the height of summer
so I spent a hectic week in a suit,
dashing fromone air-conditioned
building to the next.
It was apretty exhaustingweek
but alsoanabsolutethrill tobe
abletoworkinanenvironment
andculturethat was so
different.
Theicingonthecakewasbeing
invitedtoaclient functionat aswanky
ve-star hotel onthebeach, which
wasapretty awesomeway toend
my vacationscheme.
Zainnab studied Politics
at Bristol. She joined
Allen & Overy on the rms
winter vacation scheme
in December 2010 and sat in
Corporate. Zainnab will be
joining the rm in March 2013.
I approached the vacation scheme
determined to enjoy the experience
and to make the most of the
opportunities on offer, which meant
I soon had to forget about getting a
lot of sleep. There was just so much
going on.
I was lucky enough tobe
mentoredby a partner during
my placement, which I hadnot
expected.
My job was to assist himwhile he
worked on a pitch to win business
froma potential newclient. I carried
out a lot of the research required to
prepare the pitch document and
became the rst port of call
whenever my trainer had a specic
query that needed addressing. The
highlight of the week was when I
got to accompany himto a meeting
with an existing client, which turned
out to be a lot of fun.
One thing I found really useful was
being able to meet some of the
current trainees at the rmand to
have the chance to quiz themon
what life is really like for them. I was
curious to nd out about the kind of
hours they worked and the sort of
projects they were involved in. It
helps that everyone on the vacation
scheme was assigned a trainee
buddy someone whose job it is to
showyou howeverything works
and to answer any questions.
At the end of the scheme I was
invited to apply for a training
contract, which led to an interview
with a partner. It was much tougher
than Id expected and was quite a
nerve-racking experience. Luckily
my interviewpreparation paid off.
The friends I made over the course
of the scheme were denitely an
addedbonus. I hadexpectedthe
atmosphere between the vac
schemers to be super-competitive,
whereas it was actually really
relaxed. Its great to knowthere will
be some friendly faces waiting for
me when I start my training contract.
1. Simon
Coates
2. Zainnab
Makele
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
4
Going on vacation 17
3
Chris earned a BA in English
from Cambridge and has
recently completed a Masters
degree in Arab World Studies at
Manchester. He attended the
2010 winter vacation scheme,
spending eight days in the
London ofce. Chris is joining
the rm in March 2013.
I think Ill be remembered frommy
vacation scheme as the guy who
ended up ice-skating in a suit
during a group outing, having
forgotten to bring a set of casual
clothes to work.
When I wasnt busy making a fool
of myself, my vacation scheme saw
me work closely with my trainer on
a bond issuance programme
involving a large institutional client.
It was far beyond what I expected
to be exposed to during a vacation
scheme and required me to be
aware of howmy work tted into
the rest of the project and to
understand everybody elses role
in the process.
At the beginning of the week all the
vac schemers were divided into
small groups and tasked with
preparing a pitch presentation to
win business froma newor existing
client. My group was allocated a
private equity rmthat was already
an important client of Allen &Overy.
The exercise gave us the
opportunity to spend time with
senior people across the rm,
including the relationship partner for
that client. We also worked closely
alongside the Business
Development team, who play an
important role in any pitch process.
It was agreat chancetosee
upclosethekindof workthe
different areas of thermdo
andtoget anideaof which
areas I might besuitedto.
My advice to someone thinking
about taking part in a scheme
would be to treat the whole thing
as an opportunity to learn. Take
advantage of the invitations to ask
questions and take the time to do
some internal networking by talking
to people in departments you are
interested in; it can never hurt to
showthat you have a genuine
interest. And always have a change
of clothes at the ready
Katharina recently completed
a Law degree at UCL. She
spent three weeks at the rm
on the summer vacation
scheme in 2010 and will join as
a trainee in September 2012.
My rst seat was in Allen &Overys
Tax department and my second
was in Project Finance. Both seats
really threwme in at the deep end
but my trainers always took the time
to explain the background to the
projects I was involved in and what
the end goal was. One of the things
that surprised me was the spirit that
existed at the rm. Fromthe
partners, to the trainees, to the
support teams, there is a really
great atmosphere about the place.
I felt welcome fromday one and this
allowed me to be myself with the
people I met.
My personal highlight fromthe
scheme was the pitch exercise
where the objective was to gain
newor repeat business froma
specic client. Pitching is such an
essential part of what a lawyer
does. Ultimately, a lawrmis a
business like any other the work
doesnt just come to you, you
actively have to go out there and
nd it. Retaining existing clients is
just as important and, in a tough
market like the one were currently
in, you need to go that extra mile
to make sure you give the best
possible service. During the
scheme I also got the opportunity
to attend a client meeting with my
trainer where I could see rst hand
howthe different practice areas of
the rmwork so closely together.
To those considering a vacation
scheme, Id say, rst of all, dont be
afraid to go in there and be yourself.
Also, make the most of all the
opportunities available to get to
knowthe rm, both professionally
and socially.
As much as its a chance for the
rmtoassess your strengths,
its alsoan opportunity for you
togain a real insight intothe
rmandtodecide whether its
the right place for you.
Its a big decision, so you need to
make sure you are making the
right one.
3. Chris
Hurn
4. Katharina
Agena
vacation
Going on
In 2010 online food retailer Ocado
oated on the London Stock
Exchange. In the wake of the nancial
crisis it was big news, one of the
biggest otations of the year, high
prole and especially interesting since
the company had yet to make a prot.
The media was all over the transaction
and when the share price slumped
almost immediately the naysayers had
a eld day. But, 12 months on, Ocado
is in prot and the shareholders,
notwithstanding the usual market
uctuations, seem satised.
The story of that otation which, in case
youre not a regular reader of the
Financial Times, is the launch, also
known as an initial public offering or IPO,
of a companys shares on the stock
exchange so that investors can buy and
sell them is one in which Allen & Overy
lawyers played a central role. They
represented the banks that marketed the
deal to investors and, ultimately, whose
reputations were resting on its success.
From our point of view it was a hugely
successful transaction, says Louise
Wolfson, the Corporate partner at
Allen & Overy who led the rms deal
team. For us its not about the share
price but doing a good job for our clients
and building relationships.
Essentially, Allen & Overys role was to
represent the interests of the banks that
would be selling the new stock and
making sure that all the claims being
made by Ocado and its team of lawyers
in the sale prospectus were legitimate
and sustainable, and that the information
satised the regulatory requirements for
such a large transaction.
Our role acting for the banks, continues
Conan Lauterpacht, the lead associate
on the deal, is to track what Ocados
lawyers have done and make sure that
we agree with the approach that has
been taken and the information that has
been included.
The prospectus in this case, a densely
written document of around 300 pages
is effectively the marketing brochure for
the share issue, and is sent to people to
see whether they want to buy the shares
or not. And while Ocado may only go
through this process once, for the banks
sponsoring the issue, its their livelihood.
The picture it paints of the company has to
be both compelling and accurate so that
investors will listen to their recommendations
on the next transaction, and the one after
that. And for a prospectus, being right
means being accurate, comprehensive
and compliant and thats where the
lawyers come in.
It is a job in two parts says Conan: The
rst is due diligence where we review all
the documents the company has, its
contracts, its employee arrangements,
its agreements with suppliers. This is to
check whether there is anything in those
documents that we think absolutely has
to be mentioned in the prospectus
because its potentially a problem or
because its just something important
that Id want to know about if I was going
to invest in Ocado shares. Then the
second part is verication, which is
where we look at what is included in the
prospectus and make sure that its
accurate, by going back and checking
what the base materials are for each
statement.
A substantial part of this work falls to the
trainees: The learning curve on Ocado
was massive, says Malavika Raghavan,
a trainee in her Corporate seat at the time
of Ocados otation. I sat with Conan
and another trainee worked with Louise
and, for both of us, it was the rst time
we were actually looking at an IPO.
Typically, trainees are responsible for
managing the data room which contains
any and all relevant documentation.
Usually you set up a virtual room,
explains Malavika, where you display
all the companys different documents
corporate, banking, property, insurance,
you name it. Our role was to sift through
all that and make sure that everything
which is at all relevant to the IPO is
included. Its all these smaller judgement
calls that fall to the trainees.
And then theres the much mentioned,
but rarely understood, matter of due
diligence. What is it and why is it so
important? Louise offers a brief tutorial:
Lets look at one specic contract to
explain the idea of due diligence. In the
case of Ocado, they sourced most of
their goods through Waitrose; a lot of
them are Waitrose branded goods, but at
the time other products like Coca-Cola
and so forth also came through the
Waitrose supply chain. The Waitrose
supply agreement was a key contract for
Ocado and it was due to expire. So while
the transaction was progressing, Ocado
I
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Te real deal 19
Te Real Deal
Big law rm equals big deals youll hear it everywhere once you
start looking at a career in law. Lawyers in suits going in and out
of shiny high-rise buildings, working late and under pressure,
mountains of documentation and then bingo or rather pop!
the champagne comes out and the deal is done. But what actually
happens during a deal? In fact, what is a deal? And why does it
need lawyers? Why the late nights and why all that paperwork?
18 Te real deal www.allenovery.com/careeruk
20 Te real deal
was also renegotiating its contract with
its main supplier. Understanding the
original contract, the new contract, what
was different between the two and then
making an assessment about what
needed to be disclosed in the
prospectus all of that was a key part of
our role and a good example of how due
diligence works in practice.
For trainees, and the transaction team as
a whole, due diligence is fundamental.
The documents sit on an online system
the virtual data room, says Conan,
but there are sometimes thousands of
documents in that data room and the
very useful role that Malavika and Tim, the
other trainee on the deal, played was to
take a rst look at the documents and ag
up to the rest of the deal team anything
which they thought was a serious issue
that needed further consideration.
This is where the commercial
awareness that law rms keep referring
to comes in, because it requires
particular skill an ability to see how one
thing affects another to understand
whats normal and what may be an issue
which has a bearing on the transaction.
You might discover, for example, details
around management incentive
arrangements or management service
contracts, says Louise. Or there may
be particular contract terms that
investors arent going to like or which
need to be disclosed in the prospectus.
So, due diligence is a heavyweight task,
but thats not the end of the paperchase
for the trainees on the deal. At the same
time, they are also responsible, under the
watchful eye of the associates and
partners on the project, for ensuring that
the requirements of the UK Listing
Authority the regulatory body that
oversees listings on the London Stock
Exchange have been met. That means
tracking down a whole body of
information, details such as the
companys management employment
contracts, the shares that they own, a
description of the Articles of Association
and a host of other documentation.
You have to ask the directors and
managers seemingly mundane things
like what are their other responsibilities;
are they a director of any other company;
is it a prot or a non-prot entity?
explains Malavika. A lot of these people
are pretty senior and their time is limited,
so you have to constantly follow up with
them and say, please could you let us
know when you sat on the Board of such
and such philanthropic society or
organisation and when did that end?.
Not surprisingly, lawyers allude to the
value of persistence and a thick skin, as
well as sensitivity.
You have several checklists that are
provided by the UK Listing Authority,
says Malavika, and you have to go page
by page, paragraph by paragraph,
checking the prospectus against these
lists. Even if it sounds painful, this is one
of those legal tasks that need to be right.
And when its a 300-page document,
its easy to see how a minor error or
oversight could slip through. But, says
Malavika, thats just not acceptable in
terms of the service that we provide to
our clients. So, as a trainee, it is very
important to be thoroughly organised,
good on technical legal issues and to
liaise continuously with your team.
