From pandemic business support to advising on solar mini-grids in Lesotho, Burges Salmon associate Luke Addison reflects on his career so far
“We’re a top-tier independent UK law firm. To have such a quality of work, and still enjoy all the perks of living in Bristol was a no-brainer for me,” says Luke Addison, banking and finance associate at Burges Salmon. A native Bristolian, Addison sings the praises of his home city. “In Bristol, most things are walkable, there’s a great food scene and vibrant nightlife,” he enthuses. “It’s a really cool city.” And life at Burges Salmon doesn’t limit lawyers to just one city, Addison tells me: “most of our clients are based in London or beyond, and so we find ourselves in London most weeks” Addison can meet with clients in the capital, but still be back in time to watch Bristol Bears play rugby on a Saturday afternoon — “It’s best of both worlds!” he says.
Having studied law at Cardiff University, and then secured a training contract at another UK law firm, he was initially disappointed to have been allocated banking and finance as his first seat. “I remember being disappointed to get banking, because through the LPC I had been dead certain that I wanted to be a competition lawyer,” he explains. Having spent those first six months in banking, however, Addison never looked back. He went on to complete seats in insolvency and project finance, before finishing his training contract on secondment to Lloyds Banking Group and qualifying into banking in 2018.
“Working in banking can be a high stress environment at times, but for the most part everyone is working towards a common goal, and our clients are exceedingly professional and leaders in their field,” Addison tells me. “If you’re working on a transaction, whatever party you’re advising, ultimately you all want the deal to happen.” This collaborative atmosphere is what drew Addison to transactional banking and finance.
The variety of the work, and observing the impact of wider macro-economic trends is another reason Addison enjoys his job. “It’s really interesting how closely aligned the practice area is to the wider economy,” he tells me, and Addison has seen his fair share of global economic events in his career so far. “I was on secondment to Lloyds Banking Group whilst the UK market was getting to grips with Brexit, so it was interesting seeing that play out,” he says. Having joined Burges Salmon in December 2019, a month before the UK’s official exit from the European Union and only a few months out from a global pandemic, his work has been far from dull. “We’ve done Brexit, we’ve done Covid, however many prime ministers, the Liz Truss’ ‘mini-budget’, the cost-of-living crisis, and then most recently the return to a high interest-rate environment,” Addison lists. “It’s really interesting how the big-picture events in the news feed into what clients are talking about, and ultimately what’s happening on my desk.”
As well as navigating these turbulent economic times, since joining Burges Salmon, Addison has been working on project financings, primarily for renewable energy projects, most recently developing a niche specialism in developing markets. I ask Addison about how financing projects in these markets differs from his other work. “It’s renewable energy, which in itself is brilliant, but with a clear focus on the social impact angle,” he responds. “We’re financing renewables, not only as a viable business model, but also as a vehicle for societal transformation – we’re supporting on the financing of projects in off-grid rural areas, areas where communities have never had access to electricity.” This approach ties in closely to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principle; Addison will be discussing this approach at the upcoming Legal Cheek virtual event ‘ESG and the law – with Burges Salmon’ on Wednesday 9 October.
“Understandably, people often focus on the ‘E’ in ESG, especially focusing on renewable energy projects and the environmental benefits of a move away from carbon-intensive technologies,” Addison explains, “but in my experience, particularly in developing markets, the social and governance aspects are equally important.” He tells me about the team’s work in Lesotho:
“We advised on a project in Lesotho, a small landlocked country surrounded by South Africa. Globally, it has one of the lowest rural electrification rates, with only around 35% of the rural population enjoying access to electricity. We advised on the financing on a portfolio of solar mini-grids. Once constructed, the local community will be able to take electricity off these mini-grids. Projects like this level the playing field for communities that would previously have been unable to connect to a national grid like we can in the UK.”
This project is an example of approaching all elements of the ESG principle, Addison tells me enthusiastically. “You’ve got the ‘Environmental’ angle, because people no longer need to burn kerosene and so on, but then the ‘Social’ aspect is also relevant because the mini-grids provide power to local schools and hospitals. On the “governance” side, on transactions such as this, especially in developing markets, lenders and investors have to really interrogate the supply chain to understand where the solar panels come from, for example ensuring they weren’t produced with forced labour.” Scrutinising supply chains is key to ‘ESG’ projects like these. “It’s all very well patting yourself on the back for setting up a solar project, and talk about the environmental benefits, but if those panels have been made by forced labour elsewhere, you’re just shifting a problem around the globe,” Addison says. “The great thing about working on these projects is the tangible benefits they create.”
So, for aspiring solicitors interested in this exciting and varied practice area, what skills should they be brushing up on? “The legal concerns are only one part of the job of a banking and finance lawyer,” Addison tells me. “The skills that will really set you apart in this area are project management and interpersonal skills.” He emphasises there the legal points are really important, but that to some extent these are just the bare minimum – clients expect more. “The balance is getting the legal points right, but recognising that not every intellectual legal argument will benefit the client,” he says. Building relationships with clients is crucial, as Addison explains, “no one sits down and only wants to talk about interest rates and security types. People want to have normal conversations with human beings. If you can relate to people sensitively and intelligently, that will stand you in good stead. From my perspective, a big part of legal advice is about recognising where you fit in to the picture, and ensuring that you’re always providing the service a client expects.”
Addison completed a client secondment in the debt products legal team at Lloyds during his training contract, which allowed him to see legal work from the client’s point of view. “I got to see what bankers do day-to-day,” he tells me. “You understand what pressures they’re facing and what they want to achieve.” One of the most valuable insights was observing interactions with external counsel: “You hear people’s candid reactions when they receive frustrating advice from a lawyer. Watching someone groan when they opened an email from a lawyer, I realised I never wanted someone to react like that to an email from me. The secondment was helpful in working out how to present advice in a way that is useful and easy to understand.”
As we wrap up our discussion, I ask Addison for one piece of careers advice he would give to aspiring solicitors. “Don’t worry too much about having everything figured out” he responds. “It’s a long career, and the profession doesn’t stay the same. Law has changed massively in the eight years that I’ve been working and I am certain it will continue to change,” he elaborates. “When you’re starting out, focus on finding an area you have a genuine interest in, that you enjoy working in. And then the biggest thing is to find the right firm for you. That’s a firm that will support you and champion you – an environment that will allow you to thrive. And try to enjoy it – we all spend too much time at our desks to be miserable!” he concludes.
Meet Burges Salmon at ‘ESG and the law — with Burges Salmon’, a virtual event taking place on Wednesday 9 October. Apply for one of the final few places.
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