Marianne Pezant

I joined the Corporate – M&A group of Clifford Chance as a trainee after having completed a DESS - DJCE in the Paris II Panthéon Sorbonne law university. Over the course of my career, I have had the opportunity to be seconded to our London office, and to complete a seat rotation in our Tax group in Paris – two very informative experiences! I have worked on many varied transactions, from traditional M&A to private equity, including funds formation, real estate related matters and restructuring. I am now a partner in our M&A Group, specialising in Private Equity. I am also co-Head of our Private Equity Group. My experience in a wide variety of transactions has been a tremendous advantage, as it helps me to understand our clients' businesses, their targets and the environment in which they operate. 

Why I joined?

Obviously, I had heard of Clifford Chance as a student before I applied for a training contract. It has a reputation of being an excellent firm, which fosters a strong work ethic. I thought it would be good to begin my career in this sort of environment. During my interview I was made to feel like part of the Clifford Chance team, and this has become ever more true since being at the firm. The result is that I am still here! All my experiences are very different but very rewarding; being instructed by a new client or on a new mandate, working on a challenging transaction, mentoring more junior lawyers or training students as part of the partnerships we have with universities.

The people

What first struck me, and what still strikes me almost every day, is how people at Clifford Chance are approachable and friendly. I think we all love working together and this makes a real difference, both for us internally and for our clients.

Why I stay at Clifford Chance

There are a lot of things that encourage me to stay with Clifford Chance and make me happy to come to the office every morning.The emphasis on teamwork is very strong. We all work hand in hand, as part of a network, to deliver a first class service to our clients – our ambition for excellence and innovation makes it interesting, fun, and challenging to work here. You encounter new things every day and are always encouraged to come up with new ideas and new actions. This creates a very exciting environment to work in.

My advice

I believe that to be a good business lawyer, you cannot only be good at law. This is a prerequisite of course, but a good business lawyer is one who understands their clients, their business, the challenges they face along with being able to give a legal advice with commercial insight. Being curious about our clients' and our environment is an absolute necessity.