Mark Reynolds

• Degree: Law, Trinity College Dublin; Law, King’s College London (Masters in IP/IT Law)
• Joined: Autumn 2008
• Practice area/group: Technology, Media & Telecoms (TMT)
• Office location: London
• Favourite film: Sunset Boulevard

I studied law at Trinity College Dublin before moving to London to complete a postgraduate law degree at King’s College London. Upon graduating I worked as a project manager for a large multinational corporation and although I enjoyed the work, my real ambition was to become a solicitor, to challenge and develop my legal skills.

City law firms can look quite similar, but I noticed from the start of my training contract assessment day how open and approachable the firm was. If I could offer one piece of advice to training applicants, it would be to research each firm individually and inside out: it tends to show if you haven’t done your research.

I started my training contract in Capital Markets. It was fascinating to work in structured finance at a time when major developments and the global credit crunch were very much in the public eye. Although the products and concepts I dealt with could be quite complicated, I received ongoing training and support. My second seat in Business Restructuring and Insolvency, assisting on several major corporate insolvencies, was followed by my third seat in Intellectual Property, Media and Technology.

As a trainee, I enjoyed the breadth of the work and subject matter, and found myself involved in everything from due diligence on a corporate transaction to drafting software outsourcing contracts. I also had the opportunity to take on pro bono cases – great exposure which also helped develop my client skills. My final seat was in Fraud & Insolvency Litigation. Although I sat in a related department in my second seat, the firm was careful to ensure that I was exposed to a new and varied range of work. I was lucky to work on some significant and complex litigation, some of which received coverage in the national press.

I qualified into the firm’s Technology, Media and Telecoms team, and I currently advise on a wide range of technology, IT and e-commerce issues. I recently returned from an eight-month secondment to an international bank, which gave me a detailed understanding of many of the issues facing our clients and how I can best advise them.