In the case of Ocado, one aspect of
the transaction that immediately
complicated matters was the companys
wish to offer employees the opportunity to
sell any shares they owned at the point of
otation, and to give qualifying customers
and employees the opportunity to invest.
For the Allen & Overy team that meant
establishing structures for the sale of
shares and options, that were owned by
different types of employees, and also
structures for the purchase of shares by
customers and employees.
We had to set up quite a lot of structures
to ensure that individuals who wanted to
participate and sell their shares in the IPO
were given an opportunity to do so. That
created quite a lot of work for the team,
and particularly the trainees, explains
Louise. They were tasked with obtaining
the authorisations to sell and remember
were talking about hundreds of individual
shareholders and then getting
shareholders to reconrm their instructions
when the price at which the shares were
expected to be offered changed.
Ocado added further spice to the mix
when it announced two weeks prior to the
formal intention to oat notice which is
normally the starting pistol for the
marketing process and the race to place
shares that if it were to do an IPO it
would want to make an offer to customers
and that only customers who had spent a
certain amount within a certain period of
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www.allenovery.com/careeruk
time, prior to the intention to oat
announcement, would be eligible to
participate. It was effectively a savvy
invitation to Ocados customer base to
get spending and an announcement to
the media that the speculation was almost
over. The game was on.
And what a lot of media attention there
was. A lot of the attention, recalls
Louise, focused on why people should
invest in this company, particularly retail
investors ordinary people like you and
me not big institutions. Why should we
put our hand in our pockets and invest in
this company? In the Evening Standard,
every evening there was a discussion
about whether or not you should invest
in Ocado. I think nobody had really
anticipated quite that much media focus.
As if that wasnt complicated enough, at
the time of the transaction Ocado was
also in the process of renancing its debt
securing new or additional nance to
support its strategic direction. This
added a further dimension to the deal
for Allen & Overy since the rm, as well
as advising the banks on the otation,
was advising a syndicate of banks on
their proposed lending to Ocado.
Darren Hanwell, a senior associate in
the Banking practice, was responsible
for this aspect of the transaction: Ocado
had a huge expansion plan over the next
ve years and so they needed lending to
make that business plan look realistic
and give it real credibility.
Ultimately, he continues, it has all got
to t together with Louise and her team
to make sure that we all close at the
same time in a consistent manner.
My side of the transaction is key to the
prospectus it adds plausibility to the
sale. Louise and her team need to make
sure that what I am doing and the
documentation that I ultimately agree
and we execute is accurately reected
in the prospectus.
For Louise and her team the main thrust
of the work is over once that prospectus
is published. There were other issues to
be tackled, legal opinions to be issued
and the question of a supplementary
prospectus to be addressed when the
indicative price range of the shares was
adjusted. But the team was able to ease
off the gas and leave it to the banks
eight of them by now which were then
in overdrive, contacting their investors
and building a book of sales. There were
some 4 a.m. nishes in the nal week,
remembers Malavika, when every
change to any material document had a
knock-on effect on other documents.
After so much hard work, it is surprising
that the deal doesnt end with reworks
and a ticker-tape parade. In fact, after the
closing, when all the documentation is
complete, the team moves on to other
projects the baton has been passed on
and its someone elses baby. Theres a
lot of adrenaline towards the end, says
Louise, and it is nice to know that in the
morning you wake up and you look in the
press and you can guarantee that in
every major newspaper the transaction
that youve worked on and that you
know ten times better than the journalists
is there in print. It makes you feel proud.
Louise and her deal
team were reunited in
the summer of 2011 to
make a lm covering the
transaction now
available to view on
www.allenovery.com/
careeruk
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Te real deal 21
That is the story of the Ocado IPO
and of the lawyers and trainees who
worked behind the scenes on the
documents that underpinned all the
marketing effort. The otation on 21
July 2010 saw Ocado valued at 937m,
with around 200m raised in new
equity. It was one of the largest equity
capital markets transactions in the UK
market last year. The launch was
successful and, although Ocados
share price has experienced some
volatility, the company is making a
prot for the rst time.
And Malavika? She was a trainee back
then but now she is a qualied lawyer
in Allen & Overys International Capital
Markets practice.
We offer one of the most tailored training contracts
in the City, working closely with you to select your
choice of seats. Around 80% of trainees complete
an international or client secondment.
Take a look at our prole lms on
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.......aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....................cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm///////////////////////////////////////cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuukkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
Off to
training
12:30
24 City life
5
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www.allenovery.com/careeruk 25
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Allen & Overy Our state-of-the-art ofces
offer rst-class work facilities, a superb tness
centre, green credentials and a rooftop terrace
bar with spectacular views.
The Bank of England Independent since
1997, The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street
sets the interest rate on which UK retail and
commercial interest rates are based.
Old Spitalelds Market An eclectic mix
of stalls, shops, cafs and restaurants thats
literally on your doorstep.
Brick Lane Home to arguably Londons best
curry houses, cool bars and the only 24/7
bagelry try the hot salt beef but go easy on
the mustard.
Shoreditch More cool bars and eateries than
you could shake a fork at.
2011 Google
1
2
3
4
5
London: capital of art and culture,
food and drink, glitz and glamour,
sport and leisure. Whether youre a
clubber or a cinema buff, a culture
vulture or a bary, a foodie or a wine
connoisseur, this city has it all and
more. The life of a lawyer is certainly
high-pressured and demanding.
But with so much lying right on your
doorstep there is plenty of fun to be
had too. Ten of Allen & Overys
most fun-loving trainees give the
low-down on the best the capital
has to offer.
4
3
City life 27
Top 5 lunchtimes:
1. Galvin La Chapelle Absolutely no contest if youre
intent on blowing the pay packet and in for the long
haul (and hopefully taking the afternoon off!).
2. Hawksmoor Best steak in town? Very possibly,
although competition from Goodman.
3. Poncho No.8 A burrito here will ll you up for a week.
Great take-away option for when the suns out.
4. Pizza Express Cheap and cheerful but oh-so-
reliable: always heaving at lunchtimes so arrive early,
but extremely useful for quick meals out of the ofce.
5. The Lavanda BBQ How many other City institutions
cook up barbecued chicken, salmon and steak on their
roof terrace in the summer months?
Top 5 evenings out:
1. Dinner at The Don in the City. Very old school French.
2. Bowling on Brick Lane at the All Star Lanes. Go for
the perfect 300 great fun and a good place to go for
team outings.
3. Curry on Brick Lane. If you can avoid the touts and
tourist traps, this is still a fun place, and approximately
ve minutes walk from the ofce.
4. The Royal Exchange Bar for one of the more
glamorous City venues.
5. Any Friday sports event at the O2. A few of us went
to an NBA game last time it was held in town.
26 City life
Eating and
drinking out
Were spoilt for choice perched in
Spitalfelds, on the boundary between the
City and Shoreditch. Teres a wonderful
mix of classic haunts and funky, up-and-
coming venues to discover. Weve picked a
few that are personal favourites. After two
years as a trainee, youll have your own list,
but try these for starters, say Matt
Farrington, Joan Whybray and Vinayak
Varma:
Breakfast and coffee Carluccios
breakfast baps are a top tip, especially
if youre feeling fragile from the night
before! The sit-down breakfasts at
Patisserie Valerie are tough to beat,
while Spianata probably takes the
prize for the best coffee.
Drinkies
Many trainees would agree that on a
sunny evening Lavanda, A&Os own bar,
beats all comers.Te terrace has one of the
best views of the City and the clientele is
universally classy, sophisticated and
devilishly attractive (of course!).
Pubs and wine bars The Ten Bells,
The Water Poet, and The Gun are all a
stones throw from the ofce, and are a
safe bet if Shoreditch doesnt appeal,
while The Poet Bar offers a popular
alternative to the local All Bar One. Its
hard to top Bedales for a large glass
of wine after a hard days work and the
meat and cheese platters help soak it
all up nicely, too.
On trend? Press on into Shoreditch
and theres plenty of choice. Lounge
Lover is a particular favourite: quirky,
stylish and very Shoreditch, the stuffed
animals on the wall quickly start to feel
like old friends and the cocktails are to
die for. No review of Shoreditch can omit
reference to the Light Bar, a spacious
bar in an old power station. This airy
venues clientele is a perfect mix of
City slickers and creative types from
Shoreditch High Street a good
springboard to set up a long Friday night.
Nosh
Spitalelds is foodie heaven at all hours.
Spanish, Italian, Indian: you name it, its
there, either under the awnings of the
fantastically regenerated market place,
or in the side streets around Bishops
Square and Brick Lane.
The eclectic For something a little
different, St. John Bread and Wine
on Commercial Street behind the ofce
serves an original range of English food
in a non-stuffy atmosphere. The menu
changes daily, so dont get too attached
to a particular dish (although we defy
you to nd a better combination of
Eccles cake and cheese). The whole
animal is served up (heart, bone marrow
and trotters are old favourites on the
menu) as opposed to just the standard
cuts, so the best time to visit is when
you are feeling robust and ready for a
challenge!
The traditional The Luxe, on the
edge of the market, is a charming
modern little bar/restaurant which
serves a delicious range of hearty
pub-grub while Le Relais de Venise
is a good old-fashioned place serving
nothing but steak and chips. Choose
how you want your meat done, and
leave the rest to them! Those serious
about their cuts of meat could also try
the Goodman steakhouse, which has
possibly the best list of Californian
wines in the City.
The hot date Take them to
Hawksmoor. Possibly the best steak
in London, and certainly one of the
better wine lists and cocktail menus;
this is a seriously classy joint. A word
of warning: book ahead!
Late night munchies The Brick
Lane Beigel Bake is one of the only
genuinely 24/7 places in London, so
make the most of it if you havent made
it home by the small hours.
Sport and
tness
Whether youre a morning person, have a
spare hour during the day or prefer an
evening work-out, Matt Stanton, Michael
Hagai and Ben Ogden have the answers:
A&O Fitness Centre A&O has a rst
class on-site tness centre including a
gym equipped with various cardio
machines, weights and even vibrating
power plates. The changing rooms
boast a sauna and fresh towels are
provided daily. As well as the gym, there
is a multi-purpose sports hall where
you can play basketball and table
tennis, and a tness studio hosting
classes such as spinning, yoga and
zumba. The great thing about the gym
is that it puts everyone on the same
level, regardless of their job title upstairs.
Squash A&O has an agreement with
Slim Jims on the other side of Liverpool
Street Station whereby A&O employees
can hire the squash courts for free. Its
only ve minutes from the ofce so a
quick game lls the lunch hour perfectly.
Running A lot of people run to and
from work at A&O and the ground oor
changing rooms and lockers facilitate this
perfectly. Quite a few people go for runs
in the surrounding area at lunchtime.
The river is only a 10-minute jog away
and the South Bank with its wide
pavements is a great place for a run.
Alternatively, a slightly greener run is
to head east out of the ofce.
Cycling Theres nothing better for
waking you up in the morning than
cycling into work. Theres secure
parking under the ofce, as well as
showers, changing rooms and lockers
specially reserved for runners and
cyclists. And, if your wheels could do
with an upgrade, the rm offers an
interest-free loan to enable you to
get a new bike and accessories.
