Banking & finance

Banking and finance is a global industry involving a wide variety of financial products, ranging from simple bank loans to companies, to highly structured financing arrangements across multiple jurisdictions. The rise of internationalisation and the development of increasingly sophisticated financing structures mean that modern banking law and practice is becoming ever more complex. In the post-financial crisis era, banking and finance lawyers find themselves at the forefront of the evolution and recovery of the industry.

Laura's legal journey began in Belgium – a country where there’s no formal distinction between solicitor and barrister, leaving aspiring lawyers to choose between litigation and transactional law. Eager to understand both domains, Laura dived into internships in each field. It was through these experiences that she uncovered her passion for the client-focused nature of transactional law.

Now a leveraged finance partner at Milbank LLP, Laura takes stock of her career to date and looks back with fondness at the day she secured her training contract. “Nothing matches the feeling of when you get the call to say you’ve secured the role,” she explains. This excitement continued into her training, which she completed in Brussels. Benefiting from Belgium’s non-rotational training contract structure, Laura gained a diverse range of experience, such as banking, capital markets, and regulatory and advisory work. However, after an interesting internal secondment in London at an international law firm, she was drawn to practising leveraged finance in the UK.

The bigger picture

While making partner wasn't on Laura’s radar at the very start of her legal career, it’s a goal that developed over time. She says: “At first all I knew was that I wanted to try private practice and complete a training contract. It was only when I reached five or six-years post qualification that I understood what the role of a leveraged finance solicitor really meant. It was also at this point that I decided I wanted to work towards partnership.”

Reflecting on her choice of specialism, Laura says that it was luck that landed her in this area: “If you’d asked me what leveraged finance was at university, I wouldn’t have been able to answer that question.” Much like becoming partner, a long-term career in London hadn’t formed part of Laura’s initial plans; however, once her four-month secondment from Brussels to the leveraged finance team at an international law firm in London was underway, she decided to make the move more permanent. The London leveraged finance market played a significant role in the decision to move from Brussels to London, as the Belgium capital lacked a sufficiently large sector to support a specialised leveraged finance team.

Now, like Laura, you might also be at university wondering what exactly leveraged finance involves. Laura clarifies that, in a nutshell, her work comprises of playing matchmaker for “banks, financial institutions or credit funds and private equity funds that are raising money to acquire a target and drafting the underlying documentation between these organisations”. At Milbank, the work is typically large scale, with the team primarily handling cross-border transactions. Due to the size of the transactions, junior lawyers often start by getting involved in specific workstreams, such as “reviewing corporate authorisations and security documents, preparing signature pages, and making sure everything is in place for the signing”. Laura notes: “Throughout your career there’s a real evolution, from associate to partner, but this evolution continues long after you become a partner.” In her current role, she shoulders the significant responsibility of managing “the transaction as a whole, taking the lead on negotiations and acting as the main point of contact for the client”.

Keeping cool when the markets heat up

 Keeping pace with the demands of this area requires a range of skills. For starters, Laura not only emphasises the importance of being “an excellent technical lawyer” to excel in this area, but also the need to balance this technical excellence with a solid set of “strong soft skills”. She explains: “Work as a transactional lawyer involves dealing with multiple parties but not necessarily in a hostile environment – you’re not a litigation lawyer so you’re all trying to achieve the same goal. This means you must have excellent communication skills with your colleagues, clients and the lawyers on the other side.”  

She also advises aspiring lawyers to take their time choosing the area of law they want to qualify into and “recommends that you collect information through people you know or by completing internships”. Looking back, Laura recognises the benefit of having some work experience under her belt, “including a month’s work experience at the firm”, before it came to starting her training contract. As such, she advises aspiring lawyers to “try to speak with people who are doing the job to get an insight into what the work involves”.

Finding the balance

As she reminisces about her rookie days, Laura says: “I hadn’t fully appreciated that a career as a solicitor doesn’t get easier the more senior you become.” Instead, “the job becomes different and more interesting, with every stage bringing its own challenges”. Despite the demands of the role, Laura continues to work hard to balance her work and personal life, and to focus on her mental health. “I always ensure I have time to spend with family and friends and I also really enjoy exercising; I box twice a week. Having this downtime is so important and it gives me the energy to focus and improve my productivity at work.”

Balancing your work and social life is crucial, but it's equally important to engage in work that you truly enjoy. This holistic approach is essential for success in such a fast-paced field. Laura thrives in the dynamic environment of her role, always capitalising on opportunities to take on additional responsibilities. She loves the unpredictability of her work and the fact that “each day brings something new and exciting”. Being a lawyer is so much more than practising law, she says, which came as “a positive surprise”. Laura closes: “Creating a team and building client relationships is the highlight of my role. I love teaching, training, mentoring and building something – not just for me but for the firm too.”