Secondments

Frithjof Schütte, Hengeler Mueller

I am currently working as an Associate Secondee in Travers Smith’s Dispute Resolution team in London. I joined the firm for a six month secondment in February 2024.

While the weather in London still left something to be desired when I arrived, I received a very warm reception from the whole Travers Smith DR team and am thoroughly enjoying my time here. My start was made easier with the benefit of having met a number of the Travers team, including Alfred Fabian from his secondment at Hengeler Mueller in 2022, with whom I stayed in touch since then, as well as John Lee and Joseph Moore from one of their visits to Frankfurt.

On the work front, I very much enjoy experiencing how the English legal system operates, especially considering the differences between the English and the German legal systems. So far, the team have involved me in two English proceedings, one relating to a contractual dispute between two large companies and a fast-paced set of proceedings in which we filed an application for an interim injunction, as well as an expedited trial in a competition related dispute over the refused supply of goods with the highlight being a full day hearing before the Competition Appeal Tribunal, followed by drinks in an old pub from the 17th century.     

Although I am only mid-way through my time at Travers, I can already say that I have learned a great deal and met many lovely people and I look forward to the remainder of my time with Travers as well as London during the spring / summertime, which, as many have promised me, will be wonderful. In any event, I am extremely grateful for both Travers Smith and Hengeler Mueller for the opportunity and for making my secondment possible!

Jacopo Nisticò, Legance – Avvocati Associati

Today, two years ago, I was landing in London to join Travers Smith’s Disputes team in the following few days, to start one of the most enriching experiences of both my professional and personal life.

Actually, it took more than a few days to join the team, due to post-Brexit visa issues, which I had the honour to be among the first to test and showed me how the English bureaucracy works and how efficient it is – I bet Phil Lopeman, with whom I had the pleasure to spend a few months here in Rome, is not inclined to say the same about Italian bureaucracy!

However, after having overcome that impasse, I finally had a few hours to realise that I was just terrified about my first day at Travers Smith: will I make it in time with the tube? Will I understand their accent? Will they understand mine? These last doubts, in particular, arose after I met a guy from Manchester in a pub…

Fortunately, I had not so much time to be terrified because I soon started at Travers and I realised that I was about to spend the following months with incredibly talented professionals, genuinely kind people and immersed in a stimulating and encouraging firm culture. After just a few days, I was honestly thrilled to go to work every morning (I must admit that a small part of the thrill was due to having breakfast at Braithwaites, the Travers Smith cafeteria).

I will never thank my colleagues at Travers enough for all the great opportunities they gave me, whether it was attending an expert witness examination hearing before the Competition Appeal Tribunal, or having a pic-nic together in Regent’s Park. I had the chance to appreciate both the professional and human skills that each person I met at Travers has and I did my best to treasure them.

Even though two years have already passed, I must say I truly miss the months I spent at Travers and I sincerely thank both my firm Legance – Avvocati Associati and Travers Smith for that.

Luca Guerrini, BonelliErede

I joined Travers Smith’s Dispute Resolution Department in 2023 for a three-month secondment as a visiting foreign lawyer from Italian law firm BonelliErede.

I was warmly welcomed by all, and especially by the four lawyers whose office I shared. They helped me settle in and quickly made me feel right at home.

For a lawyer like myself, trained in a civil law jurisdiction, it was great to learn a bit more about the English common law legal system and fascinating to see how solicitors deal with phases of court proceedings like disclosure and cross examination, which do not exist here in Italy (or other civil law jurisdictions).

In fact, I had the opportunity to observe the cross examination of witnesses in an on-line hearing of a trial in the Cayman Islands, in which all parties were represented by English solicitors and barristers. This gave me a better appreciation of the international reach of English law.

Another highlight was assisting on one of the very few cases (around 90) that come before the English Supreme Court each year, with Travers Smith and the team of barristers winning the case.

I was also pleased to be able to help my Travers Smith colleagues on a case involving a non-Italian (and non-Italian-speaking) citizen in criminal proceedings in Italy, who was being represented in court by a team of Italian criminal lawyers. This really opened my eyes to the challenges faced by clients in dealing with a legal system and language they don’t understand, and the vital role a ‘local’ lawyer can play in bridging legal and linguistic barriers.

I learnt a great deal during my secondment and made many connections, who are both outstanding lawyers and lovely people. I am profoundly grateful to both Travers Smith and BonelliErede for this invaluable experience, and to all the team at Travers Smith for making me feel part of the team. So many fond memories that will stay with me for many years to come.

Adam Bradley, Travers Smith

At the start of April 2024, I moved to Madrid for 3 months to join an international program hosted by Gomez-Acebo & Pombo (GA_P), a leading Spanish law firm who we know well. During the program, I was able to blend working on my existing Travers Smith matters with some experience of what it is like to work at a leading litigation and arbitration practice in Madrid.

For example, at the time of writing I have attended a preliminary hearing in Madrid, relating to a claim concerning the interruption of a contract by Covid-19. Although, for someone with limited Spanish language skills (note: I am working on that!) the hearing was hard to follow, watching the interactions between the parties’ representatives and the judge (and being enlightened by the GA_P Partner after the hearing as to what they were actually saying) gave interesting insights into how the Spanish legal system operates, and provides an opportunity to reflect upon how the English legal system might learn from the practices of overseas jurisdictions.

Fortunately, a good portion of GA_P’s cases (which include arbitration matters) are conducted in English, so I am looking forward to getting involved with some of those for the remainder of my secondment.

Nine other secondees have also participated in the program representing firms from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands and Peru. The program therefore provides an invaluable opportunity to deepen our relationships with top firms from around the world; this is key given how important Travers Smith’s international network is to both supporting existing clients with foreign law matters, and to forming relationships with new clients based overseas. Having the opportunity to share insights about our respective legal systems will also be useful for the purposes of advising international clients on English litigation, so that I can identify possible areas of difference with practices in their home legal systems, and tailor the advice accordingly.

Secondments of this nature also provide opportunities to reflect on our own working practices. For example, lunchtime is an important time of the day in Spain, not only to have a good meal (GA_P’s in-house staff restaurant was excellent) but also to spend time catching up with colleagues. As busy professionals, it is often tempting to think that taking an hour to have lunch with colleagues is not the most productive way to make use of the working day. On the contrary, my experience in Madrid of making this the rule, rather than the exception, has taught me that it can play a key part in fostering good relationships with colleagues and provides an opportunity to have a proper break in the middle of the day (boosting productivity and mental wellbeing). I hope to take this way of working back to London with me.

It has, in short, been an excellent experience, and I am very grateful to both Travers Smith and GA_P for the opportunity.