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28 City life
3-a-side football Smaller and less
popular than 5-a-side, but what
3-a-side lacks in numbers it makes
up for in ferocity. The sports hall is
transformed into the Thunderdome
and partners and trainees alike give
everything theyve got wrists have
been broken and noses remodelled,
but the adrenalin and thrill of the
competition makes it all worthwhile.
Most departments have a regular
lunchtime slot and weekly emails invite
anyone and everyone to take part.
Sailing Onshore theory courses are
organised throughout the year for those
wanting to improve their knowledge, but
the real highlights are the two weekend
regattas each year. The partying tends
to be as competitive as the racing with
some pretty impressive fancy dress on
display after the days sailing has ended.
Team sports The rm also supports a
number of teams, including football on
a Wednesday evening and rugby at the
weekend. The standard may vary but its
always competitive and players enjoy
the opportunity to get one over on
lawyers from rival rms, as well as
mixing with them in the bar afterwards.
Shopping
Now that youre earning youll need
somewhere to spend some of that salary.
Maria Staiano-Kolaitis and Ahmed Badr
are your guides:
For him:
Xen, Harrow Place This unassuming
shop sells a wide range of quality
handmade shoes from Loake and
Barker at lower-than-internet prices.
Great for work.
The Menu, Brusheld Street
The helpfulness of the staff at this
independent store sets it apart from
the competition. A mini-Selfridges
on your doorstep.
Lomography Gallery Store,
Commercial Street Whether you think
the toy camera craze is justiably cool or
a ridiculous trend, a wander round this
shop is always interesting. Who doesnt
need a camera with four coloured
ashes?
The warehouses along and around
Brick Lane have frequent designer
end-of-season and sample sales from
American Apparel to Gieves & Hawkes,
theres bound to be something to grab
your interest. Many start mid-week, so
head on over in your lunch break and
avoid the swarm of bargain-hunters at
the weekend.
For her:
Absolute Vintage, Hanbury Street
Possibly the largest vintage shoe and
handbag collection in the UK, its an
excellent place to rie around for
designer bargains.
Author, Commercial Street Londons
best-kept shoe secretvery boutiquey
and perfect for the latest addition to
your collection.
Reiss, Liverpool Street Station Bag
that beautiful dress for work before Kate
Middleton wears it and it sells out.
Spitalelds Traders Market is brilliant
for the occasional random buy. With
everything from casual dresses, modern
artwork to Venetian jewellery, you can
easily pick up a treat for yourself or a
last minute birthday present for a friend.
There is also Petticoat Lane Market
on Middlesex Street great bargains!
Other interests
You want it, weve got it, say Tiernan
Fitzgibbon and James Osun-Sanmi.
London is the perfect place to indulge
your passions whether youre into food,
fashion, comedy, music, dance, theatre,
wine tasting, art, bowling the list goes
on and on. And guess what? Bishops
Square is right at the centre of it all
welcome to Spitalfelds.
Culture vulture?
Spitalelds is loaded with more galleries
than you can shake a stick at. Into Hirst
or Emin? The White Cube is just up
your street (www.whitecube.com),
maybe try The Whitechapel Gallery for y
your art x (www.whitechapelgallery.org).
Both are less than 15 minutes walk
away from the ofce.
Venture just that little bit north on the
East London Line and youll come
across the acclaimed Arcola Theatre
Tuesday nights are pay what you can
nights. On a somewhat similar note,
Rich Mix is a mixed arts venue with a
pretty decent cinema to boot. If music is
your thing, Shoreditch is bursting at the
seams. A great place to check out
whats happening in the area (assuming
a gigs not actually happening in-store)
is Rough Trade just off Brick Lane, one
of Londons most popular independent
music stores.
Fancy a change?
Like to laugh until your sides hurt?
Check out the comedy at The Water Poet
on a Thursday (www.waterpoet.co.uk).
Or how about living out that childhood
dream of life on the high wire courtesy
of Circus Space
(www.thecircusspace.co.uk).
A&Os got talent!
From dance classes and choral groups
to string quartets, the rm offers a whole
gamut of cultural activities for people to
get involved with. In fact this is the
second year running in which the rm is
staging its very own operatic
production, Carmen at Sadlers Wells
Theatre. And if its not in-house then its
nearby Bishopsgate Institute, for
example, offers classes ranging from
Mandarin to pilates.
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www.allenovery.com/careeruk Out of the comfort zone 29
MIL
AN
Hugh Hobhouse, a Milan-based secondee,
studied History at Edinburgh and began his
training contract with Allen & Overy in September
2009. He is qualifying into the rms Corporate
department.
I wanted to do my secondment in a city with a strong
European avour, so Milan was a good option for me. The
city is really well-connected and its a good base from
which to visit Venice, Florence or other parts of Europe.
I came here expecting Milan to be full of loud, stylish
people bouncing around on mopeds, and this has
proved very much to be the case, though the pace of
life here is denitely less hectic than in London. A&O
has a relatively small practice here. There are only four
of us in my team a partner, two associates and me
so its a really friendly, relaxed atmosphere in the
ofce. Another bonus of being in a small team is that
there is a lot more responsibility to go around. Ive
been able to get my teeth into some really interesting
projects, involving a mixture of Italian and English law.
The business community is much smaller than in
London, so its easier to build a rapport with clients as
you often nd yourself working with the same people,
which rarely happens back home. This has really
helped to build up my condence as a lawyer.
There are lots of trainees here on secondment from
UK rms, so there is always plenty going on in the
evenings and at weekends. Im a huge football fan
and have been to a few games at the San Siro,
including AC Milans last home game of the season.
The team ended up winning the league title, which led
to massive celebrations in the citys central square. As
you would expect, food is a really big deal for Italians
and most days involve a long lunch of some
description, while on weekends we usually go out for
aperitivi.
Ive found most people here speak English reasonably
well, but its important to have some Italian. Luckily, the
rm provides language classes to all secondees, both
in London and on arrival, so Ive been able to make a
fair amount of progress. I have a very talkative landlady
so its denitely been put to good use.
OUT OF THE
COMFORT ZONE
Even in such a large rm youre part of a small, highly
focused team, playing a signicant role.
Take a look at the trainees role in a typical deal at
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15:48
Focusing
on the
detail
Lawyers at the largest rms lead increasingly international careers. Tat can mean
getting in early or staying late to be on a call, or jumping in a cab to get to the
airport. But for some lawyers, visiting other countries is not enough they want to
stay. Peter Crossan is an associate in Allen & Overys dynamic Hong Kong oce
and Alan Ewins is a partner there.
Staying away
To many, Hong Kong has a
mystique or an aura that few other
places can rival. Its a place where
East doesnt so much meet West as
collide with it in a maelstrom of
noise, colour and activity. So, its
perhaps not without reason that a
popular souvenir T-shirt brought
back by visitors to the territory bears
the slogan I survived Hong Kong.
Its a very competitive environment, says Alan,
whose relationship with the territory goes back to
1990 when he frst went out there on a two-year
secondment, working at the time for Simmons &
Simmons. More and more players are in the legal
market, including the U.S., Australian and, on the
horizon, Chinese frms. Its not like London where
your reputation carries you along you have to fght
for every piece of work.
But, he quickly adds, thats the fun, thats the
challenge.
For Alan, those initial two years turned into fve and
then he joined A&O to set up the frms Regulatory
practice in 1995, before becoming a partner in 1998.
In Hong Kong you have a lot of freedom to imprint
yourself on the market; there are fewer day-to-day
constraints on how you operate and, particularly now
that Im at a senior level, I can do what I feel is
appropriate.
Proving that making partner isnt the end of the
journey, Alan left Hong Kong in 2000, returning to
the UK for eight years as a consultant in the
Regulatory, Funds and Financial Products Group in
the London Banking practice. However, Hong Kong
exerts a fascination that is hard to resist and in 2008
he returned to the East again, this time as a partner.
Peters career, although much shorter, has also seen
him making the most of the frms international
network or, to put it another way, bouncing around
between locations. He joined the frm as a trainee in
2006, and after two seats in London, spent three
months in Prague and then accepted a fourth-seat
secondment in Hong Kong, before qualifying into the
International Capital Markets practice. After six
months in London he was of again, this time to
Amsterdam for a year, and after another spell in
London, he returned to Hong Kong in 2010.
It was always in the back of my mind to come back
here, he says. Its just such a vibrant and exciting
place to live. Te work is interesting and the lifestyle is
great fun.
At frst it seems like a totally alien environment, he
continues. Te language, the food, the culture and
the temperature Id forgotten how hot it gets here
but you quickly adapt. Its not long before you are
planning your frst weekend away to one of the many
exotic locations nearby. Its true, Hong Kong is not a
bad place to go exploring from, with easy connections
to mainland China, the Philippines, Bali, Tailand,
Singapore and even Australia.
32 Staying away
I often work with
different colleagues
within the Hong Kong
ofce and also from
across our Asia
Pacic network.
Peter Crossan
Alan Ewins,
Partner
Alan Ewins
You have to embrace
the culture. There are
lots of familiar things
Marks & Spencer for
example, or the fact
that the roads work
the same way, but its
the differences that
make it interesting...
www.allenovery.com/careeruk Staying away 33
Peter lives in the centre of the city
just outside the main fnancial
district and only a 15-minute walk
to work. I love living in the heart of
such an exciting and dynamic city,
he says, but when the weekend
comes, its easy to escape the hustle
and head out to the countryside or
one of the many beaches. Te frm
also retains a junk [a boat] that staf can charter for the
day or the evening and have a party in the harbour or
head up to the outlying islands for a spot of
waterskiing or wakeboarding.
Alan, on the other hand, with a family to share his
love of Hong Kong, has opted for a more tranquil
setting. Where I live now, he says, its very green
with views of the islands and the water, the beach is
nearby and there are lovely walks as long as you steer
clear of the snakes. Even in such a small place its easy
to fnd tremendous contrasts to the concrete, glass
and neon of the city.
Allen & Overys ofce in Hong Kong, established in
1988 and home to 129 lawyers, is the hub of the frms
Asian network. Lawyers working there can expect to
take on transactions that span the region with a
particular focus on the booming Chinese economy.
Teres certainly a lot of money fowing around here
at the moment, says Peter, and the economy is not
in the doldrums like it is in the West. I work in the
International Capital Markets department, focusing
mostly on derivatives and structured fnance, and
theres a lot of optimism in the market with the
opportunities presented by the opening of the
Chinese market and the positive economic growth
from the regions emerging markets.
Te trick to making the move a success particularly
with regard to work they both say, is to go into it
with enthusiasm and to leave your assumptions at the
airport. Te legal framework is based on common
law, like the UK, says Alan, so it seems familiar but
there are subtle diferences which means that a lot of
your UK knowledge doesnt apply. Regulated
activities or asset management for example are
familiar phrases, but they have completely diferent
meanings here.
Coming to Hong Kong, he continues, is about
grabbing opportunities, and not just the legal stuf.
Tere are also fantastic social activities and an
extremely active pro bono side to the ofce that will
expose you to yet another aspect of Hong Kong that
you might not encounter otherwise.
Peter agrees. We are involved in many innovative
transactions which are often cross-jurisdictional and
across product groups. Tis makes the work very
interesting and means I am often working with many
diferent colleagues within the Hong Kong ofce and
also from across our Asia Pacifc network, he says.
But, above all, its the lifestyle and the people. You
can combine an international, city-type role with a
passion for sports, the outdoor life and travel.
