Swaroop Kadambari

• Degree: History, University College London
• Joined: September 2010
• Doing now: Business Restructuring & Insolvency
• Office location: London
• Favourite holiday destination: Mendoza, Argentina

I was interested in a career at a City law firm, because I was excited by the opportunity to work in a dynamic environment, in which you are challenged to combine an academic understanding of law with a pragmatic commercial focus on clients needs. This of course is true for many City law firms, but Hogan Lovells provided specific opportunities that particularly appealed to me.

The impressive breadth of practice areas affords the trainee to gain a wide range of experiences during the training contract. The range of client and international secondments that are available is indicative of the global nature of Hogan Lovells.

My first seat was spent in the Banking group. I really enjoyed the fast paced nature of the work and found that despite the time pressures, associates and partners were more than willing to spare their time in explaining the various intricacies of a deal. It was very interesting to read the deal documents and try and glean how the credit crunch and subsequent Government pressure on banks to lend has affected our clients’ lending practices.

I am currently half way through my second seat and am sitting in the Insolvency department. As with my first seat it can be fascinating to see how the economic crisis has affected our clients. The skills learnt in these two departments will no doubt serve me well for the rest of the training contract and indeed for the rest of my career.

The firm has a range of extra curricular activities which you are able to participate in. I have played cricket for my department and football for the firm team. These experiences have cemented the impression I got on the assessment day that Hogan Lovells is a firm with a truly collegiate atmosphere and one which provides the perfect environment in which to thrive.