Becoming a trusted partner
How Zeena Saleh’s secondment has strengthened our relationship with Barclays.
A recent secondment has helped us deepen our relationship with Barclays, as we continue our strategy to become a trusted partner of this global financial giant.
We’ve been working for Barclays for several years and, while the bulk of this work has related to bank finance and capital markets, our ambition is to work with Barclays in a broader range of areas.
Barclays Relationship Manager Patrick Sarch says: “Secondments are invaluable, because having a better understanding of how things work internally and building relationships with key decision makers is really helpful to Barclays seeing us as a trusted partner.”
To help this strategy and showcase our talents in litigation, Zeena Saleh completed a secondment with Barclays’ Litigation, Investigations and Enforcement team in Canary Wharf, London, from February to August 2019.
She says: “Barclays is renowned for demanding the very best from external counsel.
“Competition from other top firms is fierce and the client sets the bar very high, putting a lot of emphasis on relationship and added value, above and beyond expecting exceptional legal skills, which is why secondments can give us an important edge.”
“I loved getting the chance to really understand how the business works and, from a legal perspective, what the Barclays team needs from external counsel.”
During her secondment, Zeena worked in Barclays’ in-house team of around 30 lawyers, who cover all aspects of law across the Europe and Middle East (EME) region.
“Litigation cases account for a significant proportion of Barclays’ legal spend,” explains Zeena. “Cases the team deal with range from multimillion pound litigation, serious regulatory enforcement action (think LIBOR and PPI) to matters that are outside the norm (such as dealing with enforcement agents regarding default judgments the bank may not be aware of).
“While the type of work I did on secondment was fairly similar to my normal job, the tasks on any given day were much more unpredictable.
“It’s a dynamic, open-plan environment, which means that there is a lot of natural collaboration across teams. There is a lot of stakeholder management with people across varying parts of the business and, while we all manage stakeholders in our daily work at the Firm, they aren’t usually in such proximity.
“I loved getting the chance to better understand how the business works and, from a legal perspective, what the Barclays team needs from external counsel.
“It was clear that top-quality legal advice is seen as the norm, so what really sets external counsel apart in their eyes is an appreciation of their business and needs.
“For example, they have a strong emphasis on wellbeing so, while lawyers notoriously work long hours, they only want to be contacted during unsociable hours if those calls are really urgent.
“Also, they don’t expect a law firm to send along too many lawyers for a simple witness interview.
“I was interested to see how small things can make the difference between what they’d regard as good service and what they wouldn’t appreciate, even from highly regarded firms.”
“Secondments are invaluable because having a better understanding of how things work internally, and building relationships with key decision makers, is really helpful to Barclays seeing us as a trusted partner.”
PATRICK SARCH, BARCLAYS RELATIONSHIP PARTNER
Many of the cases Zeena worked on during her secondment are confidential, but highlights included working on the CUM-EX tax fraud criminal prosecution in Germany.
She said: “I really enjoyed the work I did there, but the biggest highlight was getting to know the people.
“They’re a really sociable, close team, and I’ve built relationships and friendships that have continued since I returned to the Firm.
“Knowing them better (for instance, they are passionate about wellbeing and sport) can help ensure we organize client events that they’d like to attend, such as an upcoming session we’re putting on about the science of breathing and how it can impact wellbeing.”
Looking forward, Zeena can see her secondment having a positive effect on our relationship with Barclays. She says: “Building relationships in an area such as litigation is strategically important for the Firm and for the client, because our knowledge of the team, business and their needs has improved.
“From a personal perspective, I feel much better placed to help Barclays effectively in the future.
“I’d recommend a client secondment to any associate, because it gives you a depth of understanding of clients that you’d never be able to get anywhere else.”