His advice to would-be trainees is to think not just
about the location but also the practice areas and
where you might want to qualify. Talk to current
trainees, he says, and try to get a feel for the work
and the life theyre experiencing.
You have to embrace the culture, advises Alan.
Tere are lots of familiar things Marks & Spencer
for example, or the fact that the roads work the same
way, but its the diferences that make it interesting and
the fact that you can access travel and other
experiences that are just not available in the UK.
But theres one piece of cultural assimilation that is
beyond even this seasoned traveller. You have to draw
the line somewhere, he says, and for me its chickens
feet for lunch (or, indeed, any time).
Peter Crossan,
Associate
Te good lawyer 35
Launched in 2010, the SIB represents the
rst successful effort to craft and launch
an investment product that combines
philanthropic purpose with potential
return. It has drawn widespread praise
particularly from U.S. President Barack
Obama whose 2012 budget proposal
includes provision for pay for success
bonds, modelled on the SIB. New
South Wales in Australia has also
announced its intention to launch a
A$25 million social impact bond.
Humanitarian collaboration
Allen & Overy works closely with the
International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies (Red Cross)
and in the past three years has helped to
bring two important initiatives to fruition:
s %DUCATIONONINTERNATIONAL
humanitarian law (IHL) Allen & Overy
has helped to create a resource for
use by GCSE age students in over
6,000 schools in the UK as part of
their compulsory Citizenship training.
The resource is now being adapted
and made available to other countries
including France and Hungary.
s $ISASTERRELIEF-ODEL,AWnATEAMOF
100 lawyers from Allen & Overy has
collated relevant legislation in 24 Asian
jurisdictions and helped draft a Model
Law to expedite access to humanitarian
aid in the event of a major disaster.
This is a great example of using our
expertise to support humanitarian
projects, says Susan. The Model Law
that were helping the Red Cross to
develop will help them tackle practical
issues such as how do you get money,
vehicles or people into a stricken area
quickly without falling foul of local laws.
And it was collaborative we looked at
Asia and other rms looked at other parts
of the world, she continues. On a subject
like this theres no room for competitive
instincts if you have a good solution to a
problem then why not share it?
Mark Astarita, Director of Fundraising
at the British Red Cross, has been
impressed by the level of involvement
of Allen & Overy staff, taking the
relationship beyond traditional
fundraising activity: A&O volunteers
have directly contributed their
knowledge and expertise. Above all,
we have been impressed by the
genuine interest shown in the work of
the Red Cross and the desire to make
a difference to peoples lives.
Access to nance for the
worlds poorest
The UN has identied micronance as
one of the key driving mechanisms
towards meeting the Millennium
Development Goals providing
nancial services such as credit, savings
and insurance to the worlds poorest
helps them to develop businesses,
shield themselves from risk and,
ultimately, lift themselves out of poverty.
A&O has been a pioneer in micronance and
in 2008 it set up the Micronance Working
Group to coordinate the rms work globally.
Over 300 lawyers from a wide variety of
practice areas in more than 20 locations are
engaged in the rms micronance activities
and the rm is currently:
s ACTINGFOR(OMELESS)NTERNATIONALWITH
the development of the infrastructure
for its latest facility, the Homeless
International Africa Bond a nance
facility for housing and related
infrastructure loans to Africa.
s LEADINGTHEDEBATEONINNOVATIVE
Sharia compliant micronance
initiatives in the Middle East.
s DRAFTINGTHEDERIVATIVESCONTRACTSFOR
MFX Solutions, an industry-conceived
initiative providing specialist currency-
hedging solutions and training for
micronance institutions worldwide.
In addition to this programme
Allen & Overy is also expanding its
programmes on nancial inclusion,
supporting the delivery of nancial
education and assisting young people and
their parents in getting access to fair nance.
Tackling environmental impact
Its not easy being green but alongside
its pro bono and community activities,
and an intensifying focus on diversity
and inclusion, A&O is also addressing
environmental issues, along the way
achieving ISO 14001 a recognition of
its developed environmental strategy.
Like anything to do with whats broadly
described as CSR, changing our
environmental impact has to be
integrated into our daily lives, says
Susan, whose Social Investment role
extends to the rms environmental
activities. It cant simply be a bolt on
issue or a diktat from on high.
Already the rm has cut its carbon
footprint by 15%. Photovoltaic cells on
the roof of the rms Bishops Square
ofces contribute to cutting the rms
energy consumption, and recycling has
been increased from 50% to 72%.
Te philanthrophy comes from our people what
we do as a frm enables people to target their
energies and to combine to have greater impact.
Susan Hazledine, Allen & Overys Head of Social Investment
tradition. From Rockefeller to Gates, Titus Salt to Richard Branson, wealth
and success are inextricably linked to giving and charitable causes. Law
rms are well-placed and often well-resourced to provide a very specic
set of skills that charities and other less afuent groups and individuals
need. But why do they do it?
34 Te good lawyer
Sceptics say that corporate
philanthropy just makes for great PR.
Philosopher Immanuel Kant would
probably have agreed, if PR had existed
during the 18th century enlightenment.
All actions, he argued, have an
inherently selsh root: you do good
either because you want to feel good
about yourself, or because you want
someone else to feel good about you.
Either way its about what you want.
So why do law rms do pro bono
work? Is their motivation just to make
themselves look good? For Susan
Hazledine, Allen & Overys Head of
Social Investment and a partner with
the rm, the answer is disarmingly
straightforward: We do pro bono
work because we can and because
we should.
Theres a very strong link between the
practice of law and justice, she says.
People come into law wanting to use
their skills to help others; and as their
careers develop that urge doesnt just
go away. So the pro bono gene, if you
like, is there in most rms.
We already have very talented people
keen to make a difference so its a
question of directing their brains and
their training at key social issues and
towards people who might otherwise
struggle to access justice, she adds.
But shes also the rst to admit that
there is a halo effect a benet to the
rm from its philanthropy. Susan says
that lawyers, and especially trainees,
gain valuable experience and training
when they undertake these roles;
experience that is valuable to the rm
in its fee-paying work.
If you take the work we do with clients
at the law centres where we volunteer,
explains Susan, our trainees
volunteering there are seeing people
under stress, people who are facing
eviction for example. Thats the same
kind of stress youll be seeing when
youre talking to the CEO of a company
that is facing insolvency. Learning how
to behave, how to handle yourself in
those situations, and best meet the
needs of your client, is vital.
But perhaps more important is the fact
that regular internal surveys indicate that
A&Os people want to be involved in pro
bono work. To some extent we bring it
on ourselves, says Susan. We seek
out people who are well rounded and
who have wider interests beyond their
own lives, and then they want to
exercise those interests.
As an employer that wants to retain
great people, we have to nd ways of
supporting them, so yes, that is also
a consideration for us, she admits.
The philanthropy comes from our
people what we can do as a rm is
enable people to target their energies
and to combine to have greater impact.
And that impact, whether on an
individual or local scale or through
regional or global projects, can be very
powerful indeed, profoundly changing
or saving the lives of people who might
otherwise be overlooked. Does it
matter in the end whether people and
companies also feel some benet from
the good they do? Kant doesnt make
a judgement about that and hed say
that it is inevitable anyway.
Allen & Overy and its people engage
with a wide range of pro bono
initiatives, from large multiagency
projects to local interventions. Here
are just a few examples of how legal
expertise and resources can make
an important difference.
Social Finance
Around 60% of those jailed for less than
12 months reoffend within a year and
return to prison, creating enormous cost
to the State and the victims of repeat
offenders. To address this imbalance,
the ground-breaking Social Impact
Bond (SIB) aims to provide funding for
projects that address some of societys
most pressing social issues. The SIB
saves money for the government,
paying for itself, and has the potential
to generate return for investors.
In crafting the rst SIB (which was
formed to facilitate prisoner
rehabilitation), Social Finance called
upon A&O to advise. At its heart the SIB
has a straightforward premise: investors
contribute to a fund that invests in
projects to rehabilitate ex-offenders.
If, over a xed time period, the treated
prisoners do not then reoffend, the
government pays the fund a portion of
the savings. A&O played a key role in
getting the project off the ground by
advising on the contract with the
Ministry of Justice articulating roles,
responsibilities and thresholds for
measuring success and pioneering a
unique fund structure that enables
corporates, institutions and, critically,
charities to invest.
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
Kate Hartley, an Abu Dhabi-based secondee, yy
studied English at Cambridge before joining the
rm in September 2009. She is qualifying into
A&Os Employment department.
I had originally planned to spend my secondment in
London before the chance to go to Abu Dhabi came
up. It felt too good an opportunity to turn down, so I just
went for it and havent looked back.
I had never been to the Middle East before and didnt
know quite what to expect other than that I was likely to
be kept pretty busy. The rst two weeks were
something of a culture shock and it took me a bit of
time to feel settled, but since then its been great.
The work Ive been doing has been really varied and
quite demanding; Ive been involved in a lot of M&A
transactions, though the highlight has probably been
getting the chance to work on a series of IPOs onto the
UAE stock exchange. I was pretty much in the dark
about the regional business environment before I came
out here, but I fully expect to be an expert in Emirati law
by the time I leave.
There are far fewer cultural differences with the UK than
I had expected but some aspects, such as the role of
women in the workplace, do take some getting used
to. For example, whenever I meet a client or anyone
else in a business capacity, I have to think twice about
offering to shake their hand as its not the custom for
women to do so. I normally wait for the client to make
the rst move and take my cue from them.
On the plus side, there is so much to do here outside
work hours that its impossible to get bored. Abu Dhabi
has a real outdoor lifestyle, so there is plenty of
opportunity for water sports and boat trips, or for just
relaxing on the beach. The city has some great
restaurants, and Dubai is only a short hop away if we
want to go clubbing at the weekend.
Overall, the experience has certainly been challenging
but it has also encouraged me to push myself and do
things I wouldnt normally do back in London. My
advice to anyone coming out here would be to say
yes to everything. Youve only got six months, so you
may as well make the most of it.
36 Out of the comfort zone
OUT OF THE
COMFORT ZONE
ABU
DHABI
www.allenovery.com/careeruk Tis lawyers life 37
T
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L
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e
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s

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Favourites
Tel Aviv
Kenwood House
Brompton folding bicycle
Holkham in Norfolk
The Kite Runner
Lord Denning
Basketball
Ortygia at Syracuse in Sicily
1 2
3
8
77
Tis lawyers life 39
1. City
There are a number of contenders including
Barcelona and Naples but I have to be honest
with myself and say Tel Aviv. Its a wonderful
demonstration of how a place can be so
cosmopolitan and combine energising
experiences with history and heritage. The
atmosphere is amazing theres such a desire
to live in the moment. Its very intense. And of
course, it benets from great weather. I think
both the other cities Ive named share some
of that feeling too they are places that
celebrate the past as well as fostering the
future. I also like the fact that Naples is a bit
rough around the edges, a bit grotty in places
it hasnt been messed around with.
2. Place
Kenwood House, London is a magical place.
For me its not so much the building or
architecture itself, although its beautiful, but
the fact that a place like this exists at all so
close to the centre of such a massive city.
I love the gardens and the vantage point it
gives you across London, but its really the
liberation you feel of being so quiet and calm
in a busy city that makes it such a special
place. Everyones enjoying it in their own way,
picnicking, reading, sleeping its perfect.
