Jared Smith - Associate
You’re a keen sportsman. Is there really time to get out on the field?
The work at Freshfields is exciting and it’s demanding - you do work late sometimes. But the firm is very accommodating and you manage your own time as much as possible. So if you’re disciplined and organised, there’s time for things other than work. The firm helps by subsidising our kit and travel, too. We’re going to play in a hockey tournament in Barcelona and then we’ve got to get ready for the Law Society Rugby Sevens. I run the team so that’s quite a commitment.
Looking back at your traineeship, what were some of the highlights?
I was on secondment in Hong Kong for six months. I was born there so it was great to go back. I worked on two IPOs – one a boutique investment bank and the other an Israeli shipping company floating on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange – so both totally different. We put the prospectuses together and there were some late nights at the printers but there was still time to have fun. The firm has a boat there – or a junk as they are known - and on the weekends you can take it out and go wakeboarding or just visit one of the islands for seafood. Coming back into the harbour at night and seeing the lights was a highlight .
You qualified just after you got back. Was that a difficult choice to make?
It was very hard. I’d enjoyed each of my seats especially in Corporate and Finance but for me Corporate just had the edge. I think I’m better suited to the work. There’s a really wide range of industry sectors, too, so I can keep learning about business and not just the legal side.
What’s the biggest change in becoming an Associate?
You get a better sense of the whole deal and that helps with managing it more effectively. I’m in on all the calls with the client so, for example, I can see what’s going to need specialist experience and get that from colleagues in other practice areas. Other things I can delegate to the trainees I’m supervising. That was a bit daunting at first, but it’s amazing how much you learn when you’re teaching others. They ask questions you hadn’t necessarily thought of and that keeps you on your toes.
Jared Smith
Associate
Law at Jesus College, Cambridge
LPC at Nottingham Law School
Seats: Corporate (Private Equity), Finance (Banking), Real Estate, Corporate, Secondment to Hong Kong
Joined February 2006
Qualified into Corporate