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.