I graduated with a master's degree in law and corporate finance from the University of Lyon III in 2017.
Thereafter, I took a gap year by doing two six-month internships in the banking departments of international law firms in Paris.
In 2019, I joined the department of corporate legal affairs of a leading pharmaceutical firm (at the head office) as a part of six-month internship. I worked mainly on capital markets, financial regulation and derivatives matters, under the supervision of a highly experienced in-house lawyer who was previously a lawyer at Clifford Chance in the London and Frankfurt offices.
In 2019, I successfully passed the bar examination while concurrently doing an internship under the supervision of the director of the legal affairs of the Association française des marchés financiers.
In 2020, I started the Paris Bar School trainee program by joining the derivatives and structured products legal team of a French credit institution. Then, while attending the Paris Bar School courses, I also did a six-month part-time internship at the banking department of an international law firm in Paris.
I ended my trainee program by joining the structured finance team of Clifford Chance Paris for a six-month final internship. From the outset, I had the opportunity to closely work with valuable senior lawyers and partners on a wide range of financings (securitisation, real-estate financings, debt funds etc.).
As I was already greatly integrated within the team as an intern, the shift from intern to associate occurred seamlessly.
Why did you become a lawyer – what prompted and sustained your pursuit?
I was not predestined to study law or to become a lawyer at all. I went to law school a bit spontaneously. At that time, I was more fascinated by mathematics, physics, and technology rather than by law.
To be honest, I began enjoying the law when I had the opportunity to start seeing its practical implementation, particularly in project and acquisition financing during my first internship.
Today, thanks to Clifford Chance's vast knowledge and practice fields, I have been able to discover and participate in what I am most passionate about, particularly in the field of FinTech and other technology related matters. Clifford Chance allows me to freely to work on, and develop myself in this particular field.
How would you describe the culture and atmosphere at Clifford Chance?
The first words that come to my mind are "one team". As a lawyer at Clifford Chance, you have to work closely with colleagues from other offices on cross-border transactions on a daily basis. Our offices are fully integrated with each other. That gives the feeling of being part of a large, wide-reaching team and working all together to satisfy clients' demands in the best possible way.
The second word would be "innovative". We have the opportunity to work in a firm which has put innovation at the heart of its approach.
What are the key skills you have developed here which have been invaluable to your career?
I have developed and, continue every day to develop, technical skills in many fields that go far beyond my area of specialisation (e.g. finance), in part due to the partners and senior lawyers at Clifford Chance who are recognised as experts in their respective fields and who are eager to share their knowledge and know-how with young lawyers like me.
The partners and senior lawyers in the Global Financial Markets' team in Paris, who I work with on a daily basis, give me the opportunity to propose my ideas and to participate in developing the business of the team. For example, I regularly work with a group of capital markets, regulatory and structured finance lawyers on FinTech and digital finance matters by participating in conferences or preparing internal and client training on these topics. We are constantly exchanging views amongst ourselves and working together on articles, client briefings or other initiatives. It's very exciting to be part of a working group like this and to be asked to contribute by sharing ideas and proposals, especially as a young lawyer.
What do you like most about your job?
The diversity of what I do. I can work on a real-estate financing matter on Monday, on a securitisation programme to implement ESG criteria for a leading corporate client on Tuesday and on a cross-border financing portfolio in Africa on Wednesday.
What do you notice and value most about the people?
The commitment the Clifford Chance lawyers give to their clients.
What is your key advice for anyone considering a career at Clifford Chance / OR a career within the legal sector?
My main advice would be to tell candidates and students to get more work experience by doing internships in law firms. However, it is also very insightful to gain experience in-house, by joining a corporate or a financial institution in order to discover the business sector and to understand what the clients expect when they ask for external advice. For example, my internship in a leading pharmaceutical firm gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in a sector I knew nothing about before joining. Since then, I have become very interested in this area and I now follow biotech sector trends very closely, which may be practical in my career down the line.
What differentiates Clifford Chance from other firms/organisations you have worked at?
We are all moving in the same direction. This is not always the case in other firms.
What was your recruitment process when you joined the firm?
I joined Clifford Chance as a trainee (stagiaire) as a part of "Rendez-Vous Clifford Chance". My interview was conducted by two mid-level lawyers from the regulatory and structured finance teams. I had an offer to join very quickly after the interview took place. I time was equally split between the regulatory and the structured finance teams.
Then, I joined Clifford as an associate after the end of my traineeship (stage). The terms of the recruitment were very clear and fair to me and I was very happy to continue to work with such a great team. The other members of my team, particularly the senior lawyers and the HR team, have helped guide me through this initial and continuous step in my career.