A&O’s Wim Dejonghe on mergers, money and his plans for life after law

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A&O’s Wim Dejonghe on mergers, money and his plans for life after law

I wanted to go into sports. I was a sailing instructor, close to professional. But then I had knee issues, so I needed to change my plans last minute. I still do a lot of exercise, but I hate the gym. That’s how I relax, reflect, enjoy myself, and get energy. I do a lot of sport with my sons, who are all into sailing, biking, jogging, and skiing. I can still keep up with them on the bike, but in skiing I have no chance!

I never planned to be a lawyer. When I started my law course I focused on international public law – the United Nations, NATO and international treaties. I wanted to be a diplomat but there are two issues with being a diplomat in Belgium: one is that you need political connections, and the other is that you’re not so relevant in the international diplomatic community. I worked as an assistant professor at a university but found it a bit too quiet. So, I decided to do a trainee internship as a lawyer, and never stopped. At the time I went into law, we were still obliged to do military service. I did six months in a law firm while I was waiting to get called up, then I went back to the firm after my time in the army, and technically I haven’t changed firms since. It wasn’t by design – it was more the elimination of other options.

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Life During Law: Richard Lever

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Life During Law: Richard Lever

The Godfather is a great film. Tom Hagen was a bit of an inspiration. There’s that scene where he turns up at the hospital where the Godfather is staying with all these private detectives, and he deals with the police. Then there’s another part where he says: ‘I have a special practice. I handle one client. Now you have my number. I’ll wait for your call.’ That kind of power, that kind of control was inspiring.

I quit studying law after a year. I switched to history and politics because there were a lot of hours in the classroom doing law. After university, I travelled and taught English abroad. My girlfriend at the time wanted to come back to the UK as she had a job lined up as an accountant, so I came back with her. I would have been happy staying a teacher. One of the things I applied for was law school and I ended up doing the conversion course. The rest is history. Continue reading “Life During Law: Richard Lever”

The Client Profile: Nigel Paterson, Currys

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The Client Profile: Nigel Paterson, Currys

‘I’m an extrovert and I like to get out there. An in-house role is much more team orientated than private practice,’ notes Nigel Paterson, the general counsel (GC) of British electricals retailer Currys, on his decision to go in-house some 25 years ago.

And it soon becomes apparent that, so illustrious has been his career, somehow none of the gravitas is lost through Paterson drinking from his daughter’s Little Miss Naughty mug throughout the interview with LB. Continue reading “The Client Profile: Nigel Paterson, Currys”

Infrastructure profile: Sara Pickersgill – ‘Pick something you love doing and do it only for as long as you love it’

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Infrastructure profile: Sara Pickersgill – ‘Pick something you love doing and do it only for as long as you love it’

Kirkland & Ellis’ Sara Pickersgill on switching track from opera singer to infrastructure lawyer and why The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe offers salient lessons for a career in the City

Why did you want to be a lawyer and why infrastructure in particular? Has it delivered what you expected?

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Life During Law: Natasha Luther-Jones

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Life During Law: Natasha Luther-Jones

When I was 12, I was a competitive swimmer, and I used to swim every morning before school. If you’re swimming that much, your swimsuits get see-through, so for training, sometimes you’d have to wear double swimsuits, and that’s a bit of a drag when you’re in a competition. I’d asked my mum for a new swimsuit, but she said I would have to wait till the end of the month. I asked her how I could become rich to be able to afford a new one. She said: ‘You can become a solicitor, or you can marry someone rich.’ So, from then on, my decision was made to become a lawyer.

I got work experience in a small solicitors’ firm on our high street in Bangor, North Wales, and was focused on doing a law degree. I knew it was very competitive to get a training contract, so I did law and French. Then I got a training contract with Garretts, part of Andersen Legal. Six months into my training contract, DLA took the Leeds office, I transferred, and 23 years later I’m still here! Continue reading “Life During Law: Natasha Luther-Jones”

The Client Profile: Lida Khanverdi, EG Group

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The Client Profile: Lida Khanverdi, EG Group

Fresh off a train from Blackburn, suitcase in tow, Lida Khanverdi arrives at the interview shortly after closing a new deal for EG Group. Having moved in-house just three years ago, the former Shoosmiths real estate associate is quickly making a name for herself, winning Rising Star In-House Counsel of the Year at the 2023 Legal Business Awards, and helping EG Group through a period of transformative growth.

Despite her rapid ascent, her route in-house has had its fair share of challenges and uncertainties. Khanverdi is not the type to claim she possessed a burning desire to enter the legal profession from an early age. Instead, her decision to study law came about after her family’s plans to emigrate to Canada fell through at the last moment, leaving her with only three weeks to make her university applications in the UK. Flummoxed on what subject to pick, her dad delivered the classic line: ‘Well, why don’t you do law? You can do anything with law.’ Continue reading “The Client Profile: Lida Khanverdi, EG Group”

Life During Law: Sandra Paul

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Life During Law: Sandra Paul

I head up our criminal defence and police investigations team as well as our sexual misconduct in the workplace practice. I am interested in people, and I guess I am a nosey person.

I decided to become a lawyer because I wanted to have my own voice. In my twenties, I was a team leader in a child protection social services team. I would have done an assessment, done the work, known the family, thought I had made good decisions, but then it would get reinterpreted a couple of times for me. The legal department would say ‘this is what you mean’, then the barrister would say ‘this is what the legal department have told me that you mean’. I thought: ‘Actually – maybe I can say what I mean.’ These people were doing a job that I knew was hard, but nowhere near as hard as turning up to these families’ homes and making decisions about their children. So, I decided to do the conversion and see what would happen. I didn’t know if it would be for me, as I am not the usual type of person that becomes a lawyer. Continue reading “Life During Law: Sandra Paul”

The Client Profile: Alessandro Galtieri, Colt Technology Services

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The Client Profile: Alessandro Galtieri, Colt Technology Services

It is fair to say that Colt Technology Services does not look out of place in its trendy environs of Shoreditch, East London. Decorated with the UK’s largest wall mural, which the company commissioned a collection of graffiti and street artists to create, the building comes complete with its own beehive, shortly to produce its first batch of honey. Colt’s deputy general counsel (GC) Alessandro Galtieri, ever the attentive host, proudly shows the artwork off when LB drop by for a chat.

As both his parents studied law, it was perhaps inevitable that Galtieri would pursue a legal career, despite initial attempts to resist: ‘I did try to escape!’ he quips, ‘I wanted to do something else – I was passionate about astrophysics.’ Continue reading “The Client Profile: Alessandro Galtieri, Colt Technology Services”

Life During Law: Georgia Dawson

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Life During Law: Georgia Dawson

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be when I was growing up. I went through periods of thinking maybe I’d become an architect. There’s also this amazing magazine in Australia called Gourmet Traveller. It’s about food and travel, and I thought it would be quite nice to be a journalist for them. I still enjoy looking at architecture and I love the built environment, food, and travel.

I had a conversation with the career counsellor at school. She said, if you’re not sure, then law is a great general degree that gives you options for the future. My dad happens to be a lawyer as well, so I had some familiarity with the law. When I started the degree, I still wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do but I really enjoyed it. I loved the problem solving. Continue reading “Life During Law: Georgia Dawson”