Clifford Chance

I studied Law and Spanish with Spanish Law at the University of Nottingham before joining the firm during COVID-19 in September 2020. During my Training Contract I sat in the Financial Institutions Group (FIG), Structured Debt, Asset Backed and Real Estate Finance (SABRE), Capital Markets (London) and spent my third seat in the São Paulo Capital Markets department. My first two seats in SABRE and Capital Markets both prepared me well for my secondment in São Paulo. By the time I went out to Brazil, I was very familiar the key aspects of the work, such as timelines and documentation.

The best part about working in São Paulo is the proximity to senior lawyers and the amount of responsibility you are afforded as a trainee. When you arrive, you are, to all intents and purposes, an associate and the first thing the seniors encourage you to do is remove "Trainee Solicitor" from your email signature. I worked exclusively with Anja Pfleger (Counsel) and almost always as a two-person team. This enabled me to build a very good working relationship with her and ask lots of questions. She trusted me and allowed me to interact with clients directly. If she couldn't get to something or was away for any reason, I picked up the mantle. Most of the clients were big Brazilian banks. Notably, I advised perhaps our biggest client, on its second and third quarter supplements, annual update and a large bond issuance.

The culture is very different to London, both inside and outside the office. Clients are very friendly and would sometimes message me on WhatsApp, rather than calling. Meetings and calls would sometimes be in Portuguese as opposed to English. Lunch time is sacred in Brazil, and it's typical for the whole team to have lunch together. There were only around 20 of us in the office, including business professionals, and so there is very much a family feel. Anthony Oldfield, the Managing Partner, invited us all to his house for Christmas dinner.

Outside the office, few people speak English. I used this to my advantage and was determined to improve my Portuguese skills. Although I am fluent, I am self-taught and therefore I relished experiencing life in Portuguese for the first time. Whether liaising with the concierge, discussing Brazilian politics with taxi drivers, navigating the favelas or going to the centre to get a haircut; I did it all in Portuguese.

There are two London trainees in São Paulo at any one time and travelling together on weekends to other parts of Brazil is encouraged. By far the most amazing experience I had was travelling to Iguazu Falls, the largest waterfall system in the world, on the border of Argentina and Paraguay. Rio Carnival was also cool.