Career Development at Fried Frank

Chambers Associate: What did you do before Fried Frank? Where did you go to law school, and which firms have you worked at previously?

Mandy Barner, New York real estate special counsel: I attended Fordham Law School and started my career at Kaye Scholer LLP (now Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP). I then lateraled to Fried Frank as an associate and later went on to work in a couple of different in-house roles. I recently rejoined Fried Frank as Special Counsel.

Ryan Jenkinson, London finance associate: I attended Cambridge University for my undergraduate degree in law before completing an LLM degree at the University of Manchester and my LPC at the University of Law (also in Manchester). Prior to joining Fried Frank, I trained at DLA Piper's Manchester office and qualified into the finance team at DLA Piper in September 2020.

Tyler Winters, DC M&A associate: I attended Penn Law. I worked at both Morgan Lewis (in Orange County, CA) and Goodwin (in Washington, DC).

 

CA: How did you learn about the opportunity at Fried Frank? Why did you decide to join the firm?

MB: I initially joined Fried Frank as associate after a former colleague of mine also lateraled from Kaye Scholer to Fried Frank and spoke very highly of the firm. I was excited about the opportunity to work on higher profile and more complex real estate lending transactions, including by broadening my experience from CMBS to balance sheet and construction lending. I most recently chose to rejoin Fried Frank because I really enjoyed working with such a talented, respectful group of people and wanted the opportunity to work on a variety of interesting transactions for different clients. After being in-house, I wanted to leverage that experience so that I could be a resource for multiple clients and add further value to transactions.

RJ: I worked across from Fried Frank on a deal very early in my NQ year. I was impressed by the way the finance team operated and enjoyed working across from them. I was then looking at making the move from Manchester to London later in my NQ year, and as soon as I learnt there was an opening at Fried Frank, I decided to apply.

TW: I had a colleague that lateralled to Fried Frank in 2021. I ran into her at a wedding a couple months after she started, and she told me that Fried Frank was still hiring and how she was loving the M&A group so far, so I applied!

 

CA: What stood out to you most about the firm’s culture when you joined? How did you find your initial settling in period in terms of getting integrated with the work and culture?

MB: Fried Frank really is a family. It’s a collaborative, team-oriented firm, and they have made the transition from my in-house role back to a firm as seamless as possible. I really appreciate all of the support and being in a positive working environment. 

RJ: I joined the firm in mid-2021 and a number of COVID restrictions were still in place for the first 12 months or so. That being said, from Day One I felt very welcome in both my team and the wider firm. A number of people across the London office made an effort to reach out to me when I joined, which was very appreciated, as I had moved firm and city at the same time, and that was something I worried would be a little bit daunting. However, with the help of my new colleagues, I quickly settled. The London office was much smaller when I joined and really did have a close-knit and very collaborative feel. The firm has worked hard to retain that same feeling during the recent expansion. I feel very fortunate to have met some lifelong friends during the past four years.

TW: Everyone is very smart and intellectual, but also very down to earth and calm under pressure. We really don’t have any screamers or “difficult” personalities. It also stood out that we don’t really have any particular stereotypical Fried Frank partner or associate. People’s personal interests are wildly diverse, so it’s always fun learning from your colleagues here. Admittedly getting integrated when joining in 2021 was not difficult at all because we were super busy in M&A, but people were very welcoming and willing to show me the ropes.

 

CA: What kind of opportunities can Fried Frank offer associates in your practice area? What has been a highlight for you in your practice at Fried Frank so far?

MB: Fried Frank’s real estate practice offers a wide variety of opportunities by representing a broad client base in all aspects of complex commercial real transactions, including real estate finance, purchase and sale, leasing, corporate real estate, land use and development work. One of the highlights for me has been the opportunity to work on complex, bespoke transactions that require thinking outside the box, which keeps me engaged and allows me to continue learning and growing in my career.

RJ: I have had the opportunity to work on a variety of LBO, real estate and fund finance matters over the past four years, and the variety and complexity of the deals we do ensure that the work is always interesting. There have been a few highlights: on the acquisition finance side, a couple of LBOs we have completed for AEA and Towerbrook really stand out; and on the fund finance side, the work we do for long-standing clients such as GS, BlackRock and CVC is market leading. It has been great to have the opportunity to work on all those transactions.

