Capital markets

‘Capital markets’ is the term used for financial markets where debt or equity securities are traded. Capital markets lawyers work primarily with transactions involving the issue of debt or equity securities either to the public or to a group of investors. The practice is closely connected to derivatives and financial regulation. Capital markets lawyers advise a range of transaction parties at different levels in the deal structure, and may conduct due diligence review on the issuer of the securities, draft the prospectus and other disclosure documents describing the issuer and its securities to the potential investors, negotiate agreements between the issuer and other transaction parties and navigate the transaction through regulatory hurdles. London’s pivotal position in the global debt and equity markets makes this a significant element of the City’s legal activity.

International cross-border work, training contract secondments abroad and “hugely generous” people are a few of the characteristics that first drew Izzy Bull to Hogan Lovells.

However, before zoning in on the training contract application process and the firm itself, Izzy took some time to also consider a career as a barrister. Eventually, though, it was “the dynamics of working as a solicitor within a team” that took her fancy the most.

“When I started my training contract, I was fairly sure I wanted to be a litigator – in fact, I wasn’t particularly interested in finance” – this is the start of a story told time and time again by solicitors and barristers alike and one Izzy also went through to get to where she is today. It wasn’t until her seat in the firm’s finance team that she realised, or was “quite surprised” to find, that the work really suited her, particularly due to its “challenging” nature. “I’d had quite a clear idea of the direction my career was going to go in,” she adds. Now, as a senior associate in Hogan Lovells’ debt capital markets practice in London, she explains that, more broadly, it was the pace of the work that appealed. “I like that at the beginning of each week, my week ahead always looks very different depending on the matters I have in. Sometimes I work on cases that last a day and a half because it’s a small amendment. Other times I work on longer-term projects that might take up to three months.”

Debt capital markets work and law firm expertise

The days vary as much as the weeks do. As a debt capital markets lawyer “it’s quite unusual for me to work on a financing that exclusively involves my group”, Izzy explains. Many transactions can involve “input from the tax, corporate and restructuring teams, as well as the firm’s overseas offices” due to the work’s cross-border nature. Expanding on this, Izzy says: “Your day might involve advising on elements of English law within your specialism, while also coordinating advice that comes in from other teams within the firm.” Izzy cites this as a “really fun aspect of the job”, adding: “I’m always so impressed by the level of expertise and knowledge in each area of the law. It doesn’t matter how novel or complex the problem is, you’ll find someone at Hogan Lovells with the knowledge you need to answer your question.”

Over the years, as Izzy progressed from trainee to senior associate, she noticed that rather than the work changing it was instead “the degree of autonomy and amount of control over matters” that shifted the most. “As a trainee, I’d expect to have a lot of supervision and support but as a senior associate, I manage my own transactions and delegate to more junior members of the team with input from partners when required.”

Izzy specialises in advising corporate trustees and agents on a broad range of transactions in the debt capital markets space, including transactions that are being amended, restructured or even litigated at the contentious end of the spectrum. It’s this variation in work that she finds fascinating. “I get to work within debt capital markets on what we call ‘new-money transactions’ but I also work alongside our litigation and arbitration colleagues (ie, transactions that have become contentious post-closing). I see the full lifecycle of a transaction and experience both sides, which really informs your view and focuses the mind on what’s important to consider at the outset of a new transaction.”

All these experiences combined have helped to make Izzy into the transactional lawyer that she is today.

The question on everyone’s mind: “and what about AI?”

Izzy continues to be “fascinated” by debt capital markets because “it’s so impacted by what’s happening in the geopolitical space”. It’s these insights that provide lawyers with the context as to why they’re busy in a certain area or why they’re working on a particular matter. An interest in economics, M&A, the environment or international relations, for example, can have direct relevance to debt capital markets and will “really help lawyers to stay engaged and interested in the work they do”.

One of these hot topics and a development that the industry “is really grappling with at the moment” is the impact of AI. Everyone’s talking about it and those working in debt capital markets are no exception. Izzy explains that her line of work is “mostly associated with bond issuances as a debt product” and that the industry is closely monitoring the potential impact of “digitalisation on these bond issuances”.

“No one has landed on exactly how the digitisation drive and AI is going to shape the market. There’s a lot of thinking going into how we regulate this technology and how we use it as a means of increasing efficiency.” Izzy doesn’t see these developments or solutions settling down anytime soon and is excited at the prospect of lawyers having “the ability to shape the way that it’s going to be used in the future”.

Aspiring lawyers should be aware of the impact technological innovation could potentially have on the debt capital markets and on the future role of legal advisers in this space. However, Izzy is quick to emphasise that having all the answers shouldn’t be the goal “because frankly the industry doesn’t have all the answers” – and it’s this element that makes it all the more exciting.

Making mistakes

So, from studying on a year abroad at university and thinking she’d end up as a litigator, to advising trustees and agents on the full spectrum of debt capital market transactions at Hogan Lovells, Izzy is well placed to share some advice for the next generation of lawyers. Firstly, she refutes the idea that those coming into law must have a CV that’s littered with big-name law firms – “any experience is valuable”, she says. “If you can show that you’ve been proactive, have worked hard at something and found creative solutions to problems that’s incredibly valuable.”

Secondly, and looking back at her younger self walking through the doors on the first day of her training contract, Izzy says one thing she wishes she’d known at the beginning is that everything “will click into place”. This self-imposed pressure to be “the finished product” on day one must be removed. “You have to be exposed to new things you’ve not come across before and learn as you go. It’s OK to make mistakes along the way. I wish I’d appreciated that more,” she adds. “It might click on the first explanation or maybe on the fifth – either way, you’ll absolutely get there!”