Matthew Powell

Matthew studied Law at Oxford and joined Linklaters as a Trainee in September 2004. He’s now an Associate in our Corporate department and has enjoyed a secondment to Eastern Europe as well as spending two years in Dubai.

Choosing Linklaters.

There were many reasons why I chose to Join Linklaters, but three really stand out. First, there’s the level of control I had over my training. I knew that by the end of my first seat I would have worked with HR to produce a seat map for the remainder of my training contract. I liked knowing where I was going in advance, thereby removing the lottery-style surprise at the end of each seat that can exist at other firms. Second is the people. I like working with smart, engaging, interesting colleagues who constantly encourage you to raise your standards. Finally, the international nature of the work. I enjoy the challenges that cross-border deals involve, and the opportunities to work outside of London were, and still are, extremely attractive.

Immersing myself in global work.

As a trainee, I worked in Eastern Europe for six months. In many emerging markets we need to take complex transactions back to first principles, and apply best practices where none exist in order to drive a deal forward. I really enjoy immersing myself in these transactions, and the rise of Dubai and the Gulf region offered me another chance to do just that. I moved to Dubai on secondment in the summer of 2007, at just under a year qualified.

As soon as I arrived, I was thrust in the middle of the first public merger in the UAE. It was a high-profile deal for the region, doing something that hadn’t been done before. After two days in the office, I was sent to the Dubai Financial Market (the local stock exchange) to discuss certain aspects of the structuring of the deal. It was a bit daunting to be given something like that so soon into the secondment, but you take it in your stride, and go back to the first principles that you’ve been taught in your training. I loved it.

Being at the centre of deals in the Middle East.

Dubai acts as a hub for the region, so I was also involved in several transactions outside of the UAE too, including the IPO of Royal Jordanian Airlines, a telecoms joint venture in Nigeria, and the sale of a stake in Sabafon, the mobile operator in Yemen. I also worked on deals in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Palestine and Iran

A rewarding experience.

Linklaters is incredibly meritocratic across its network, so as long as a partner felt I was up to the challenge, I was given the work irrespective of seniority. In emerging markets, there isn’t necessarily the same desire for lengthy documentation that you might find in more established jurisdictions. The challenge is to draft succinctly without compromising the integrity of your client’s position. Ex-pat life is a lot of fun, too. Living in the sunshine is always nice, and there’s a real collegiate feel amongst your friends who are all in a similar situation to you.