My summer internship in Linklaters Tax convinced me that I wanted to work here after finishing my LLM studies in the US. There’s a very special, unusual combination here of challenging work and great support.

It was the first thing that struck me: just how friendly and approachable everyone at Linklaters is, all the way up to the most senior Partners. We work together to deliver excellent work, but mix that too, with fun social events. And I’ve always felt that people respect my personal time with friends and family.

Linklaters invests a lot in developing their people and their commitment to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce is, in my view, unparalleled in the Belgian market. I’ve learned so much here, both technical and softer skills, and I’m particularly grateful for the opportunities to work on interesting transactions, development programmes and a client secondment in the US. I also found my participation in two women’s leadership programmes to be tremendously inspiring.

Regardless of my seniority, I’ve always felt encouraged to share my views and contribute in a meaningful way to client assignments and business development. I’ve always been encouraged to have plenty of client contact and well informed by my more senior colleagues. More recently, I’ve also tremendously enjoyed giving back: coaching more junior Associates and helping them to develop.

The aspect, though, that I like most about working at Linklaters, is helping our clients on some of their most challenging and high-profile cases to achieve their strategic goals, working with colleagues who are smart, fun and committed. I've always been encouraged to have plenty of client contact. I've invested lots of time in getting to know our clients (both their people and businesses), taking the initiative to engage clients with topics that are of particular interest, speaking at client seminars, and taking a client secondment. At each stage, my more senior colleagues have always provided me with the background information on the client that I need, as well as a thorough understanding of the specific issues to be addressed.

It all started with that summer internship: if you’re thinking of taking a career in law, summer internships really are the best way to make an educated decision about where to start your career. Once you start, adopt a positive attitude, focus on your strengths and seek out opportunities to grow. Because the most interesting opportunities might not be offered to you on a plate.