Why did you choose Ropes & Gray to start your legal career?

Applying to Ropes & Gray was an obvious choice. Aside from being renowned for its involvement in some of the most challenging and high-profile legal work worldwide, Ropes & Gray is dedicated to supporting its trainees to become the next generation of specialist legal advisers. I can wholeheartedly say the people at Ropes & Gray are amongst the most personable and approachable people I have ever met. I have been amazed by the sheer friendly nature and refreshingly ambitious approach of everyone I’ve encountered in the Ropes & Gray network. Everyone, without exception, has gone out of their way to make me feel like a valued member of the team.

How did you find the recruitment and selection process?

The team kept me informed of the progress of my application at every step along the way, and team members were hugely personable at each stage of the process. (This is certainly not the case at most firms). On my vacation scheme, I was impressed by the vast programme of activities organised to give me an insight into life as a Ropes & Gray lawyer. Along with providing extensive overviews of each practice area, the firm arranged private workshops from external finance specialists at the world’s most prestigious investment banks to help us develop our commercial and legal acumen. To top it off, I had the privilege of working alongside recognised experts in real-life transactions, and not a series of fictitious assignments, as can be customary in other assessment processes.

How would you describe the firm’s culture?

Without a doubt, the firm has an incredibly inclusive culture. From my very first interaction with the firm as part of the recruitment process, to the daily exchanges that I have with an exceptional group of people, everyone within the Ropes & Gray network has been nothing but welcoming and approachable.

What tips would you give a potential applicant?

Be yourself! The application process for becoming a lawyer is a really demanding one. Resist the temptation to rehearse set answers to potential interview questions and instead focus your energies on showing off your strengths and skills. In the same way that you would not choose to spend time with an individual whose personality clashed with your own, do not risk working for a firm that is the wrong cultural fit for you. Instead, try to identify your own traits that make you suitable for the role and your personality will inevitably shine through.

Please provide 3-4 fun facts about yourself.

I am a massive thrill-seeker and gain a huge sense of enjoyment from diving head-first into any adrenaline-based activity. Whether it is canyoning down rock faces, cage-diving with sharks or whitewater rafting down cliffs and gorges, you name it, and I will be there!

As part of a Space Stimulation Day at the Kennedy Space Centre, I had the privilege of dining with a former astronaut and of experiencing elements of the astronaut training programme, including going in a centrifuge-based simulator, designed to replicate the G-forces that astronauts are subject to when they are launched into space.

Over lockdown, everyone in the UK seemed to be taking up some form of new hobby. Not being satisfied at just teaching myself to knit and crotchet, I decided to embrace my inner farmer and learnt how to drive tractors. My parents live on a farm, so there was some rationale behind this decision!