Developing your commercial focus
Jennifer O’Connell’s career has taken her in all sorts of di erent directions. One of her biggest learnings? That commercial awareness is a vital part of being a successful lawyer.
tough decision, but I left Hogan Lovells and joined a French investment bank. It gave me a dĭerent perspective: we often see a client as one entity, but they’re made up of dĭerent business lines and functions – often competing with each other. Being sensitive to this is an important part of delivering the right legal service for that client. I returned to Hogan Lovells after seven years in-house, able to better relate to my clients’ needs. So my advice for aspiring lawyers? Try to put yourself in the client’s shoes. Rather than focusing on what you can give, consider what you’d want to receive if you were the client. It’s all part of developing your commercial focus, and helping you become a successful lawyer.
To me, commercial awareness is about giving clients advice that goes beyond the textbook answer. It means considering who the client is, their ambitions, what’s most important to them, and what their budget is. Sometimes they just want a quick, top- level answer; other times something deeper is required – a fully reasoned analysis. It all depends on context, so commercial awareness is being able to see the bigger picture and identifying exactly what’s needed. I ¿rst joined Hogan Lovells as a trainee, and my background was dĭerent to most. I’d worked with the World Economic Forum focusing on the Davos Conference, immersed in a world of business and management. By the time I completed a law conversion course and became a trainee, I was 10 years older than my peers. But my background was embraced and seen as an asset to the ¿rm; it felt like home from my very ¿rst visit. After becoming a senior associate, I was eager to get some experience on the client side of capital markets. It was a
Jennifer O’Connell Partner
“Put yourself in the client’s shoes. Rather than focusing on what you can give, consider what you’d want to receive if you were the client.”
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