My client secondment at EQT Group in Luxembourg

Erik Rosberg, Associate in DLA Piper's Corporate Group, talks about his client secondment at EQT Group in Luxembourg.

For the past year, I have been on a client secondment at the global investment organization EQT Group in Luxembourg. I worked for two different funds: EQT Ventures and EQT Growth. EQT Ventures is a multi-stage Venture Capital fund seeking fast-growing and technology-driven start-ups while EQT Growth is unleashing growth in Europe's technology champions as they take the next step to scale. I primarily worked on investments, follow-on investments, and exits in portfolio companies. In addition, a large part of my work consisted of fund management and portfolio management.

Working together with the client and taking part in their day-to-day business operations have given me new perspectives and a plethora of insight into the Venture Capital and Growth Equity industries as well as the fund industry. Also, having the opportunity to grasp the business operations from the inside gives an enormous understanding of the client's needs and what they expect from their lawyers.

One of the best parts of my client secondment was the privilege of taking part in all the discussions amongst the deal partners on why they wanted to do the deals and presenting the investment opportunities to the General Partner Investment Committee – they always had valuable insight and knowledge to share. In addition, bringing the deals over the finish lines together with the team was always a pleasure.

DLA Piper has an office in Luxembourg, and I am happy I was invited to spend time with my DLA colleagues. They were all super friendly and generous, and invited me to their events such as the trip to Amsterdam where we visited the DLA Piper Amsterdam office and the Pétanque Tournament on the Fête Nationale Française. Also, it was great meeting colleagues from other DLA Piper offices around the globe who had flown to Luxembourg to take part in the ING Night Marathon.

It is not just one of the global financial centers of Europe, Luxembourg is also located in the center of Europe, and it is easy to reach cities such as Paris and Brussels within a couple of hours. I traveled as much as possible and was able to work for a couple of days from several DLA Piper offices across Europe. I had a great time meeting colleagues in Rome, Milan, Madrid, Frankfurt, Brussels, and Amsterdam. No matter at which office I was, I experienced the same welcoming and kind atmosphere. There is really a global DLA Piper culture!

Back in Stockholm, I am now focusing my practice on Venture Capital and Tech Investments, and I continue to work closely with my former colleagues at EQT Group. With all the knowledge that I bring back with me, I really feel that I can deliver better service and value to EQT, and other clients of DLA Piper.

To summarize, my client secondment was tipp-topp as they say in Luxembourgish.