Jillian Chung

Title: Of counsel
Division: Real estate
Location: London

I have been at Herbert Smith since the summer of 2001, when I moved from Lawrence Graham. I was tempted by the quality and breadth of its non-contentious construction work as well as its reputation.

Since joining I have been able to develop new skills as well as experience other industry sectors in connection with construction and engineering work both in the UK and internationally. In fact, that is one of the firm's key strengths, I am always learning something new or doing something different one way or the other, and much of my work is in connection with large, one-off projects. One of my most memorable projects was working on the re-development of the Millennium Dome - now the O2 arena.

As a law firm the development of "hard" skills is, unsurprisingly, paramount. At a professional level the firm recognises the importance of quality and depth of knowledge in the development of its lawyers. There are many opportunities to develop that experience, ranging from working on an actual project to traditional training. In addition, the role the partners play in bringing on their teams has been significant for me. The partners I have worked with have raised the bar for me in terms of my aspirations.

There are many employee committees within the firm that allow us to influence the environment we work in. I have joined Women in Business and the LGBT network (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender). This is typical of the firm’s holistic approach - there are many different resources available to develop "soft" skills and encourage community spirit through diversity, corporate responsibility and social initiatives. I enjoy working at Herbert Smith, mainly because there is always some unexpected work challenge and because of my work colleagues.