And I often go to the concerts they hold there,
either with my family or just my wife we
recently saw Rufus Wainwright and it was
just brilliant.
3. Iconic object
I think the Brompton folding bicycle is a true
marvel, a phenomenon even. I love cycling
and the Brompton is a great way to bring
cycling and exercise into my daily life to keep
me t and sane. I live in New Barnet and cycle
ve or six miles before hopping on the train
into the City. You cant take a full size bike on
a train in rush hour so the Brompton is ideal.
And for that its remarkable. The engineering
is elaborate and intelligent and the design is
functional its quick for a small-wheeled bike
and, while admittedly its not so comfy going
over bumps, it manages the compromise of
size and function perfectly.
4. Beach
The sea and being near to it is important
to me, perhaps because I was raised in a
coastal city. The beach that I think of most
fondly is Holkham in Norfolk. Its an incredible
place, a horseshoe-shaped, sandy beach
that lls to a beautiful lagoon at high tide. You
come to it through a forest and so it has a sort
of surprise quality when you get there and nd
this great arc of sand and water. Its beautiful.
I always swim when Im at the beach,
regardless of the temperature you just have
to get wet when you go the beach, otherwise
it doesnt count.
5. Read
I know many people think hes pompous
and egotistical but I think Michael Winners
column in the Sunday Times is very
funny. Hes honest about himself and has
introduced me to some great and not so
great restaurants. In a similar vein, I also
enjoy reading Jeremy Clarkson. He courts
controversy I know but I like the fact that he is
honest with himself too and hes very funny.
If you forced me to be a little more highbrow,
Id say I like the novelist Khaled Hosseini who
wrote The Kite Runner. Its a very emotional
book but also wonderfully evocative of the
cultural life of Afghanistan I think it serves
as a great ambassador for the culture of the
country and is a wonderful counterpoint to all
the negative things we hear about that part of
the world.
6. Inspirational gure
There are any number of inspirational gures
to choose from but I want to focus on
someone who had an impact in the eld of
law and that is Lord Denning. I think he was
in equal measure controversial and creative,
and one of the most gifted judges we have
seen. I chose him not so much for any
particular judgments but for his approach, his
willingness to be bold, to challenge the past
and still stand for the values he was there to
protect. I think he was also remarkable for
being able to deliver judgments that were
entertaining and to voice opinions that others
would have run from.
7. Sport
Ive already said Im a keen cyclist but my
real passion is basketball. I played to a
good standard during my teens and nearly
made the national squad at 16. My brother
represented Israel and played professionally
so I think its in our blood. I still play here at
Allen & Overy with a number of committed
colleagues. What I like about basketball
is that it is an intelligent game. Physical
attributes are important, sure, but they are
not the be-all and end-all. Its about team
play its amazing how smart players can
outplay taller, tter players. And I like the fact
that theres always so much happening its
not just about scoring one goal but scoring
consistently.
8. Walk
A walk through Ortygia at Syracuse in Sicily
feels like a walk through time. You are passing
through so much history in such a small
space and yet its still so alive. It dates back
to ancient Greece but people are still there,
living modern lives. I think being there is very
humbling you are reminded that your own
life is only a very tiny part of history. I think
we could all do with being reminded of that
sometimes.
E
T
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Y

K
A
T
Z
Etay Katz is
a partner in the
Banking practice
where he focuses
on bank regulation.
He was born in
Israel and moved
to the UK in 1994
to study Law at
Shefeld. After
training with a small
City practice he
joined Allen & Overy
in 2006. We asked
Etay to name
and explain some
of his favourite
experiences.
Lawyers are people whatever you
may hear to the contrary from
comedians and the press. In fact, for
many lawyers, it is precisely the
combination of interesting people
and diverse opportunities that
attracts them to the profession in the
rst place. In the spirit of proving
that lawyers are human, we asked
one Etay Katz to stick his neck
out and reveal a little of what makes
him tick outside work.
38 Tis lawyers life www.allenovery.com/careeruk
Getting
out
19:07
Work is important but its not everything. We recruit
people who lead busy lives. When you join us, we
encourage you to maintain your interests or
develop new ones.
Take a look at our Myth Buster lms on
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...aaaalllllllleeeennnnoooovvvveeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....ccccccccccccccccccccccooooooooooommmmmmmmm////////ccccccccccaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrruuuuukkkkkkkkkkk
Life beyond the frm 43 Life beyond the frm 43
...to say youve trained
at A&O opens doors in a
way that few other rms
can match.
Its a great to time to be working in
Asia. China and India are driving huge
development across the region and
theres a great sense of optimism.
of M&A transactions at Deutsche Bank.
Enthused by the experience, he left
Allen & Overy in 2005 after seven years
to take up an in-house role with UBS.
Id like to think Id have made it to
partner, he says. My career was
progressing well, but it was a two-to-
three year journey from where I was to
reach partnership, and I had to ask
myself if that was what I really wanted.
Life on the other side of the table
The three former A&O associates have
carved out very different niches for
themselves in the legal profession.
The different career paths perhaps says
something for the breadth of training
and experience a spell with the rm
provides its trainees and associates.
Ashleys role sees him manage Virgin
Actives legal risk across the UK, South
Africa, Italy, Spain and Portugal. This
covers all aspects of the business,
he explains, from members of staff
to suppliers. A primary focus is on
corporate nance nancing
arrangements and looking at M&A
and other opportunities to expand the
business. Were an ambitious company
so part of my role is looking at other
health and tness groups that might be
suitable for acquisition. In his very rst
year with the business, he advised on
Virgin Actives acquisition of the Holmes
Place health club business in the UK
a complex transaction that involved
private equity owners and a
simultaneous renancing.
Like Ashley, Hugh has a similarly
demanding remit. After ve years at
UBS, Hugh joined Lloyds Banking
Group in the summer of 2010 and is
now Head of Corporate and M&A,
Group Legal. Not one to shy away from
a challenge, Hugh came on board at a
time when the bank was making the
rst steps towards its EC-mandated
disposal programme. As well as
dealing with the everyday company law,
listing rules and disclosure issues
encountered by the bank, a lot of my
day-to-day role is spent helping to
manage the disposal programme,
he explains. Its a strategic role, which
involves for instance overseeing the
legal advice and input regarding the
sale of retail branches and advising on
the legal aspects arising out of the
reduction of the banks balance sheet.
In Anas case, her change of tack has
seen her take her skills much further
aeld. Having left A&O to work for RBS
in 2004, her prociency in Mandarin led
to a transfer to Hong Kong to head up
the banks Policy and Employment
practice in Asia. In January 2010, she
was approached by Bank of America
Merrill Lynch where she now provides
legal counsel and advice across 12
jurisdictions. She has few regrets about
leaving London: Its a great time to be
working in Asia. China and India are
driving huge development across the
region and theres a great sense of
optimism.
A word to the wise
While these alumni express little regret
about moving to the other side of the
table, they can still remember why they
joined A&O and offer some advice to
budding lawyers about how to make
what can seem like a decision of
monumental proportions. Focus on
the quality of the training, says Ashley.
Without a doubt the larger law rms have
the edge here. I had a fantastic career at
Allen & Overy. I tackled some really
interesting work and received training that
was second to none. I think the rm takes
its responsibilities when training lawyers
very seriously, he says. Certainly, if I had
my time again Id make the same choice.
It is a sentiment echoed closely by both
Ana and Hugh, who likewise have
nothing but praise for the platform
Allen & Overy has provided for their
careers. Anas six years at A&O left her
well-placed to pursue the kind of
opportunities she always dreamed of.
As an employment lawyer, to say youve
trained at A&O implies a certain quality.
The Allen & Overy Employment team
was, and still is, ranked number one.
I was part of a group of peers who have
gone on to do amazing things in their
careers. Hugh received training contract
offers from several different rms. In
addition to A&O, there was another rm
he had his eye on a friendly, much
smaller practice with a good reputation.
I ran this by a family friend who was
working in the legal sector and he said I
would have to be mad to turn down A&O.
Looking back now, I know he was right
to say youve trained at A&O opens doors
in a way that few other rms can match.
Ana Baillie, Associate General Counsel, Global Labour
and Employment, Asia, at Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Hugh Pugsley, Head of Corporate and M&A,
Group Legal at Lloyds Banking Group plc
42 Life beyond the frm
Life
beyond the frm
Were an ambitious
company so part of my
role is looking at other
health and tness
groups that might be
suitable for acquisition.
For many people approaching a law
career, and for most of those actually
working at law rms, there is only one
true goal in career terms partnership.
But, of course, not everyone who starts
a law career can become a partner; the
numbers just dont add up. And beyond
this theres a secret but universally
accepted truth; not everyone even
wants to become a partner.
There, its out in the open. Not everyone
wants to make partner or could
anyway. But thats OK, and for two good
reasons. One, law is a passport to other
careers, and two, because at every level
below partnership, lawyers and trainees
take major responsibility, deliver value to
their clients and enjoy rewarding roles
and careers. Life and work arent solely
about where you get to but about what
you do along the way and, critically,
whether it makes you happy and
fullled. Thats not to say that
Allen & Overy, along with every other
major law rm, isnt on the lookout for
partnership material. Of course they
are. But when lawyers usually
associates with some experience
decide its time to move on, they take
with them a raft of skills and insights that
will make them a highly valued asset in a
wide range of other organisations.
Reaching the crossroads
Ashley Aylmer made that move. He was
a senior associate with Allen & Overy,
having joined as a trainee in 1996 and
qualied into the Corporate practice.
After a nine-year career with the rm,
during which he undertook a three-year
secondment to the New York ofce,
Ashley surprised everyone, including
himself, by deciding to leave the rm.
Hes now Group Legal Director and
Company Secretary at Virgin Active.
I was starting to gear up for that push
towards partnership, he says, and I
realised that, although I liked the work,
I didnt like it as much as I felt I should
do if I was going to keep doing it for the
next 20 years.
Ashleys decision is by no means
unique. As is the case for many
professionals, there comes a time when
they feel the need to ask themselves
what they really want from their career.
Often partnership isnt it. I adored my
time at A&O, says Ana Baillie, who
now heads up Bank of America Merrill
Lynchs Employment practice for the
Asia region. But I knew quite early on
that I didnt want to be a partner in a law
rm. Having seen the kind of lifestyle the
senior partners were living, I felt that
wasnt the right path for me.
For Hugh Pugsley, meanwhile, it was the
experience of a 12-month secondment
at Deutsche Bank that prompted his
switch to in-house legal services. As an
A&O associate, I had already worked on
four or ve deals for a team at Deutsche
Bank, and had built up a strong
relationship with them, he explains.
One day they rang up Richard Hough,
one of the partners in A&Os Corporate
practice where I was working, to say
that they had lots of German MBA
graduates working in London but they
knew very little about the UK market
and would I be able to lend a hand.
So Hugh spent a year working as an
investment banker, advising on a series
If law is the journey, partnership is the destination thats the
rule isnt it? Te sunlit uplands of partnership are the dream
for every dynamic, thrusting lawyer and anything else is almost
inconceivable. But the truth is that partnership is not for
everyone. What happens to lawyers who take a diferent path?
