Helsinki secondment story

As I had not previously visited any of the Nordic countries, I was not entirely sure what to expect when I arrived in Helsinki to begin my six-month secondment at Roschier. However, any doubts I may have had quickly vanished: Helsinki is a compact and exciting city full of excellent cafes, bars and restaurants and the Finns have been, without exception, very friendly and helpful.

Roschier itself is much smaller than Slaughter and May (there are around 100 lawyers at the Helsinki office), but the working culture is similar to that at One Bunhill Row. My Finnish colleagues are intelligent, friendly and enthusiastic and the quality of work is very high. To date I have mainly been involved in banking and private equity M&A transactions but, considering current market conditions, refinancing and restructuring projects are sure to arrive in the near future.

Roschier's smaller size allows for some nice rituals. For example, the entire office gathers for coffee and "pulla" (delicious Finnish cinnamon buns) every Friday morning, and a few weekends ago all the lawyers in my group went to a traditional Finnish log cabin for a crayfish party.

Over the coming months it will inevitably become (significantly) colder and darker, but there is still plenty to look forward to. I am planning to visit Lapland, the Baltic States and Russia and I will be attending the Roschier Christmas party in Stockholm. I have also joined a local ice hockey team, which should be interesting!

• Aaron Ferner
• Trainee secondment