Pinsent Masons Edinburgh corporate finance partner Alan Diamond is co-leading the firm's team advising travel price comparison site Skyscanner on its £1.4bn sale to CTrip, China's largest travel agency. Diamond is acting alongside Glasgow corporate finance head Rosalie Chadwick. Diamond joined Pinsents in 2012 when the firm merged with Scotland's McGrigors, where he was also a partner.

What was particularly interesting about this deal? Skyscanner is one of only two 'unicorns' in Scotland – private tech businesses valued at more than $1bn (£700m). Structuring the deal was intricate: Skyscanner had more than 700 shareholders located in a dozen or so countries and the consideration was variously a mix of cash, loan notes and consideration shares, so the securities law piece was a challenge.

Why did you become a lawyer? Because I wanted to work indoors in the warmth.

What's your proudest professional moment? Right now, the Skyscanner deal feels pretty good.

…and worst day on the job? As a young lawyer I was doing a verification exercise at Deepdale, home of Preston North End FC. I clearly made such an impression that at the end of the day they locked up the building and left me. To get out, I had to make my way through a hospitality suite out into one of the stands, wander round the pitch and then climb over the gate between two stands and drop 15 feet or so down into the car park.

What's your strongest characteristic… and worst trait? I would like to think that people find me friendly, uncomplicated and straightforward to deal with. I'm not a great sleeper plus I regularly get up in the middle of the night to watch baseball and American football (maybe the two are connected!). My wife hates being woken up.

What advice would you give to young deal lawyers starting out? Get stuck in and tackle things head on. The more involved you are the more satisfying the job is.

What's the best part of your job? The interaction with clients, colleagues and other advisers, etc.

What most annoys you about the legal profession? People who change drafting pretty much just for the sake if it – not because there is any issue with the substance, but because it doesn't align with their firm's particular precedent wording.

Do you see yourself having a career outside law? No. I think I am institutionalised now.

What are your desert island discs? Anything by The Waterboys or The Silencers (I am stuck in a mid-to-late 1980s Scottish rock time warp). Breakdown by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Tusk by Fleetwood Mac, New Year's Day by U2 or Drive by REM.

Favourite boxset? Porridge. Even though it dates from the 1970s and everything about it looks and sounds dated, it still makes me laugh.