Ashley Aylmer, Group Legal Director and
Company Secretary at Virgin Active
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
44 Open door policy
O
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P
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www.allenovery.com/careeruk Open door policy 45
Te legal profession is seen by many as something of a closed shop,
accessible only to those from the right school and university and
with the right accent and connections. Tat may sound like a clich
and it certainly runs counter to the recruiting line presented by most
law frms. But, sadly, its not without foundation. In fact, theres a
lot of evidence to suggest that access to the UKs leading professions
such as banking, law, journalism and medicine has lately become
more, not less, restricted. If you think that sounds unfair, then youre
in good company.
When I discovered that it had actually
become harder for people from average or
below-average income families to get into
the professions than it was when I entered
the law 30 years ago, says David Morley,
Allen & Overys senior partner, I was
just horried.
Its shocking for our society and, as a
profession, we are storing up problems by
recruiting from a decreasing proportion of our
population, he continues. On a macro level,
do we really want professions recruiting from
a tiny elite which has little appreciation of how
the rest of society lives? Surely that can only
serve to make our profession disconnected
and less relevant.
Closer to home, David, himself the product
of a state education, says that the narrower
your recruiting horizons become, the more
likely you are to recruit clones who are
unable to adapt and innovate.
Jane Masey, Allen & Overys HR Policy and
Diversity Manager, agrees. With the
globalisation of our profession, the
challenges we are being asked to address
are changing and we need to nd people
who are exible and multi-faceted, she says.
Thirty or so years ago there was what David
describes as a great opening up of the
professions, particularly in the elds of law
and accountancy. The massive growth in
income of the magic circle law rms in the
late 90s was, he suggests, closely linked to
that earlier intake, as a new generation of
ambitious lawyers came to the fore at the top
rms. But now he believes the swing towards
privilege could threaten this pre-eminence.
Nobody has set out to block people from
the professions, says David. But those
professions have been colonised by the
professional classes to such an extent that its
now much harder for people like me from my
kind of background to get in. Thats not good
for the profession and its also just not right.
Social mobility is at the top of the political
agenda with some heavy-hitting champions,
including former Health Secretary Alan
Milburn and the Deputy Prime Minister
Nick Clegg.
Clegg has spoken passionately about the
distorting role that family contacts and
connections can have in accessing
internships and other forms of work
experience themselves an increasingly
signicant means of access to high-ying
jobs. He has pioneered an initiative calling
on businesses to play a part in reversing
this trend. The Social Mobility Business
Compact, to which Allen & Overy is a
signatory, asks businesses to commit to
providing more work experience
opportunities and mentoring schemes,
and to recruit in an open, fair and non-
discriminatory way.
David shares Cleggs well-publicised concern
that work experience is more easily available
to young people from backgrounds that
give them connections and, perhaps more
importantly, an exposure to inuential and
high-reward careers. Simply put, if you
come from a background where going into
law, journalism or medicine is normal then
you are more likely to consider such routes
as being open to you, and to have access to
someone on the inside who may be able to
help push open the door.
It is precisely the unfairness and inefciency
of this situation that provide the inspiration
for Allen & Overys commitment to
broadening access to the legal profession.
Since 2006, the rm has been a high-prole
supporter of Pathways to Law, an initiative
that supports and encourages young people
from state schools to pursue their interest in
law. Pathways to Law has proved, says
Jane, that its not that difcult to level the
playing eld. Its about providing
opportunities to people who havent had
them and wouldnt otherwise get them.
The rms gruelling recruitment season,
visiting around 40 universities each year,
is also testament to its commitment to
broadening access. We could easily recruit
all the people we need from Oxbridge and
the Russell Group universities, says David.
There are plenty of awless candidates there
and it would be very easy not to make any
further effort, but we took the decision a few
years ago to widen our search.
But, says Jane, university is too far
downstream to be inuencing the choices
of many teenagers, which is why the rm
launched the Smart Start Experience.
Now in its third year, Smart Start has been
designed to provide broad-ranging exposure
to careers in the City and is intended, says
Susan Hazledine, Allen & Overys Head of
Social Investment, to raise young peoples
aspirations rather than direct their future
career choices towards law.
Putting it simply, she says, if you havent
got yourself on track by the time youre doing
A levels, then youre probably not going to be
considering law, or a lot of other careers. So
this is really about helping young people to
see what is possible, what they need to do
to achieve their goals and giving them some
of the soft skills to get them on the road to
success.
The programme provides workshops on
organisation, networking, communication
and team working to students who have
been selected on the basis of their potential
but whose backgrounds might otherwise
exclude them from such opportunities.
Many of these students arent going to
be able to tap into networks to get work
experience, explains Susan.
And, as well as being valuable experience,
the Smart Start Experience is fun both for
the participants and the staff who help out.
Exercises include a business game marketing
new phone technology something thats
close to all teenagers hearts and a mock
trial based on a 19th century case of
cannibalism following a shipwreck. Over 300
volunteers from all areas of the rm around
15% of Allen & Overys London staff
contribute to the programme. Theres a very
high level of enthusiasm for this initiative,
explains Susan. Broadening access is, and
should be, a concern for everyone. The vast
majority of people in the UK go to state
schools. We need to ensure that they have
the same opportunities to succeed as young
people from more privileged backgrounds
thats a moral imperative for all of us.
Were trying to create a more level playing
eld so that young people from all
backgrounds have a chance to get a foot into
the business world, concludes David. And,
as a profession, we dont want to have a
single gene pool of people from only one
particular background. If every major rm had
a structured work experience scheme then I
think that could have a really dramatic, and
positive, impact on the problem.
A career in law
Choosing which law ffrms to apply
to is a big decision. Heres your
essential guide to the entry routes
to AAllen & Overy, the application
aanndd sseelleecctioonn pprroocess and what we
aaarree llloooookkkiinnnggg fffooorrr..
46 Out of the comfort zone
Revathi Raghavan, a London-based secondee,
completed her undergraduate degree in Law
in India before studying for an LL.M at George
Washington University in the U.S. She is
currently seconded to Standard Chartered
Bank and will qualify into the Banking practice
in September 2011.
The working style of an in-house legal department is
very different from that of a law rm, so there was a lot
for me to get my head around. One of the main
differences in working client-side is that there
are fewer of the support services youd expect to
nd at a large rm like A&O things like document
management and production. Because of this, you
are expected to be more independent and self-
sufcient in the work you do.
As this is my nal seat, Im expected to be able to
make a real contribution to the team at Standard
Chartered, so I needed to hit the ground running from
day one. Its been a great experience because Im
getting the chance to see and do different things, for
example micronance and development nance.
Inevitably, there are moments when I feel a little out of
my depth and those are the times I need to ask for
help from people around me. Ive learned that its best
to be up-front about what you do and dont know,
rather than trying to save face. Its tricky because you
want to make a good impression of yourself and of the
rm, but my colleagues here understand that there are
some issues Im not familiar with and they are always
happy to talk me through things.
While the secondment experience has been
challenging, I denitely think it has made me a better
all-round lawyer. Its really useful to be able to put into
context the way in which we work with clients; you get
to understand exactly how clients work and why they
want things done in a certain way. My legal acumen
has certainly improved but, most importantly, I think its
the experience Ive gained of working under pressure
that will really set me up for the rest of my career.
Being able to handle responsibility and to juggle a
million different things at the same time is what being a
good lawyer is really all about.
OUT OF THE
COMFORT ZONE
LON
DON
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
To hear more about our practice areas, visit
www.allenovery.com/careeruk.
Allen & Overy is structured as seven global
practices. We asked partners from each
practice area to give their personal perspective
on the work they handle, their clients and the
tasks trainees can expect to undertake.
Our practice
areas
Corporate
Alan Paul, Partner
The Corporate practice advises clients on acquisitions of other
businesses, disposals of their own business and raising nance in the
equity markets, and provides a wide range of general corporate advice
that every board of directors needs.
Lawyers in the Corporate practice are both generalists and specialists.
They work in extensive teams but each lawyer also has an area of
specialism, for example public takeovers, or in a sector such as
telecoms, nancial services or energy. So, on the acquisition of a
company in the energy eld, a general corporate lawyer may run the le
but he or she will call on the expertise of the energy specialist as well as
other specialists around the rm.
Corporate clients include publicly quoted or private companies,
companies owned by nancial institutions and private equity sponsors
organisations whose interest is investing in companies and perhaps
buying whole businesses. Corporate also advises companies which are
themselves advisers, such as investment banks.
Joining the Corporate practice as a trainee you will play an important
role in the team, tackling tasks such as drafting agreements a large
part of our work communicating directly with clients on the phone and
attending meetings. The key attractions of Corporate are the variety of
transactions you can expect to get involved in and working with a truly
international client base.
Banking
Cathy Bell-Walker, Partner
The Banking practice works at the heart of the worlds nancial markets,
supporting global corporate and nancial institutions on a full range of
domestic and cross-border banking transactions. Typical assignments
include transactions for clients requiring debt funding typically those
that need loans in order to fund their general corporate activities or to
make purchases of other companies or assets. For example, a client
may identify a company that it wants to buy, either on the stock market
or privately and, in order to nance that purchase, it needs to access
cash, either by raising it in the capital markets (by making a placing and
attracting money from bond investors) or by borrowing from a bank (this
is called debt nance).
A substantial part of the work in the Banking practice is drafting loan
documentation and general transaction management. That means
making sure that all the paperwork that the bank needs before lending
is on the table on the right day, at the right time and that it is accurate
for example, ensuring that the borrower is authorised to borrow, that
the loan can only be used for the agreed purpose and that the loan
agreement is enforceable. Banks either dont have the resources to
do this in-house for larger transactions, or its not practical to run the
process in-house if a club of banks or syndicate are lending together.
Trainees in Banking will be responsible for these critical documents
known as conditions precedent and for other tasks such as
preparing board minutes for a company wanting to borrow, coordinating
documents, possibly from other jurisdictions, and liaising with lawyers in
those jurisdictions.
48 Te essentials www.allenovery.com/careeruk
International Capital Markets
Angela Clist, Partner
The International Capital Markets practice has been instrumental in
nearly all the major developments in the modern nancial markets,
starting with the rst ever Eurobond issue in the 1960s. It comprises
ve groups:
The Securitisation group deals with structuring fnancial instruments
that are generally based on the cashows from a pool of assets, such
as mortgages or intellectual property rights (e.g. music royalties).
The General Securities group helps clients raising capital on the
international capital markets.
The Corporate Trustee group advises corporate trustees on capital
market programmes.
The Derivatives and Structured Finance group looks at fnancial
solutions for clients where there is a hedge or a swap involved.
The U.S. Corporate Finance group deals with capital raising where
there is a U.S. securities law element.
Lawyers in these areas have two main roles. The rst is structuring
looking at how a nancial instrument can be constructed to suit
both the clients goals and the legal and regulatory requirements of
the jurisdiction. The second role is documentation. Trainees might be
responsible for drafting documents, attending conference calls and
meetings, and helping to arrange closings of transactions, often liaising
directly with clients by email or by phone.
The International Capital Markets practice advises issuers
organisations that are issuing debt and which are promising to repay it or,
in the case of securitisation, the organisations whose assets are backing
the debt. It also acts for parties arranging or underwriting debt, or those
that are arranging the distribution of the product. Its clients include some
of the largest nancial institutions such as JP Morgan, Citi, Bank of
America Merrill Lynch, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB.
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Mona Vaswani, Partner
The Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice provides specialist advice
and representation to clients around the world on litigation, arbitration
and regulatory matters, as well as risk management.
