'Absolute ruthlessness demands admiration' – Linklaters' Brian Gray hits Dealmaker
Linklaters' co-head of leveraged finance on catching out Nigel Boardman, House of Cards and going into the office the day after his stag do
April 21, 2015 at 08:54 AM
4 minute read
Brian Gray Linklaters' co-head of leveraged finance on catching out Nigel Boardman, a memorable Ducati deal and going into the office the day after his stag do
Why did you become a lawyer?
Throughout my childhood I spent vast amounts of time watching TV and Crown Court made a big impression on me.
Who has been the biggest influence on your career?
My formative years as a young lawyer were, to my great good fortune, spent at Wilde Sapte. There I worked extensively with partners Graham Smith and James Johnson, who taught me a great deal.
What's your proudest professional moment?
When I was a couple of years qualified I once pulled up Nigel Boardman on a financial assistance issue and that was a proper moment. Now I realise letting me do that was probably deliberate and I have mucked up too many things to get too proud when things go well.
… and worst day on the job?
Spending 10 hours in the office on the Sunday immediately after my own stag night.
Aside from your own firm, which lawyer do you most admire and why?
Francis Underwood from House of Cards. Absolute ruthlessness demands admiration.
What's your strongest characteristic… and worst trait?
My general scepticism qualifies on both counts.
What advice would you give to young deal lawyers starting out?
Get in the habit of using the phone – you will become a more effective lawyer. Most emailing is just list making.
What most annoys you about the legal profession?
When I encounter someone really arrogant who just won't see that I am right.
What's the most unusual/shocking request you've ever had from a client?
I once worked on a deal for a client from a different timezone and culture who sent me their own faxed mark-up of a syndicated loan agreement that I had been negotiating for them as borrower in which they had inserted 'not', 'no' and 'never' throughout the entire document to negate all of their obligations and all of the lenders' rights. I would have found it funnier if it hadn't arrived at 9.20am on Christmas Eve.
What's the most memorable deal you have ever worked on and why?
The buyout of Ducati motorbikes sticks in my mind. Partly because the lawyers' offices in Milan had an alarm system that required everyone to exit the building every hour throughout the night and come back in again after it had been reset. It made for useful false negotiating deadlines as we tried to clear off points before traipsing out en masse. It was also memorable because the total loan commitments were 13 figures in Italian lira and I had tremendous trouble getting the right number of zeroes in the documents, much to the amusement of my clients.
What is the daftest bit of corporate jargon you've heard (and did you smirk)?
I don't think we lawyers really have much scope for smirking when our entire profession is built around the development and use of insider language. I don't have a problem with that. The rest of the business world is applying the same principles, mutatis mutandis.
What's your favourite item of clothing?
Any of my cycling bib shorts.
It's midnight and you're in the office for the night. Where's your takeaway from?
The wonderful consistency of the late-night menu at Linklaters' staff restaurant makes ordering a takeaway redundant. If I did feel like something other than chips I might be tempted by chicken jalfrezi from Deliverance.
What's your favourite box set?
Breaking Bad.
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