Alan Burns - Client Secondment
Merrill Lynch, London
Robert F. Kennedy, speaking at the University of Cape Town in 1966 in what became known as the Day of Affirmation address said, "There is a Chinese curse which says 'May he live in interesting times.' Like it or not, we live in interesting times."
Less than a fortnight into my secondment working in the Office of General Counsel (OGC) of Merrill Lynch, times became very interesting indeed. The sudden bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the fourth biggest investment bank in the world, followed that of the fifth (Bear Stearns) in March and pre-empted the takeover of the third (Merrill Lynch) by Bank of America. Wall Street hadn't witnessed a crisis like it in 70 years. Perhaps ever. Amidst the panic, hand-wringing commentators warned that everyone involved in the global banking system had been complicit in this unprecedented catastrophe. That didn't bode well for my trainee evaluation.
I worked for four months in Merrill's regional headquarters for Europe, Middle East and Africa, an imposing building near St. Paul's Cathedral. It is at the heart of the City, in every sense.
During my time there, most of the lawyers in the OGC dedicated themselves to extricating the firm from the morass caused by Lehman's demise. It was a fascinating process for a trainee to be involved in: not only was this a journey into the unknown, even for the most experienced lawyers, but unimaginable amounts of money urgently depended on its outcome.
