Shawna Miller
“I had an epiphany a few years ago when I really started to ask myself 'What does success look like?'”
I had been Managing Partner of the London office of an international law firm, a partner in a US firm and was in discussions with another US firm about setting up their London structured finance practice, when the internal questions began.
The answer, for me, was leaving the traditional law firm model behind. I started working within the legal teams at various investment banks on interesting projects on a contractual basis. I love it. I've been in the business for 25 years, but it's the first time I've been able to follow and fully understand every aspect of a transaction from beginning to end. It is like starting a new job over and over again, in a good way.
My first placement with Peerpoint was supporting a US bank on their implementation on margin regulation – a field I admittedly knew little about previously. I never would have agreed to take on the position without having Allen & Overy and Peerpoint behind me. The individual support from Peerpoint has been fantastic, and I have experts at A&O just a phone call away. This role, and the new perspective it has given me, has reminded me that I can add serious value to the client through my more holistic experience while still growing as a lawyer. There could not be a better fit than Peerpoint for the opportunities they can find.