Jones Day has one of the largest M&A practices in the world and ranks among the top law firms for the representation of clients in M&A transactions.
The M&A Practice in London is multidisciplinary and multijurisdictional. The practice addresses all kinds of M&A deals from private sales of shares and assets to leveraged buyouts, domestic and cross-border takeovers, joint ventures, take private deals, and distressed M&A. Lawyers in the practice work closely with colleagues in tax, environmental, competition, pensions, employment, real estate, and intellectual property. Most of the transactions are cross-border deals.
Trainees have a crucial role to play in supporting every aspect of our M&A work, such as drafting and negotiating documents, liaising with colleagues here and overseas, conducting legal due diligence, and preparing disclosure exercises. Our non-rotational training system gives our trainees the perfect opportunity to experience at first hand the multidisciplinary nature of M&A deals, as they work on every aspect of the transaction, providing support to senior lawyers in each of the different practices involved.
Our trainees have the unique opportunity to be part of a world-class M&A practice, while enjoying the benefits of working in a medium-sized London office.
Examples of recent transactions include:
- Dresdner Kleinwort Limited - Advising Dresdner Kleinwort Limited on the £1.62 billion cash offer by ElectricInvest Acquisitions Limited for Viridian Group plc, the Irish energy business.
- The Procter & Gamble Company - Advising Procter & Gamble on the €512 million sale of its European tissue and towel business to Svenska Cellulosa AB.
- Sibir Energy plc - Advising Sibir Energy in its $456 million merger with Moscow Oil & Gas Company.
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John Disson Exeter, Law
I qualified into the M&A Practice at Jones Day in March 2007, having worked on a broad range of corporate transactions during the course of my training contract, including M&A, Private Equity, and Capital Markets.
An example of a deal I worked on as a trainee would be when we acted for the seller of a biotechnology company in the summer of 2006. It was both interesting and challenging, not least because it was multi-jurisdictional and the last bit of science I had done was A-Level Biology!
My main focus was the production of the disclosure letter, which effectively involved me running the disclosure process and interacting frequently with both specialist colleagues within the Firm (something I particularly enjoy about being a corporate lawyer) and the directors of the target company. I attended meetings in Nottingham and Copenhagen and spoke and regularly met with the client, often being the first point of contact. I also got involved in drafting various ancillary documents and negotiating these and the disclosure letter with the other side.
The level of responsibility you are given as a trainee undoubtedly sets a Jones Day training contract apart, both in terms of the work you do and the fact that you are actively encouraged to build up relationships with clients from day one. Consequently, the transition from trainee to newly-qualified lawyer was not a difficult one - I was often working with the same clients and in some cases on the same deals.
You have confidence in your own ability and do not feel as though you have suddenly been thrown in at the deep end because of the level of experience you already have. This may not necessarily be the case if you have not worked in that particular practice area since your first seat.
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