Allen & Overy deals with a variety of disputes but mostly ones with a
commercial aspect, for example banking disputes, where a bank may
have a dispute with a counterparty over a contract, a loan agreement
or some other nancial product. On the corporate side, disputes may
include those with service providers or relating to projects, for example
the construction of an energy plant. And the rm tackles fraud cases,
acting, for example, for a company where the management, current or
former, has been accused of embezzlement.
With any dispute, and especially where the parties have an ongoing
commercial relationship, the aim is to see if it can be resolved by
negotiation, without going to court both to save costs and avoid the
risks involved in litigation.
Trainees in the Litigation department help to draft pleadings or requests
for arbitration, and prepare evidence to be led and served on the
other side. Trainees can also expect to attend court for applications,
for example for freezing orders, to attend meetings with clients and to
interview witnesses potentially in other jurisdictions.
Te essentials 49
We hold presentations, attend law and career fairs across the
UK and lreland and we also run skills sessions and other events
organised through university careers services, faculties and student
societies throughout the academic year. Together, these offer a great
opportunity to get a feel for the type of rm we are, the work we do
and the people who have already joined. They are also a good way of
getting your questions answered and gaining further insights into our
culture and values.
Visit our website at www.allenovery.com/careeruk to keep up-
to-date with our campus events and to gain further insights and
valuable tips ahead of making your application or attending an
interview. You can also take a closer look at our London ofce,
Bishops Square, and nd out more about what life
as an Allen & Overy lawyer actually entails.
Open days
Open days are available for undergraduates and graduates and
are designed to provide a more detailed insight into our rm, our
environment and the qualities and skills that we look for in our
trainee solicitors. Running regularly throughout the year, these
valuable all day events feature interactive and practical workshops,
informative presentations and the opportunity to work shadow a
trainee solicitor. Youll also pick up lots of advice on how to apply
for vacation programmes and training contract positions. Two of
our open days cater specically for rst year undergraduates and
have a special focus on our vacation programme opportunities.
All other open days are open to penultimate year undergraduates,
nalists and graduates. Dates are published on our website and
you can apply online to attend one of these events.
Vacation programmes
A vacation programme is a great way to get to know us better
and experience rst-hand our work and culture. We offer two
programmes winter and summer and have 60 vacancies
available each year. In each of our programmes you will gain
experience in one or two of our practice areas, where you will work
alongside Allen & Overy lawyers on real deals and cases. Before
you join us, we will ask you to choose the areas that most interest
you this is a great opportunity to get hands-on experience in an
area of law that really appeals to you. Alongside your legal work
you will attend workshops and presentations aimed at informing
you about key elements of our work and helping you to develop
the skills you need to be a successful commercial lawyer, such
as negotiation and presentation skills. You will work with fellow
vacation students on a client pitch project designed to sharpen your
research skills and to expose you to major clients of the rm, as well
as our broad range of practice areas.
There will be plenty of time to socialise with other Allen & Overy
people during your placement, which will further broaden your
knowledge and extend your contacts around the rm. Just as
vacation programmes are a good way to get to know us, they are
also a good way for us to get to know you. We gather feedback
on all our students from their trainers and you can choose to have
a training contract interview at the end of your placement. Many
vacation students go on to secure a training contract offer and
subsequently join the rm.
You will be paid 250 per week and enjoy full access to all our in-
house facilities during your placement. You can apply for our winter
vacation programme from 1 October to 31 October 2011 or our
summer vacation programme from 1 November 2011 to 15 January
2012. Please check our website or page 57 of this magazine for
closing dates and interview timetables.
Winter vacation programme
Our winter vacation programme is for nalists and graduates
from all degree disciplines. This programme runs for eight days in
December and you will sit in one of our core practice areas for the
duration of the placement.
Summer vacation programme
Our three-week summer vacation programme is for penultimate
year undergraduates (and second year undergraduates on a
four-year course including a third year abroad) from any degree
discipline. There are three placement periods to choose from,
commencing in mid-June. You will sit in two departments, at least
one of which will be a core practice area of the rm.
International vacation programme
As part of our summer vacation programme, approximately 12
vacation students will have the opportunity to spend an additional
week in one of our key international ofces. The international vacation
programme takes place following completion of a three-week
summer placement in London.
Individuals interested in the international opportunities can only
apply if they accept a place on one of our London summer vacation
placements. The selection process includes a short application
form and an interview (via video conference) with a partner from the
relevant international ofce, which typically takes place in March.
Meet us
Open days
and vacation
programmes
Te essentials 51 50 Te essentials
Real Estate
Imogen Moss, Partner
Real Estate is the biggest asset class in the world, and the structures and
vehicles used to buy and own real estate, and the nancing techniques
used in real estate transactions, are increasingly sophisticated.
The Real Estate practice handles anything and everything that relates
to real estate combining technical expertise with a practical approach
and the capacity to build teams across jurisdictions. For example, Real
Estate lawyers advise on buying and selling real estate for investors,
developing land, constructing new buildings, leasing real estate,
nancing real estate (with both debt and equity), establishing vehicles
(such as companies, partnerships and trusts) for investing in real estate,
and then buying and selling these vehicles.
Real estate clients include institutions such as pension funds and
charities that want to spread their risk by investing in real estate,
developers, property companies and banks. On the face of things,
Real Estate transactions may sound straightforward but the structures
for ownership and nancing mean that the transaction is not just about
buying the property asset, but a company, so there are property, tax,
regulatory, commercial and corporate issues to be considered. And in
many cases, while the real estate asset may be in the UK, the company
holding the property and the purchasing vehicle may be offshore,
requiring the teams to liaise with lawyers in other jurisdictions.
Trainees in Real Estate are given a wide variety of tasks, so you might
draft a lease, negotiate a contract, write a note of advice on rights or
matters affecting a property, and research sustainability and green
issues, which are very topical at present. Typically trainees will be
working on multiple transactions simultaneously. As well as being
heavily transactional, work in Real Estate also features a lot of research
and technical expertise covering real estate statutes and case law.
Tax
Chris Harrison, Partner
Almost every assignment that Allen & Overy undertakes has a tax
aspect. Corporates, institutions, investors and individuals alike want to
maximise the tax efciency of their affairs, and understand their liabilities
and the tax implications of their strategies. Even a straightforward loan
agreement will have specic clauses dealing with the tax aspects of the
lending; corporate deals feature tax implications for the seller who might
be selling shares in a company or the buyer buying shares in a company;
and in capital market deals there are tax aspects to the issuing of
Notes in the capital markets. In other cases, clients may come together
specically to exploit a tax break the purpose of their deal is to achieve
a tax benet rather than to sell or buy an asset.
The Tax practice acts predominantly for banks, as well as corporates,
and much of the work is multi-jurisdictional. Clients may be looking
at acquiring shares in a number of companies around the world or
looking at securitising loans held by different branches of the same
bank around the globe, so Tax lawyers work closely with colleagues
around the Allen & Overy international network. Tax law is one of the
fastest changing areas of law and this ongoing evolution is one of its
principal appeals.
The work of a trainee in Tax will typically be research driven and towards
the academic side of legal work. In this area trainees might be involved
in negotiating tax indemnities, tax clauses in loan agreements and tax
sections in offering circulars.
Employment & Benets
Mark Mansell, Partner
The Employment & Benets practice works in partnership with clients
to develop individual, practical and creative solutions for all aspects of
modern workplace challenges, pensions issues and employee reward
and compensation assignments. It comprises three distinct practice
departments: Employment, Pensions and Equity Incentives.
Employment advises on a wide range of employment issues including
boardroom disputes, union relations, employee discrimination and unfair
dismissal cases. It also conducts litigation, both in the employment
tribunal and in the High Court. The Pensions department works for
companies as well as pension scheme trustees, advising them on rights,
rule changes and a range of other issues. Equity Incentives helps to
design compensation strategies and put in place equity incentive plans.
In addition to this stand-alone work, all three departments support the
Corporate and Finance departments on transactions looking at the
transfer of employment contracts and benet entitlements from one
entity to another. Employees and their benets are very often the most
important part of a corporate transaction when transactions go wrong,
its very often because the employment issues have not been properly
dealt with.
Employment & Benets clients include nancial institutions, banks,
insurance companies, hedge funds and multinational employers around
the world and the issues it handles are usually multi-jurisdictional.
This means that lawyers in the eld have to deal with different laws,
different ways of representing employees and be able to develop
solutions that work in each jurisdiction. Issues such as unfair dismissal
or discrimination are easily understandable as principles, but the law
behind them is incredibly complex for trainees in this practice, so the
work is intellectually challenging. It also involves a very high degree of
client exposure for the outset trainees are, in effect, working as lawyers
from day one.
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
52 Te essentials
The training
contact
Law school
and grants
Your training
Your training contract will be based on three- and six-month
rotations through a number of departments or practice areas
known in the legal profession as seats. You will sit with a partner
or an associate and actively contribute to the day-to-day work of
that department working on transactions and cases, taking real
responsibility and gaining plenty of client exposure.
Shortly after you start your training contract you will attend an
information evening where all departments are represented, so that
you get the chance to meet A&O lawyers from different practice
areas. Following this, we will sit down with you on a one-to-one basis
to decide which seats you will do and for how long. You can identify a
guaranteed priority seat in which you have a particular interest and
discuss the possibility of an international or client secondment, should
you want one. We currently have around 45 international and client
trainee secondments. This means that at least 80% of our trainees
can take advantage of these fantastic opportunities.
In addition to your seat-based learning, you will also undertake our
Professional Skills Course, which aims to build on the foundations
you have established during your Allen & Overy Legal Practice
Course, develop your commercial skill set and enhance your ability
to contribute to the teams you work with during your training contract.
Before each seat you will undertake department-specic training
to ensure that you are able to make the most of your time in each
department. You will spend at least 12 months of your training
contract in at least two of our core practice areas (Corporate,
Banking and International Capital Markets) and you can express
your preference for your rst seat (generally, in one of these areas)
prior to joining. Typically, international and client secondments take
place in the nal seat. As you go through your training contract and
gain experience, it is anticipated that your level of responsibility will
increase. Your development is key. Training and support is delivered
in a variety of ways, whether this is achieved through mentoring
by your trainer or attending department-specic courses. People
in every part of the rm will help you and there is a good balance
between support and supervision and being allowed to work
independently. We want you to succeed and to develop a long-term
career with Allen & Overy and our retention rates on qualication
on average 83% reect this.
Associate development
Qualifying as a solicitor, while an important milestone, is not the end
of your professional development at Allen & Overy. Qualifying into
one of our practice areas, you will be able to access a suite of
Associate Development programmes designed to build the core
non-technical skills that you will need to progress your career
further and meet the demands of your evolving associate role.
The main elements, which have been designed to enhance the core
competencies we value in our professionals, cover client skills,
self-management, how to manage other people and how to manage
deals with maximum effectiveness.
Law school
We provide the accelerated Allen & Overy Legal Practice Course
(LPC) at The College of Law in Moorgate, London and all
successful candidates will study this. Our fee earners and training
team work closely with The College of Law to deliver a bespoke
LPC that reects the particular requirements of a City law career
with Allen & Overy. It features materials based on real examples
of the work we do and talks by A&O lawyers about recent deals
to put the work into context. It also features soft skills training
and technical elements that will relate directly to the electives
you study. And, of course, attending a rm-specic LPC means
that you can get to know your fellow trainees and future
colleagues, build your networks and attend the numerous social
events organised by our recruitment and training team ahead of
joining the rm.
