Victoria Legg - The Royal Bank of Scotland deal

Victoria Legg joined Linklaters in September 2006 and, alongside the late nights in London, has enjoyed the nightlife of Russia during her six-month secondment to Moscow - including border control in her pyjamas.

To be thrown into the RBS deal so early into my second seat was a huge responsibility – and compliment. RBS had formed a consortium with Banco Santander and Fortis Bank to launch a takeover bid for ABN AMRO Bank. The consortium bid was a rival to the recommended bid made by Barclays Bank. The deal was to demand a range of skills including time management, team working, the confidence to communicate directly with clients, drafting, legal research, people management, patience and a huge amount of resilience. It also demanded a few all-nighters.

Throughout the deal, I worked in various teams consisting of everyone from senior partners to trainees. I was involved in the structure of the consortium, negotiations surrounding the ultimate split of ABN AMRO assets and the bid process including control of the bid vehicle and group consolidation issues. This included sole responsibility for contacting several bank regulators from an unprecedented 63 jurisdictions across the globe, while liaising with the client and legal teams advising Santander and Fortis. Planning effectively around global time differences was crucial to managing my workload.

Launching the offer was a fantastic feeling. It was late on a Friday night and we didn’t know whether it would actually go ahead until moments before it was announced. The hostile nature of the bid caused great excitement and tension in the media and made the takeover battle for ABN AMRO a spectacular one. The offer was accepted and went unconditional despite the fact it was a hostile bid - great cause for celebration.

Knowing that I’d been a member of a superb deal team, performing at the best of its abilities, and having completed Europe’s biggest ever banking takeover in a timeframe that no one believed, was an immense feeling. It’s a classic tale of triumph in the face of adversity! The RBS consortium’s €71 billion bid for ABN AMRO constituted the world’s largest banking deal and was unprecedented in terms of global reach and monetary value.

The deal took up almost my entire seat. Then it was time to board a plane to Moscow for my third seat – and it was great. I enjoyed a weekend trip to Kiev on the overnight train, which was great fun; border control in your pyjamas was always going to be interesting! And I went to Suzdal, a small historical town outside of Moscow for a weekend too. Transport options when you get there included skidoo and horse and sleigh. If you get to come out here, I recommend them both – it was great fun.