Max O'Driscoll

Education: Law, University of Nottingham

I did English and history at A Level, so law at university seemed a natural progression. I then worked as a paralegal in arbitration and joined WFW in part because of the strength of its dispute resolution practice, expanding at the time I joined – a big draw. I was also attracted to the firm’s international nature. As a trainee, I was lucky enough to spend time in our Athens office. As an associate, I’ve worked on arbitrations in Africa and across Europe. Most of what we do has an international element. Even when work is in London, clients are often based overseas.

Our strong sector focus feeds into everything we do. As a trainee navigating a commercial law firm, this is helpful. No matter what department you go to, regardless of whether you sit in finance, dispute resolution or regulatory, there is a lot of overlap and clients are often the same even if the work you’re doing for them is different. That familiarity helps. Even with the sector focus, the nature of work is diverse. I’ve enjoyed working with clients in renewable energy and every time I work on a project, whether solar or wind, I’m gaining experience and learning about commercial aspects of deals. Having clients in sustainable sectors definitely helps to drive me.

We are given a lot of responsibility early because of team size. As the firm is so strong in its sectors, and we work in close-knit teams, we learn a lot on a daily basis, working alongside incredible industry leaders and clients.