We require all non-law candidates who have accepted a training
contract prior to starting law school to study the Graduate
Diploma in Law (GDL) at The College of Law (Birmingham, Bristol,
Chester, Guildford, London Bloomsbury, London Moorgate,
Manchester or York). If you have any extenuating circumstances
which may affect where you can study the GDL, we would discuss
this with you. If you have already completed the GDL or LPC with
a different provider, we will recognise it.
Financial support during law school
When you accept our offer of a training contract, we will provide
nancial support for your law school studies in addition to paying
your fees. For candidates studying for the GDL, we will give you an
annual maintenance grant of 6,000 in London (or 5,000 elsewhere
in the UKj. We will give you an annual maintenance grant of 5,000
while you take the Allen & Overy LPC. In addition, we award a 500
prize to future trainees who achieve a rst class degree and/or a
distinction in the LPC. You can also apply for an interest free loan of
up to 1,000 to be repaid by the end of your training contract. This
can be used for something worthwhile, for example completing a
language study course or undertaking a pro bono or community
initiative.
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
Benets
What we
look for
Your
interview
Rewards and benets
Our package of rewards and benets will provide you with a range
of nancial benets, facilities and services to help you to get the
most out of your time, both here and outside work.
Cash rewards and savings
The current salary for rst year trainees is 38,000, rising to
43,200 in the second year of training. On qualication, the
current salary is 61,000
Interest-free season ticket and bike loans
Childcare voucher scheme
Health & wellbeing
Private medical insurance
Emergency childcare free emergency childcare for children
aged between three months and eight years
On-site tness centre, gym, sports hall and a wide range of
exercise classes
Fully integrated health & wellbeing centre services including:
in-house GP and nurse; physiotherapy; health assessments;
dentist and dental plan
Beauty therapies in-house including reexology, massage,
manicure and pedicure
Employee Assistance Programme 24/7 helpline providing
free access to specialist support, information and telephone
counselling covering a wide range of issues including consumer
rights and childcare
Support for cyclists Allen & Overy provides cycle racks,
changing rooms and showers for cyclists
Financial security
Pension scheme an occupational pension scheme, available
to join on either a contributory or a non-contributory basis
Life insurance
Permanent health insurance
Personal accident insurance
Business travel insurance
Time out
25 days annual leave
Holiday trading scheme
Opportunity to apply for exible working once qualied
Theres no such thing as a typical Allen & Overy candidate. Quite the
opposite in fact. Were open-minded and are interested in people
who share that quality. Naturally we are looking for individuals who
can demonstrate strong academic performance we hope youll be
heading for a 2.1 (or equivalent), in any degree discipline, and have
340 UCAS points (AABj at A Level (or equivalentj. But beyond this
we want to see evidence of teamwork, motivation and drive,
communication skills, planning and organisation, critical thinking,
commercial awareness and commitment both to a career in law
and to a career with Allen & Overy. We mean it when we say your
university and degree subject dont matter at least 45% of our
trainees are from non-law backgrounds and we do not have a
shortlist of preferred universities.
If your application is successful whether for a training contract
or a vacation programme the next stage will be an assessment
day comprising two one-on-one interviews with partners or senior
associates. The rst interview is based on your application form
and will assess your skills and knowledge, your motivation for a
legal career at Allen & Overy and your commercial awareness.
The second interview is based on a case study and you will
have 30 minutes to work through the brief and prepare a short
presentation to deliver to your interviewer. The presentation will
be followed by a discussion with your interviewer on the key points
from the case study. After this, one of our current trainees will take
you for a well-deserved coffee and give you a tour of our ofce.
Visit page 54 of The essentials for valuable advice on preparing
for interviews.
Te essentials 53
November January
Apply for open days and/or summer vacation programmes
December
Attend open days or winter vacation programme
January February
Attend summer vacation programme interviews
June August
Attend open days and/or summer vacation programmes
Apply for training contracts (once penultimate year or nal year
results conrmed)
September
Attend training contract interviews
Commence nal year of university (if applicable)
After graduation
Allen & Overy Legal Practice Course (LPC)
6.5 months
Training contract
Start date of March or September
Qualify as an associate after 2 years
October November
Attend employer presentations and skills workshops on campus
Apply for winter vacation programme (nalists and graduates only)
Attend winter vacation programme interviews
Training timeline
undergraduate
law degree
Final year or graduate
Te essentials 55 54 Te essentials
Hints and tips
Completing your application form
Academic achievement is essential to make it into the world of
law, but dont forget to make the most of your extra-curricular
activities and work experience to show that you are an
ambitious and a well-rounded candidate.
Know your goals
Creating an application form that stands out from the rest of the
crowd and sells your skills can be a challenge. In the rst instance,
make sure that you know exactly whats required by familiarising
yourself with the selection criteria. Communication, teamwork,
interpersonal skills and commercial awareness are just some of
the skills we look for at Allen & Overy, so prepare some examples
to demonstrate your experience of each.
Show a rounded personality
We expect successful candidates to be on track for a 2.1, but your
application will also stand out if you show that you have experienced
life outside the library. Volunteering, or joining a society or team, is
valuable, especially if you take responsibility for a task, such as
managing a budget or project. Try to demonstrate your appetite for
responsibility and your capacity to shape events and outcomes.
We want to nd out what type of person you are, so try to showcase
yourself in your application.
Leverage your work experience
If you have completed legal, commercial or any other kind of work
experience, think about what you have learned and observed.
You may, for example, have made a recommendation for improving
a process to your manager. Using examples like this on your
application form and during interviews shows that you have learned
from your experience and that you are willing to be asked about it.
Focus on the rm
At Allen & Overy we recognise that you will be applying to a number
of law rms and that can mean a lot of forms. However, its worth
taking the time to focus on each individual application form it may
take longer but the effort will be worth it if you secure an interview.
The questions asked by different rms may look similar, but it is
unlikely you will be able to use the same answer each time.
Be accurate
Ensure your form is free from spelling and grammatical errors
attention to detail is a fundamental skill for a lawyer so we expect
you to exhibit this skill in your application. Were not looking for poetry
but we are looking for accuracy. Its a good idea to draft, edit and get
someone else to read over your form before clicking Submit.
How to shine at interview
Your interview is an opportunity to substantiate what you have
said about yourself in your application and for us to get to know
you better, and vice versa. Naturally, if youve come this far you
want to impress, so make sure you get the following basics
right and remember to be yourself throughout.
Revise and practice
Remember to revisit your application form before your interview and
try to anticipate the questions you will be asked. These are likely to
include details about school and university studies, your interests
and achievements, work experience, why you have chosen this
career and why you want to work at Allen & Overy. University careers
services may offer mock interviews, so book one if you can. Getting
feedback on how you come across in an interview scenario from
someone you dont know can be really helpful before the event.
Stay up-to-date
You should expect to be asked questions about topical, commercial
or business issues so start reading up on stories in the papers or
online, and be prepared to discuss your opinions at interview. We
want to nd out what you think and why you think that way.
Get the logistics right
Before your interview, ensure you know the dress code, directions
and the selection process. If you have any questions or concerns,
feel free to contact our Graduate Recruitment team.
Make an impression
First impressions count so dress appropriately, smile, maintain eye
contact and offer a condent handshake. Its not simply a case of
impressing your interviewer getting the rst bits right will make you
feel better and more condent, which will help you in the interview
itself. Be condent and self-assured if you have been invited to
an interview, we already think you have potential, so remember this.
Ask pertinent questions
An interview is a two-way process, so while you will be expected to
do most of the talking in an interview (around 80%), this is also your
opportunity to see whether the rm is right for you. Prepare a couple
of questions to ask at the end of the interview covering issues you
genuinely want to learn more about for example, training or the
future direction of the rm.
Getting feedback
If you are unsuccessful at interview, ask for feedback so you know
what to work on in future interviews.
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
56 Te essentials
November January
Apply for training contracts
December
Attend open days and/or winter vacation programme
January February
Attend training contract interviews
After graduation
Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)
1 year
Legal Practice Course
Allen & Overy Legal Practice Course (LPC)
6.5 months
Training contract
Start date of March or September
Qualify as an associate after 2 years
October November
Attend employer presentations and skills workshops on campus
Apply for open days and/or winter vacation programme
Attend winter vacation programme interviews
Training timeline
undergraduate
non-law degree
Final year or graduate
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
Key dates Contact us
Allen & Overy LLP
One Bishops Square
London
E1 6AD
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 3088 0000
Fax: +44 (0)20 3088 0088
Email: graduate.recruitment@allenovery.com
Web: www.allenovery.com/careeruk
Open days
Apply: 1 November 2011 29 February 2012
Open days take place throughout the year
(see website for further details)
Winter vacation programme
(nal year undergraduates and graduates, all degree disciplines)
Apply: 1 October 31 October 2011
Interviews take place in November 2011
The programme will take place from 12 21 December 2011
Summer vacation programme
(penultimate year undergraduates and second year undergraduates
on a four-year course featuring a third year abroad; all degree disciplines)
Apply: 1 November 2011 15 January 2012
Interviews take place in January and February 2012
The summer programmes will take place on the following dates:
18 June 6 July 2012
9 July 27 July 2012
30 July 17 August 2012
Training contracts
(March and September 2014 start dates)
Non-law degree (nal year undergraduates and graduates)
Apply: 1 November 2011 15 January 2012
Interviews take place in January and February 2012
Law degree (nal year undergraduates and graduates)
Apply: 1 June 31 July 2012
Interviews take place in September 2012
Apply for all vacancies via our website
www.allenovery.com/careeruk
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Te essentials 57
A career in law www.allenovery.com/careeruk
The essentials
Your guide to applications
and interviews
Big deal
What happens on a major
transaction and what do
the lawyers do?
39 and
counting
Graduate Recruitment Partner
Richard Hough discusses the
importance of our global network
Broadening access
Why being a lawyer
should be about brains,
not background
In the City
An insiders guide to whats
happening outside the ofce
Trainee tales
Reports from the front line
Allen & Overy
continues expanding
into new territories
Allen & Overy is an international legal practice with approximately 4,750 staff, including some 480
partners, working in 39 major centres worldwide. Allen & Overy LLP or an afliated undertaking
has an ofce in each of:
Allen & Overy means Allen & Overy LLP and/or its afliated undertakings. The term partner is
used to refer to a member of Allen & Overy LLP or an employee or consultant with equivalent
standing and qualications or an individual with equivalent status in one of Allen & Overy LLPs
afliated undertakings.
Allen & Overy LLP 2011
Abu Dhabi
Amsterdam
Antwerp
Athens
Bangkok
Beijing
Belfast
Bratislava
Brussels
Bucharest (associated ofce)
Budapest
Casablanca
Doha
Dubai
Dsseldorf
Frankfurt
Hamburg
Hong Kong
Jakarta (associated ofce)
London
Luxembourg
Madrid
Mannheim
Milan
Moscow
Munich
New York
Paris
Perth
Prague
Riyadh (associated ofce)
Rome
So Paulo
Shanghai
Singapore
Sydney
Tokyo
Warsaw
Washington, D.C.
Allen & Overy LLP
One Bishops Square
London
E1 6AD
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 3088 0000
Fax: +44 (0)20 3088 0088
Email: graduate.recruitment@allenovery.com
Web: www.allenovery.com/careeruk
ALLEN
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