TW: We do a lot of more “upmarket” deals than I had done at prior firms, so it has been a great opportunity to get training from partners that have experience doing deals well in excess of $1 billion in value, and especially public company deals, in additional to PE deals.

 

CA: How does the firm support associate career development? What kind of training and mentorship is available, both formally and informally?

MB: The firm has a great career development program, including a career coach and formal associate and partner mentors. They also periodically offer career development programs and encourage informal mentoring as well.

RJ: A criticism of US firms operating in London which I was aware of when I joined is that the training perhaps isn't as comprehensive as that received by junior associates at UK and Magic Circle firms. However, my experience at Fried Frank has been quite the opposite. The partners in the finance team encourage regular training, and training sessions are often associate led with partner input. We typically have weekly team training on a finance topic or document, and will often have round-ups following the completion of a deal. There are also London office-wide training sessions, and training sessions run out of the New York office which we can attend virtually.  The firm runs a formal mentorship program which associates can sign up for, and given the approachability of partners both in my team and in other teams in the London office, the opportunity to sample informal mentoring or bend someone's ear on a topic is always available.

TW: We have regular formal trainings on substantive areas of our practice for the first six years of your career that are tailored to seniority levels, and partners are very willing to give constructive feedback and mentor associates, both formally and informally, to help people be successful in the long term here. We also have access to specific career development staff that can speak to you confidentially about attaining your personal goals.

 

CA: For those who want to make partner, what’s your take on the opportunities to progress at Fried Frank?

MB: Opportunity to progress is another reason I rejoined Fried Frank. The firm is very supportive of talented associates and counsel who wish to grow professionally. The firm provides resources and feedback along the way to assist attorneys in achieving their goals.

RJ: Since I have been at Fried Frank there have been people from a variety of different teams who have made partner in the London office, which is obviously very encouraging to see. To aid associates with our development and progression towards this goal, the firm offers training courses for all levels of associate, and these events typically include a trip to New York to meet our colleagues and build our network across the Atlantic. The opportunities for business development and client engagement are also plentiful, and we are encouraged to participate as much as possible.

TW: It seems like in our group making partner is very achievable. Every year there have been one to three people promoted, and as you get more senior, the partners in the group are very willing to share more details about the promotion process. 

 

CA: With Fried Frank on your resume, what other doors are open to you in the future? What kinds of things have Fried Frank alumni gone on to do?

MB: The opportunities are endless. I personally initially left to go in-house, and others in my practice area have done the same or even transitioned into business roles.

RJ: Fried Frank is a well-respected name that travels well on both sides of the Atlantic. A number of my ex-colleagues have gone on to GC roles in-house or taken partner positions in other peer firms.

TW: Alumni have gone on to great in-house experiences, especially in the financial services sector, and from my perspective it seems like any in-house opportunity is achievable with the doors that have been opened.

 

CA: Do you have any advice for law students currently going through applications, or for associates considering making a lateral move?

MB: My advice would be to think about their priorities and what they are looking for in a firm. There are many great firms out there, but I suggest focusing on finding a firm that is a good cultural fit and will help with achieving their short-term and long-term goals. 

RJ: I would say that the most important thing is to focus on limiting your applications to a small pool of firms and really work on perfecting those applications, rather than adopting a scattergun approach. It is quite easy to paint law firms in the city with one brush, but each firm has its nuances, and it comes across well in interviews if a candidate is really prepared to talk about why they want to join a particular firm. I also think it is really important to practice interviews. If you can spend a bit of time preparing with a family member or friend asking you questions, in my experience, that will help you relax into answering questions when you have the real thing.

TW: It can be difficult to differentiate firms based on the handful of interviewers you meet with, but, especially as a lateral, once you have an offer, it’s always OK to ask to meet with additional people from the group that you’ll be working with, and people at the levels that are likely to be supervising you.

 

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Read more about associate life at Fried Frank in the firm's Inside View