Jessica Ehrling, Associate in DLA Piper’s Corporate Group, on secondment in Silicon Valley, Palo Alto

Jessica Ehrling, Associate in our Corporate Group, talks about her secondment in Silicon Valley, Palo Alto:

Last autumn I was on secondment in the US tech mecca Silicon Valley, surrounded by unicorns and tech giants such as Google and Facebook. Already during my first week in the office I was thrown into transactions with blockchain companies, client meetings, pro bono assignments and various corporate events such as river rafting, TEDx and after work meetups.

I quickly discovered that the work outfits I had brought with me from Sweden fit best with a pair of white sneakers and that most people thought I was crazy for walking 25 minutes to work each day, but I never got a rental car.

Outside of work I explored the charming city of Palo Alto where I stayed in a great apartment with both a pool and a gym, and I attended as many tech conferences as I could squeeze into my schedule. I also visited various tech startups where free food from morning until night is a popular benefit for the employees, just like ping-pong and the latest gaming console.

I left my secondment from a Halloween-decorated office with new friends and experiences I will never forget.