Paris

Alex Charlton Jones

Trainee secondment to Bredin Prat

When I arrived at Bredin Prat, I felt instantly welcomed. Even as a secondee, I felt completely accepted by the collegial culture of my team and the firm at large. Everyone I met was thoughtful and interested to know more about me as a person and how I made my way into law.

One unique side of Bredin Prat is its close link to the art world. Every year, the firm hosts the Prix Jean-François Prat (named after the firm's co-founder and art collector), a prize created to fund rising stars in contemporary art. I was lucky enough to attend the 2022 celebrations at an incredible exhibition.

I was based in the Corporate team at the firm, so my work primarily involved M&A deals spanning various sectors, including industrial and cybersecurity. That being said, as a UK trainee, lawyers from all groups at the firm were eager to draw on my English legal and language skills. For example, I worked with members of the Disputes team on their contribution to a working group on French civil law. The varied workload was refreshing and certainly kept me on my toes!

One highlight was working on the €378m deal between Play (subsidiary of the French telecoms group Iliad) and Infravia Capital Partners to open up broadband connectivity in Poland. Being involved in negotiations and seeing my name in the French legal press was a thrill. The Bredin Prat ski trip was another not-strictly-work-related highlight, offering the perfect opportunity to meet people from across the entire firm.

Other highlights from my time in Paris include day trips around France with other secondees from London, seeing the famous Bastille Day fireworks at the Eiffel Tower and, of course, the food!