A banking lawyer speaks up from the witness box

Jane Jiang enjoys her job at Allen & Overy, where she has adopted a solutions-oriented approach to advising clients while trying to balance work and life

AT THE MOMENT, I am about halfway through a one-year secondment in Allen & Overy's Hong Kong office.

I am actually based in Shanghai and specialise in advising clients on the legal aspects of derivatives and structured products, but have to be ready to do a bit of everything.

I studied international business at Shanghai University and my original ambition had been to go to the United States to get an MBA. But after graduating in the mid-1990s, I was offered the chance to join a British-based international law firm. I started as a secretary and within a year became a legal assistant.

The job involved acting as interpreter for many big business deals. However, without enough legal knowledge, I realised I might easily be out of my depth and mistranslate, which could be dangerous for the firm.

Fortunately, my employer at the time helped me to go to England to study law formally. I did this first in Southampton and then in London. Later, as a UK-qualified lawyer, I gained practical experience handling maritime and commercial transactions for two London firms.

My subsequent move back to Shanghai in 2003 was partly for personal reasons. I had nothing lined up, so I had to take the direct approach to finding a job by knocking on the doors of major international law firms.