Clifford Chance

"I assisted the corporate/M&A team which coordinated the overall deal and all of the specialist teams such as pensions, employment, TMT, regulatory, antitrust.

My tasks included participating in the review of the contribution agreement (the main transaction document) and looking at specific clauses to help with the drafting of important documents. 

I prepared the first draft of the document checklists in order to keep tabs of exactly which agreements were needed and to work out which corporate approvals were needed.

I would also be responsible for keeping track of hundreds of emails each day on the different workstreams and attending frequent, weekly checklist calls with the Partner, senior associate and associate on the M&A team. 

This sometimes involved me semi-running the call – I would run through headline points on what the updates were on each workstream for the team members to raise further issues or provide further updates. 

I would attend the weekly client checklist calls and take notes reflecting any updates to the team.

The TMT team also needed a trainee to assist so I started to help where I could around my work as an M&A trainee which meant I was getting exposure to another area of the work which was challenging but exciting.  

I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the calibre of our M&A team and specialist teams and their network. Seeing how they worked on all of the deal calls and how they solved complex/unexpected issues so efficiently was incredible.

This was a huge deal by any standard and definitely one of the largest mergers in the last ten years which brought up lots of new issues which had never been dealt with before.

The deal team rose to every challenge and worked tirelessly to make the whole process appear seamless, constantly reassuring the client that they were in the best hands, which was also incredible to witness."

"The main workstream was the drafting of the IPO Prospectus, which I was heavily involved with. 

I also took responsibility for certain smaller workstreams – for example, I completed the Prospectus Regulation Rules Cross Reference lists, including those submitted alongside the final version of the Prospectus under time pressure.

These lists show the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) how THG has complied with the applicable disclosure requirements when submitting documents for FCA approval under the Prospectus Regulation.

Taking responsibility for smaller workstreams like this, enabled me to add value because it freed up time for more senior team members to focus on other things, whilst feeling confident that everything was being progressed.

In addition to contributing to the drafting of the Prospectus, I also helped with preparing other key transaction documents and verifying various market announcements.

THG's IPO involved multiple teams across many of the firm's practice areas (including, for example, Corporate and Employment), so I also helped with co-ordinating and gathering information from the other teams. This ensured that our advice to the client was seamless and consistent.

I had a large amount of client contact throughout this transaction, which was quite surprising considering that I had only just joined the ECM team.

Due to the fast-paced nature of the transaction, my supervisor and more senior team members put a great deal of trust in me to liaise directly with key personnel at THG in order to progress things quickly and efficiently."  

"The short timeline for the restructuring also required agility and some late nights! I loved having the opportunity to participate in the design of the scheme, which as a third-party release scheme across multiple guarantors based on Lehman necessity, was highly innovative at the time and provided the legal blueprint for several subsequent landmark restructurings (which I also had the pleasure of working on!).

In the end, the scheme was implemented by way of an Irish scheme only but for most of the timeline the plan was to run parallel English and Irish schemes, so we prepared a full suite of English scheme documentation, most notably the explanatory statement.

A huge highlight of the deal was getting the chance to work directly with people across the organisational structure of the client, a huge spectrum of advisers (including financial advisers, lending institutions and local law firms in a wide range of jurisdictions and restructuring consultancies).

The experience allowed me to test and hone my project management and drafting skills, and most importantly gave me a chance to play an active role in thinking out and implementing the legal structure of a groundbreaking restructuring.

I have been able to build pivotal internal and external contacts in the aviation space which have subsequently led to my involvement in several further aviation restructurings, including the Virgin Atlantic restructuring plan and Malaysia Airlines scheme in 2021.

I never expected to learn so much about the Cape Town Convention, it was something I had never heard of before NAC but as a result of working on this transaction and with the support of the firm, I am excited to be attending the 2021 September Cape Town Conference in Cambridge."

"I was involved in the IPO from start to finish, from drafting the first disclaimer all the way to sending out the final closing deliverables once the over-allotment option was exercised.

My responsibilities included creating first drafts of transaction documents and helping to amend and finalise them. I was tasked with reviewing documentation from Company counsel, such as legal opinions and the prospectus, as well as coordinating the signing of the various transaction documents and several rounds of deliverables.

Throughout the deal I was relied upon to provide key support to the team whilst also gaining significant experience.

Working on this IPO gave me a wealth of responsibility and client exposure.

I liaised with clients across the large number of syndicate banks to coordinate signing and counsel in London and Amsterdam, particularly when coordinating deliverables required under the Underwriting Agreement. 

One of the highlights of the deal was that I was able to develop my collaborative network within the Firm working with lawyers from the Paris, Amsterdam, Luxembourg and Warsaw offices. This was most definitely one of the most enjoyable aspects of the transaction."