Dealmaker: David Collins
A down-to-earth lawyer with a surprisingly poncy taste in cheese, David Collins heads Berwin Leighton Paisner's upwardly-mobile corporate finance team. He talks to legalweek.com in the latest Dealmaker column
March 05, 2007 at 12:28 PM
3 minute read
A down-to-earth lawyer with a surprisingly poncy taste in cheese, David Collins heads Berwin Leighton Paisner's upwardly-mobile corporate finance team.
Why did you become a lawyer?
Pushy parents.
Who has been the biggest influence on your career?
Pushy parents plus Sam, James and Rosie Collins (needy children who demanded a mention).
What's your proudest professional moment?
Completing a horribly-complicated joint venture with a client without sleep for three days.
…and worst day on the job?
Going out with the same client after completion and watching him set fire to himself, having failed to extinguish the flame prior to drinking his sambuca.
Aside from your own firm, which lawyer do you most admire and why?
Too many to mention.
What's your strongest characteristic…and worst trait?
Sense of humour… admiring too many lawyers.
How do you think assistants in your team view you?
In the most recent round of associate feedback I was described as a "roll" model. I'm very concerned that this may not have been a spelling mistake.
What advice would you give to young deal lawyers starting out?
Try to put yourself in the client's shoes when dispensing advice, but not necessarily when attempting a flaming sambuca.
What's the best part of your job?
The people.
What most annoys you about the legal profession?
The occasional tendency of certain of its participants towards pomposity.
How do you see yourself: technical wiz or client man?
I don't see these as alternatives in today's market.
What will be the most significant market trend in terms of your practice area over the next 12 months?
A continuing flight towards quality and increasing internationalisation in the London IPO markets and corporate finance deal activity generally; an accelerated rate of consolidation in certain industry sectors; the start of a marked upturn in restructuring/insolvency work as some of the mountain of debt advanced in recent times starts looking decidedly doubtful; and the return of the long lunch (a boy can dream).
What is the most common misconception trainees have about the firm before they arrive?
None, of course. Our magnificent, award-winning HR team makes sure of that (that's a tenner you owe me, Geoff).
Any weird hobbies?
I collect egg cups.
What would you do if you weren't a lawyer?
There's not a great deal of money to be made in the egg cup market as yet, so I am at a loss on this one.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years' time?
Doing the same sort of thing, but rather more slowly.
What is your favourite joke?
Knock, knock. Who's there? No-one. No-one who?…well, it's funny when James (aged 11) tells it.
What's your favourite cheese?
It's a bitter battle between Comte and manchego. The internationalisation of the cheese market continues apace.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFreshfields, MoFo Act on $1.8B TOPPAN Deal As Japan's US Buying Spree Continues
Kirkland Steers Paris-based Antin in ‘Year’s Biggest’ Infrastructure Fund Closing, at €10.2B
3 minute readECJ Ruling Upholds German Ban on Pure Private Equity Investment in Law Firms
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Decision of the Day: Judge Reduces $287M Jury Verdict Against Harley-Davidson in Wrongful Death Suit
- 2Kirkland to Covington: 2024's International Chart Toppers and Award Winners
- 3Decision of the Day: Judge Denies Summary Judgment Motions in Suit by Runner Injured in Brooklyn Bridge Park
- 4KISS, Profit Motive and Foreign Currency Contracts
- 512 Days of … Web Analytics
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250