Why did you decide to become an M&A lawyer? Was there anyone in particular who inspired you early on in your career?
I did my training contract at a firm in South Africa where I had a lot of exposure early on in my career to different kinds of work. I saw then that doing M&A would involve meeting lots of interesting people and learning about different kinds of businesses. William Underhill at Slaughter and May is still a huge inspiration.
What has been the absolute deal highlight of your career so far and why?
Selling Gatwick Airport for Global Infrastructure Partners is probably still the highlight for me. It was the first big deal I did as a new partner in the driving seat. I had an amazing team of associates and it took the best part of a year to negotiate and close. On the day that we were supposed to sign, having endured a succession of all-nighters, those drones came over and the airport closed for the best part of a week. It was surreal. To their great credit the buyers didn’t flinch.
Can you describe a time when something didn’t go according to plan career/deal-wise and what you learnt from it?
A deal I once worked on failed because a third party (whose consent was required) didn’t do what was expected of them. That this happened was a mis-prediction on the part of the client and its lawyers and other advisers. What everybody had failed to appreciate, but which became painfully obvious with hindsight, is that the third party was affected by the deal in different capacities. By focussing on only the most salient of those, the others had been overlooked. What I learnt from this is to pay closer attention to how all stakeholders, not just the parties in the room, might be affected by the deal.
What do you think are the key skills you need to succeed as a lawyer operating at the top of the public M&A markets now?
Keeping your emotions under control is critical both when dealing with clients and counterparties, as well as for the sanity of your own team. Being well-prepared and practised in your delivery are also important in gaining the confidence of a board or executive committee.