Why I came back

I vividly remember my vacation scheme interview at Herbert Smith. It must have been in 2008. The questions were tough, and I was exhausted after it. The firm took a chance on me though, and I walked into the Exchange House in March 2011 to begin my training at the firm. In March 2013, I qualified into the investment funds group which used to be LC5N. 

Lawyers can be tribal people. Once you joined a firm, there used to be an expectation for you to be there for life – at least, that is how I felt as a junior lawyer. If you left the tribe, you might be dead to them. Fortunately, I don’t think that’s the case anymore. In London, there are always opportunities and naturally people want to try different things. I think the firm understands that. 

That was certainly the case when I left the firm in 2015. It was definitely not a decision against HSF, which I really liked and was sad not to be a part of anymore. But I felt that I had to try something else. My boss Nigel Farr said at the time something along the lines of, “Oh well, get all the knowledge you gain where you go and bring it back.” I had eight fantastic years at Clifford Chance where I learned a lot. I did think about the firm often. (It was where I trained and learned to be a lawyer and you never really leave the firm at which you trained, I think.) 

Nigel turned out to be right. There came a time when I was not given a clear path at the firm I was at, and HSF asked me if I was interested in rejoining. There was no way I could say no to that. After all, my fellow trainee and fellow associate, Shantanu Naravane, was on track to be made partner. Joining him and the partners that trained me again on an adventure to build an Asian investment funds practice was a huge draw for coming back. And in January 2024, I arrived back at the firm. 

My practice evolves around investment funds – private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds, and so on. I work on the corporate transactional side of funds where we establish them and assist managers with the fund raising. I am based in Hong Kong, so my practice is Asia-focused, and I cover everything from Beijing in the north to Jakarta in the south. 

It is an interesting, although challenging time, to be working in this field in Asia. The market is changing. The investment corridors are shifting. Previously, there was much US investment in China, but geopolitical tensions have led to a dearth of funding for Chinese general partners (GPs). While there is interest from the Middle East in particular, the previous investment flows have not yet been replaced. I am working hard with my colleagues in London and Frankfurt to be at the forefront of the new investment corridors as they settle. 

Based in Hong Kong, between the centres of London and Sydney, I believe we are well positioned to act as a pivot, to take advantage of the Asian market, as well as Greater China. And we want to do that by binding together what’s already happening at the firm in the investment funds space in London, Frankfurt and Australia. We’re building a global investment funds practice that supports the global private capital ambitions of the firm. 

Personally, I enjoy working in Asia and with its people a lot. We are very pragmatic in Asia and know a good deal when we see it. The people here are hardworking and resilient, often because they have had to deal with many changes in their developing countries over the course of their lives. The multitude of cultural nuances and different values can make for a challenge, but I like to think I am adaptable and that I enjoy discovering these things! 

Even as a family, we live between both worlds. My wife is from Hong Kong and our two young children have to put up with German lessons and Chinese lessons!

Apart from the developments in Asia, I also feel that us lawyers need to adapt to new challenges. Attention spans are getting shorter and our clients are inundated with information and pulled into many directions at any time. They need advice to be pithy more than ever. This is a real challenge in complex deals, for example where we find very detailed regulatory requirements. Life in general has accelerated and there are inevitable time pressures for us and our clients, especially in the investment funds world where fundraising sentiment can change from one day to the next.