A year on from joining GE Commercial Finance as general counsel for mid-cap and large-cap transactions, Lorna Curry can be proud of her achievements. Indeed, the results are clear.

Her five-strong legal team has increased its activity on all fronts: investment and trading volume have increased significantly, while the team has moved up from a loan participant to a mandated lead arranger and become a new player in distressed debt trading.

Drawing on her past experience as internal counsel to the leveraged finance department at Barclays Capital, Curry and her team advised on key financings this year such as the leveraged financings of Legoland theme parks, Leisure Link and UK plastic producer Polypipe.