Slaughter and May corporate restructuring and insolvency partner Richard de Carle recently advised BHP Billiton on UK matters for the acquisition of its US onshore petroleum assets by oil and gas giant BP for £8bn. He joined Slaughters in 1984 and has been a partner at the firm since 1993.

Why did you become a lawyer? I tried my hand as a waiter for a few weeks and realised that I lacked the necessary skills for that; so I had to fall back on the law.

Who has been the biggest influence on your career? My father. He was a partner at Simmons & Simmons. He had a completely open mind about my career so long as I became a corporate lawyer at Slaughter and May.

What's your proudest professional moment? I don't think bragging about personal achievements (which are usually a group effort) is a particularly professional characteristic; but if I have to pick a milestone 'moment' it would probably be when I was asked to join the partnership. I was convinced that it must be a clerical error, like in the Peter Sellers film, The Party, and that sooner or later someone would work that out… before the scene with the elephant in the fountain.

…and worst day on the job? As an associate, basking in the afterglow of a successful hostile bid, learning that one of the target's executives, who had become severely depressed after losing his job, had killed himself and his wife. It is too easy to forget that what we do has a real impact on other people's lives.

Aside from your own firm, which lawyer do you most admire and why? Michael Katz at ENS Africa. He is more than just South Africa's pre-eminent corporate lawyer; Michael is a national institution. When you shake his hand he will tell you, engagingly, that you are shaking a hand which has shaken the hand of Nelson Mandela.

What's your strongest characteristic? My sardonicism.

…and worst trait? My sardonicism.

What advice would you give to young deal lawyers starting out? Don't take yourself too seriously.

What's the best part of your job? You mean apart from getting paid for it? Solving problems.

What most annoys you about the legal profession? Lawyers.

What's the most unusual/shocking request you've ever had from a client? Being called early one Sunday morning and asked if I would go to Notting Hill Police Station to bail out a client who had been detained after a pub brawl the night before.  

Most memorable deal you ever have worked on and why? The Glitnir Composition – working with some great people on all sides over several years and spending a lot of time in Reykjavik trying to reconcile the conflicting objectives of central bankers, politicians, regulators and a group of hedge funds – which was a bit like wrestling with eels. I also ate a smoked puffin. Successfully bringing Iceland's banks out of insolvency proceedings transformed the country's economy and introduced me to an apparently rational population who believe in elves.

What is the daftest bit of corporate jargon you've heard (and did you smirk)? Corporate jargon is like a local dialect – native speakers rarely think it is daft; but my favourite piece of nonsense currently in general circulation is "the best possible Brexit" (and it's nothing to smirk about).

Do you see yourself having a career outside law? I was once a budding student journalist and enjoy the power of words. Besides that, I paint. You can find my paintings if you Google "Ricky Walkabout". Commissions accepted. All reasonable offers considered. Was I meant to say banker?

What's your favourite item of clothing? My cane toad and crocodile hat; but not on its own.

It's midnight and you're in the office for the night, where's your takeaway from? London, obviously. I have eaten an awful lot of pizza over the years. I am not fussy.

What are your desert island discs? They are the records which, hypothetically, I would play if I was marooned on a desert island with Kirsty Young at 9 o'clock one Friday morning. Oh, you wanted examples? OK:  Knoxville, Summer 1915 by Samuel Barber; Deusa d'Amor by Moreno Veloso; Searching for Sugarman by Jesus Rodriguez; Stimela by Hugh Masekela; Dindi by Antonio Carlos Jobim sung by Sarah Vaughan with Helio Delmiro on guitar; Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go by Ben Watt; In the Mood by Glenn Miller, as played by the Slaughter and May jazz band. (Badly).

Favourite boxset? Anything but Downton Abbey.

What's your favourite cheese? That depends on what you are going to do with the cheese. My grandparents were once given a whole gorgonzola which smelt so bad they put it in the shed. My uncle retrieved it and hid it under their bed. Next morning, my grandmother could be heard saying "that cheese is so strong, last night I could smell it all the way from the shed". It's also very nice with orecchiette.