Allen & Overy

Louise Wolfson

Busy at work again!

So if you had asked me last week, "How is business?", I would have said, "Well it's a bit quiet although there are signs of things picking up".  This week, however, it is a different story!  A transaction which I pitched for in November has finally started up and kicked-off this week.  The timetable is ambitious and we are acting for the three lead banks, who are invariably fairly demanding in terms of what they expect from their lawyers.  Notwithstanding the fact that the next few months are looking to be extremely busy, it is be great to be doing this deal, so I am sure it will be worth the pain along the way.

“Appraisals are a hugely important and valuable part of career development”

And although work has been a bit quieter, because of various holidays, I have been covering deals for other partners.  This frequently turns into what is known as a "hospital pass".  Usually, I am promised that, "nothing should happen while I am away" which means that as soon as they leave the office, everything will go ballistic and I am left with the pieces.  Last week I covered a transaction for one of the other corporate partners.  The main transaction has been completed but there is a subsequent group reorganisation, primarily driven by US tax structuring concerns.  The steps paper, prepared by the US tax advisers, contains 41 steps.  We are only on step 19 and new steps are continuously being added.  For me, this has meant quickly getting up to speed with the transaction and the various steps and then participating in trans-Atlantic calls to explain the nuances of English company law (generally it is much easier for a US company to play around with its share capital than it is for an English company).

We are also in the midst of appraisal season – this time it is associate appraisals.  Appraisals are a hugely important and valuable part of career development but they also generate a large amount of admin.  I have been efficient and written and completed the appraisals of those associates for whom I am the lead appraiser.  Unfortunately, I am second lead for a couple and I am relying on another partner to write the appraisal before we can hold the appraisal meeting (if you are reading this blog, you know who you are!).  The meetings have been rescheduled twice already and at this rate we will be lucky if we complete them before the end of the month.  This can be very frustrating for the associates even though the delays are for good work-related reasons.

Outside of work things have also been busy.  I have managed to see two plays recently: Jerusalem and The Habit of Art.  Both were excellent.  Jerusalem has had fantastic reviews and tickets are now apparently selling for 3 times their face value on eBay.  I am feeling very smug that we managed to get tickets from the box office before it took off – I have started subscribing to Time Out and it does mean that I am getting better at booking tickets in advance, when I see something that looks interesting.  There is a lot going on in London and it is sometimes frustrating that we do not have enough time to make the most of what there is to offer.

I have also gained a new nephew who was born in mid-March.  He is very cute and his older cousins are very doting.  It has been a great relief to have a willing recipient for all our baby clothes and equipment which were occupying various corners of the house.  The emptied corners have quickly been refilled with toys and artwork but we are now officially a nappy-free house which is a great milestone and makes going on holiday much more straight-forward.  So bring on the next holiday – it must be that time again soon!!

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