‘Unmatched by any other firm’: Laura de Arroyo Garcia on the IGNITE training contract

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Nov 01, 2021

Written By Emma Finamore

You only need to look at the past 18 months to see that technology truly is at the heart of everything, from world-saving biotech vaccines to homeschooling via Zoom. Clifford Chance are harnessing the potential of this with IGNITE: their pioneering training contract that gives applicants with an aptitude for tech – coders, computer science students, app developers – an innovative new route to qualify as lawyers, reconsidering what tech can do for law.

Laura de Arroyo Garcia has experienced this spark firsthand, joining Clifford Chance after first working at the interface of the biotechnology and data sectors, on projects involving everything from blockchain and Climate Tech for sustainable farming, to coding algorithms improving biofuel production.

“I’ve had an interest in tech for a long time and been a proud advocate of using tech for good,” she explains. “I wanted to use the law as a tool to help shape and drive innovation, overcome barriers to entry and enable these incredibly disruptive and beneficial technologies to thrive in the ever evolving and fluid times we live in.”

Why IGNITE?

Laura says the programme is unlike any other out there: “IGNITE presented a very unique proposal, unmatched by any other firm: the option to qualify as a solicitor while helping the firm and our clients develop new products and services and improve the way in which we provide legal advice, so I did not hesitate to apply.

"I wanted my role as a lawyer to remain commercial and entrepreneurial, so I was drawn to the idea that the firm would actively support me in understanding how to best translate my skills, gaining hands-on industry experience, and taking time off fee-earning to create new tools, all while helping the firm deliver the best quality commercial legal advice.”

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Hands-on experience & responsibility

The experience Laura talks about came early on in her training contract, giving her a better overview of the firm and its clients, and the chance to analyse her own work within that big picture, always being encouraged to consider how things could be done more efficiently, competitively or innovatively.

She says that some trainee tasks have been “streamlined“, leaving more scope for more experience, professional development and upskilling: “Only two weeks into my second seat, I found myself acting as a project manager for the team, being responsible for keeping on top of the progress of the various workstreams. As some processes are made more efficient, our role as trainees can become ever more useful to the firm and our clients.

“Another key skill which I feel I have much improved through the IGNITE scheme is the ability to speak the same language as the clients. Clients no longer want straight-out-of-the-book legal advice. More and more so, clients look to their lawyers as their trusted business advisors. Before joining the scheme, I thought that what mattered most was to have the relevant technical understanding to provide tailored advice.

“I have now come to understand that clients are keen to work with people who not only can provide exquisite legal advice, but who can also think laterally and help their business thrive in a constantly evolving landscape. IGNITE trainees develop an understanding of a client’s business case before developing a piece of technology that can help transform their business-as-usual.”

Laura has worked with tech lawyers across the Clifford Chance network, as well as its Best Delivery and Knowledge teams on projects helping the firm achieve its goals more efficiently, such as eliminating gendered language from templates, or contributing to policy recommendations clarifying the legal position of smart contracts under English Law.

“IGNITE has also given me the opportunity to tailor my training and give a tech flavour to most of the work I have been involved in at the firm so far,” she says. “From advising clients on the legal implications of issuing non-fungible tokens (NFTs), to helping clients with their data protection compliance strategies.”

Challenges & solutions

This rapid, multifaceted professional development takes hard work though, and Laura says that finding the time to take on all the opportunities she wants to – alongside rest, exercise, hobbies and socialising – can be challenging. “The scope and impact of the firm’s work are of the highest caliber, and the clients we get to work with are amongst the best in their fields,” she explains. “The firm also offers a huge range of exciting opportunities you can get involved in alongside your billable commitments, from writing articles, to helping with business development, Pro Bono projects... you name it! Add IGNITE projects to the mix, and you can see why it can be difficult to juggle fee-earning client work while working on a number of other projects in parallel.

“I admit, I’m still learning to find the right balance, manage workloads and competing priorities, all while making enough time for myself to rest, exercise, keep up with my hobbies, and have quality time with my loved ones. The silver lining is that you will meet many people at the firm who will have been in similar positions before and are keen to talk about these issues and share their tips. At the end of the day, the training contract is a role dedicated to helping others, so it is essential to be transparent with your colleagues, and to communicate effectively to manage people’s expectations if you are very busy. My supervisors and colleagues have been very supportive, so I have felt comfortable expressing these challenges and working together with my team to build a safe space to talk about these things and to find the balance that works for me!”

Learning from like-minded yet diverse colleagues

One of the most valuable aspects of IGNITE, according to Laura, is the people at the heart of it, an “amazing” network of like-minded colleagues who are passionate about building bridges between tech and law. Despite this common ground though, they’re a diverse group too, which is another strength. “There is no such thing as a typical ‘IGNITE trainee’, she says. “Everyone at IGNITE has a variety of backgrounds and experiences, whether that is physics, law or computer science, and whether you can code or not, so you can learn so much from one another and have incredibly insightful conversations.

“Particularly having joined the firm virtually and at a time of such uncertainty, the IGNITE network gave me the added reassurance that I needed and a safe space to meet like-minded individuals who are equally passionate about all things tech.”

Breaking the ‘traditional path’ to a legal career

One of the most innovative, exciting things about IGNITE – and more widely, Clifford Chance as a firm – is how the ‘rule book’ is being ripped up when it comes to accessing a legal career, bringing people from a variety of backgrounds into the profession. Laura remembers that – as someone whose first language isn’t English, and who hadn’t experienced much legal training – at first she lacked confidence.

“However, since joining the firm, I have worked with successful senior lawyers who did not follow the conventional path to qualification, people who run start-ups and charities alongside their full-time jobs, former Royal Marines, pilots, professional artists and musicians,” she explains. “The excellence and diversity of my colleagues is nothing like I have ever experienced before. Clifford Chance breaks the mould of the traditional path to a legal career.

“I can proudly say I am a female STEM graduate, and foreign national. I did not grow up in a big city, and my parents are not lawyers. I am vocal about my interests and have felt very supported for doing so. No one here is conventional, and that is what makes this place so special. So, to anyone who is concerned about not ticking the right boxes, I say: wherever you come from, whatever your background, wherever life has taken you, that is your story. It defines who you are and it shapes your motivations, so use it to your advantage. Be loud about your story, interests and motivations and you will make a great IGNITE candidate.”

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