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Editorial - Watson, Farley & Williams LLP
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Name: Matt Leigh
Job title: Assistant, Project and Structured
Finance Group
Age: 27
University attended: University of Leicester
Degree obtained: LLB Law
Matt studied law at the University of
Leicester where he graduated with a 2.1. He
then completed the Legal Practice Course at
Nottingham Law School. Following a year
travelling, he joined Watson, Farley and
Williams.
Choosing a firm for a training contract was
a fairly arduous task with many hours spent
poring over brochures and applications. I
was fortunate enough to undertake a number
of vacation schemes following my second
year at university. These placements included
WFW, another large City firm, a West End
firm, the Government Legal Service and
the European Parliament in Brussels. With
hindsight, I'm pleased that I undertook such
a spread as I felt well informed with regard to
the different options that were available for a
training contract.
Training with WFW
WFW appealed to me because of the high
quality work on offer within a medium-sized,
friendly environment. The work undertaken
by WFW is extremely international in its
nature and, since joining the firm in September
2005, I have rarely worked on transactions
which have not had a cross-border element
to them.
WFW's training contract is split into six fourmonth
seats which offers the opportunity to
get a good insight into several of the firm's
practice areas. During my first seat in Project
Finance, I became heavily involved in the
financing of a large wind farm. From then
on the variety of my work as a trainee varied
enormously and I felt valued as a member of
the team.
Singapore
When choosing between the two training
contracts that I had been offered, one of the
most exciting opportunities that drew me
to WFW was the guaranteed overseas seat.
Having already spent time in South East
Asia, I couldn't wait to take the opportunity
to live and work there. During my seat in the
Singapore office I worked mainly on corporate
and finance matters. It was a fantastic
opportunity to work with the local lawyers,
as well as being given the opportunity to run
my own files. Getting to know Singapore
was an amazing experience and I made the
most of opportunities to travel further in Asia
and India.
Moving on and Qualification
Back in London, I undertook further seats
in Litigation, Ship, Asset And Structured
Finance. The time spent in Finance confirmed
to me that this was the area of the law that I
wished to practice. Now qualified, there is
lots of ongoing training with weekly seminars
on document drafting and continuing support.
Two and a half years on from joining, the firm
has surpassed my expectations and provided
me with an excellent start to my career. |
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