John joined Herbert Smith as an Associate in the Finance Department in September 2005. In addition to his UK qualification as a solicitor he is a qualified Barrister and Solicitor in the Province of Ontario.

My route to Herbert Smith

After completing an undergraduate degree in History at Bishop's University in Canada, I came to the United Kingdom to study law at the University of Kent at Canterbury. With every intention of eventually practicing law in Canada, upon graduation, I returned to Canada to continue my legal studies at University of Windsor Law School. Following completion of my studies and the accreditation of my English law degree, I articled at a commercial law firm in Toronto for one year. According to the process, I then completed the Bar Admissions Exams for admission as a Barrister and Solicitor in the Province of Ontario. Shortly after qualification, I returned to the UK to settle permanently.

I originally came to Herbert Smith as contract paralegal in January 2002. Initially on a two week placement, I worked in the litigation department for seven months. Towards the end of this time, I applied for and was offered a training contract. In between then and the start of my training contract in September 2004, I continued to work as a contract paralegal in the litigation department of other city firms.

In June 2003, I returned to Herbert Smith as a paralegal in the Litigation division. As planned, I joined the firm as a trainee solicitor in September 2004. During my training contract, I sat in the Corporate division and the Finance division. As I was qualified in Ontario, had completed the QLTT exams and had the requisite experience as a paralegal and trainee, I qualified as a solicitor after one year as a trainee and joined the firm as an associate.

Life at Herbert Smith

I consider myself fortunate that I have had the opportunity to work in several city law firms and hence gained a relatively broad insight into the differences between firms. I have always believed that the decision on where you decide to complete your training contract should be based on where you feel most comfortable. That being the case, I have always felt that Herbert Smith was the right firm for me. Having originally trained at a smaller firm, I have felt and continue to feel that Herbert Smith has retained the spirit of collegiality while growing into a major global law firm.