To become a Clifford Chance partner aged 31 is impressive. To become a Clifford Chance partner at 31 while on maternity leave is nothing less than extraordinary.

But competition partner Sonya Branch certainly has the credentials and the business acumen to justify her promotion.

While still an associate 18 months ago, Branch started penning the Financial Services Antitrust Bulletin with colleague Mark Griffiths. It just so happened that this coincided with the firm’s decision to place regulation at the heart of its global strategy.

More importantly, it was off the back of reading the bulletin that Barclays invited Clifford Chance to tender for instruction on the retail banking sector inquiry by the European Commission, which it did successfully.

Since then the competition team - thanks toBranch - has forged a solid relationship with Barclays, and now Citigroup. Bringing clients such as these into the Clifford Chance fold is certainly a fast-track to success.