The first time I met anyone from DLA Piper was at a graduate recruitment event at Newcastle University. I was left with the impression that it's a firm whose people are at the core of its business and that it doesn't simply rely on historical reputation for its continued success.

I was so impressed with the firm’s people and the strategic vision of what they wanted to achieve that I applied for a training contract...

The personality of the firm was one of the main attractions. Even at the interview I could tell that people were really down to earth and there was a good atmosphere. I liked the fact that DLA Piper is a global firm covering a broad range of practice areas with scope to work for international clients.

I did three vacation placements, one of which was at DLA Piper. It was the firm that I felt suited me the most.

I had not worked in a full time job before and making the transition from student to trainee was a bit daunting, but I have genuinely enjoyed it. I get on really well with the other trainees and receive a lot of support in the office. People seem genuinely interested in our development.

I studied History at Nottingham but being truthful didn’t know which career path to pursue. My approach was to undertake various work placements to get a feel for different working environments. A career in the legal sector was always on my radar as it’s seen as a classic transition from studying History. I embarked on the rigorous process of reviewing a whole host of law firms before applying for vacation schemes. From the masses I selected a handful of firms which I perceived suited my interests and career outlook.

I joined DLA Piper in 1998 as a trainee and became a partner in our Leveraged Finance team in 2009. We primarily work with banks, but also borrowers and private equity houses, on the financing aspects of international mergers and acquisitions.

As a trainee in the Finance team, I really enjoyed the work, the dynamism of the team and I bonded well with my colleagues and clients, and therefore decided to qualify into the team.

I was extremely impressed with DLA Piper from the outset. At the time they had just merged with two US law firms and were growing rapidly. There aren’t many law firms of this type of calibre and it seemed an exciting place to work. DLA Piper have an impressive client list and have an extremely strong national and international presence.

I chose DLA Piper because its rapid evolution to a global law firm impressed me when researching prospective law firms. With its positive 'can do' attitude and belief in the deliverance of excellence to clients, I felt it was a firm in which I could best pursue my own legal ambitions.

What have you found to be most challenging so far? Sometimes managing the relationship between client expectations...

I qualified as a pharmacist and worked initially in the NHS and then the pharmaceutical industry, spending a couple of years with a multinational. The work I was doing was predominantly regulatory and that got me involved with a lot of departments including the legal team.

The things that those guys were doing really interested me. I looked into how I could get involved and what benefit my career might have to the switch. I had a few friends who had become lawyers and never looked back; they told me that some firms were looking for people with a background such as mine. I took the leap and did my GDL and began my second career.