Clifford Chance

From the firm’s capital markets practice to a stellar career at BNP Paribas, Julian has successfully combined his interest in banking and law.

Joining Clifford Chance’s London office as a trainee in 1992, Julian found the experience both exacting and rewarding right from the start: “It taught me what client service should be, made me strive for perfection and got me comfortable with being outside my comfort zone,” he explains.

Julian singles out the management and mentorship provide by partner David Dunnigan, now global head of the firm’s equity and debt capital markets practices. Highlights included his training seat in New York where, as it was a relatively small office at the time, he was able to quickly take on additional responsibility. Having qualified, next came an exciting nine-month stint in Buenos Aires, working on capital raising and restructuring before returning to New York in 1995, drawn by the city’s energy and central role in global markets.

Having worked closely with bankers, Julian was starting to seriously consider leaving law to join their ranks when an opportunity came up to combine both disciplines. BNP Paribas was looking for an in-house lawyer and the recommendation of a colleague, who described the French bank as a place where ‘good people go and good people stay’, proved prescient. So, in 1997 he returned to London as a debt and equity capital markets lawyer at BNP Paribas, which is now the world's eighth largest bank by total assets, with a presence in 72 countries.

Already comfortable in the banking world, Julian quickly settled into a collegiate culture similar to Clifford Chance while adjusting to the broader range of personality types found in banking. His next big shift came with a decision to widen his experience from securities to derivatives. It was hard work, but it paid off as he rose to manage all BNP Paribas derivatives teams in London and then coordinate them and, in due course, all Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) activities globally. Two career highlights combining both derivatives and securities work were his involvement in the 2014 acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland’s structured products business and the launch of BNP Paribas’ flagship structured products issuance programme.

Julian then brought together both skillsets in 2020 with a new role as Global Head of Derivatives & Securities, Legal at BNP Paribas. This puts him in charge of over 400 legal professionals covering all derivatives, securities and related businesses across the bank. He is responsible for providing comprehensive support for the relevant business lines and is currently in the middle of a comprehensive review of how the bank’s legal services operate. With a global manager for derivatives and securities, then global product teams with their own managers, his aim is to offer the vision, infrastructure and support required to provide his teams with everything they need to succeed in the increasingly complex environment in which they operate.

It’s a role that keeps him in touch with the firm professionally. “As a European Bank with global reach, Clifford Chance is a natural partner for us,” explains Julian, adding that their breadth of expertise in terms of both product and international markets is invaluable. He also attends alumni functions whenever possible.

Julian’s general advice to people starting out in their careers is to “seize as many development opportunities as possible, broaden your experience as well as your network, and don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone”. But as a self-confessed ‘recovering perfectionist’, he also has a more specific message: “There are a few things that need to be done perfectly but you can achieve a lot more if you’re willing to accept a realistic standard in most areas”. It’s clear that Julian’s own combination of realism and perfectionism is proving to be the right formula for success.