The confidence in my specialist expertise has made me grow

During my years at DLA Piper I have gone from knowing little about a lot to focusing on one area of expertise – capital markets law – and becoming really good at it. It is a niche area with many rules, transparency towards the public and straight feedback on my work, which is something that I really like. One situation in which it became very clear that my competence had improved was in a meeting with the CEO and CFO of a large client company, just a couple of years after I began working at DLA Piper. While presenting my case it struck me that both of them, two super-experienced senior executives, were actually listening to me and valued my input – because I knew more about this subject. That was a great feeling! There are many other things that have also helped me develop my skills at DLA Piper. In 2016 I was on secondment in London – the centre of DLA Piper’s business activities and right in the middle of the world of finance. The time spent in London made me realise the enormity of the context we are in. The exchange gave me a lot of new knowledge and a large network. It also gave me useful experience of a different legal system, which turned everything I knew a bit upside down.