Mette Rolle

Title: Associate
Division: Finance
Location: London

I moved from Clifford Chance LLP to Herbert Smith LLP in March 2006. I was attracted to a smaller, growing, finance team and, while I am able to focus on project finance, the group is not as specialised as in some other firms. This allows me do a wider variety of general finance work.

Almost all the transactions I work on involve an international element and one of the particular challenges is trying to coordinate a number of jurisdictions across time zones from Korea and Japan to New York (often on the same deal). I've also always been keen to travel and will soon be starting a two-year secondment to our Moscow office.

I volunteer every two weeks with a numeracy programme at a local junior school, which provides a great break from the City. As a newly qualified lawyer I found it harder to commit to these sorts of activities as I had less control over my work levels than I do now, but there are also always one-off opportunities for fundraising and pro-bono work.

Herbert Smith offers far greater independence and client contact for someone at my level than you might get in many other firms of this size. At the same time there is still a general feeling that you can ask questions of anyone when you need to.  While this can sometimes be daunting it does also increase your confidence and your ability and allows you to learn very quickly.