Name: Harry Coghill Firm: Macfarlanes LLP Location: London University: University of Oxford Degree: Modern languages – German and Italian
However, the real satisfaction of the job for Harry is on a more personal scale. “I enjoy being an adviser to our clients and that my judgment is valued,” he confides. “Building client relationships is part of the fun of the job and the clients with whom I have the best relationships are those who end up calling me about all sorts of different things – not just corporate law, but about their wider businesses.” And what about the job does he like least? “Not being in control of my own destiny. As a corporate lawyer your life can turn on a sixpence – that gets better as you become more senior because you can manage teams and clients more, but certainly when you start out you have to be prepared to be very flexible with your plans.” Hot topics: Brexit, corporate governance and AI Harry is – understandably – reluctant to speculate about what form Brexit will take and how it will affect lawyers in this area, but notes an interesting trend: “In 2018 a lot of the firms listing were financial services firms, accounting for just over half of the total proceeds raised on the London stock market, which is a positive indicator for the future of London as a financial centre.” An issue that aspiring trainees should certainly read up on, however, is “the interesting debate going on regarding the standards of corporate governance on the London stock market, particularly the recent changes to the rules to accommodate sovereign wealth funds owning large chunks of listed companies, which arguably have one eye on attracting Saudi Aramco to listing on the London stock market when it comes to market.” Looking at the wider solicitors’ profession, Harry identifies artificial intelligence (AI) as a key issue that will affect lawyers over the next few years and beyond. “At trainee level, it will
be important to ensure that trainees are still able to do some of the work – such as due diligence – which has traditionally been one of the ways of learning the job, but which AI might be able to do more efficiently in the future,” he observes. The value of experience Legal work experience is crucial for candidates aiming to join a City firm to work on these kinds of large-scale corporate transaction. To that end, Harry recommends applying for vacation schemes: “Vacation schemes are a great way to gain experience and it is important to gain as much as you can. The experience will improve your CV, but vacation schemes are also a major part of the training contract recruitment process at many firms in the City.” Finally, Harry shares some valuable advice that he was given as an associate: “Someone once told me that to be a good solicitor you need to be the ‘three As’ – able, available and affable. That means being bright and knowing the law, being flexible and able to put the client first – we are in a competitive world where clients expect to be able to get hold of you and for you to enthusiastically embrace their issues – and being able to get on with the client on a personal level and build a relationship with them.” If you can do all that, this could well be the career for you.
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