I joined Devant in August 2020 in the middle of the Covid pandemic. It was a slightly different route in my legal career than I previously envisaged, with Devant not being a regulated law firm of solicitors, but from the moment I spoke to Tiff, I knew it was the right step and the perfect place to continue to develop my legal and commercial skills. Since then, I’ve had the support of Devant every step of the way, including completing my solicitor qualification, and this promotion is just another example of how I’ve improved and developed my skills. 

Working with Devant, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a wonderful team internally, but also with a great selection of clients. Our clients come from a range of sectors, and it’s that broad variety of work that keeps me engaged and motivated – you never know what the next project will be, and no two are ever the same, but I always look forward to getting stuck in and supporting the clients and businesses with whatever they need!

The main commercial and corporate areas I’ve worked on for client projects so far tend to revolve around the drafting of Terms & Conditions or Standard/Framework Agreements, the reviewing of a variety of contracts including NDAs, T&Cs, Service Agreements etc, and GDPR/Data Privacy support for clients, particular helping clients manoeuvre the tricky landscape following Brexit.

My most memorable project so far is working with a client to draw up their own new set of Terms and Conditions. Previously they had always worked from their counterparty’s terms, but were coming to realise that with increasing business, it would be good to have their own standard terms, particularly as they wanted to ensure they had certain cancellation/postponement provisions etc. This has been particularly memorable as we’ve worked closely with this company consistently for a while now and it’s great to hear they’re confident in using them and knowing they’ve got terms that work for them. Our main contact at the company has also commented at how she feels more confident in reviewing other terms in the first instance through what she has learnt from us in both the drafting and other subsequent reviewing projects for them, which is a pleasure to hear!

Going forward, I look forward to seeing what projects come in from clients that I can be available to assist with. In particular, I’ve been leading the team in developing our Company Secretarial offering to support clients with various company related transactions ranging from providing a registered office and filing of confirmation statements, to supporting with changes to directorships (whether appointing or terminating), through to share allotments or transfers.

I’ll be on hand to guide clients through the process, as well as drafting all the necessary resolutions needed to give effect to what they’re trying to achieve. I’ve also been developing my knowledge and understanding of the corporate side of the job, so I look forward to assisting clients with things like the implementation of Directors’ Service Agreements or Shareholders’ Agreements, supporting companies looking for investment or purchase of business to expand, all the way through to a potential sale of a business.