Chantal Olavesen (she/her)

When the opportunity arose for a secondment in Paris for the third seat of my training contract, I jumped at the chance to work in a different country and discover more about how Clifford Chance operates across different locations and teams. I studied at Université Paris II for a year during my undergraduate degree in Law and French Law, and had always hoped to return to this fantastic city and put my language skills to use. 

My first two seats (in Asset Finance and Debt Capital Markets) inspired my strong interest in cross-border finance and fast-paced transactional work, which stood me in great stead for my international secondment in the Paris Finance and Capital Markets team. 

The Paris team recognised that I had experience in running small transactions, and quickly put me in charge of running a bill auction process on the legal side for the European Stability Mechanism and managing the update of the Téléperformance EMTN programme, for which we added the option to issue sustainability-linked bonds. I am extremely grateful to the team for the high quality of work and invaluable guidance. 

At this stage of my career I was keen to work on a variety of projects, and therefore volunteered to work on banking projects and LIBOR transition work for a key client. The teams in Paris collaborate closely, so it is possible to get involved with work from other teams. There's a real emphasis on being well-rounded lawyers, to present our clients with seamless legal advice across all their commercial issues. 

The most exciting transaction I worked on while in Paris was advising a hospitality leader on its cash tender offer and issuance of sustainability-linked bonds (read more about it here), which was an excellent insight into the possibilities of sustainable financing for corporates as part of the drive to net-zero. Working on this transaction was a breakthrough moment for me in terms of being able to visualise the niche I can carve out for myself in my career. 

I was privileged to work closely alongside my supervisor, Alexander Tollast (Counsel) who champions ESG and FinTech in the context of Capital Markets, and this gave me the opportunity to attend various presentations and undertake research for thought leadership pieces. I was encouraged to run with my areas of interest, and this culminated in delivering an hour-long presentation to the Finance group on the European Green Bond standard, currently making its way through the legislative procedure of the EU and which represents a significant development in the Debt Capital Markets sphere. This was the highlight of my secondment, as it was a wonderful opportunity to practice my research and presentation skills, as well as and taught me how to adapt senior lawyers and partners on these developments. 

My time in Paris pushed me to hone my skills in communication and adaptating, and gave me more visibility on how Clifford Chance works as one integrated international team to provide top-quality service. I am confident that, because of the secondment, I have developed both as a lawyer and as an individual, and it has encouraged me to seize every new opportunity in future. .