The Hot 100 career quiz: Simpson Thacher’s Geoffrey Bailhache

What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee?

I remember being a bundle of nerves! Very excited about starting, but with no idea what I was letting myself in for. Thankfully I met some great people very early on, and the importance of the network of professional and personal support that we built up between ourselves as trainees is probably my biggest take-away.

What is the thing in your professional career that has terrified you or taken you out of your comfort zone the most?

I’ve been lucky to have had two careers in law already – one as an in-house lawyer and one in private practice. Both have resulted in taking a plunge into the unknown on regular occasions (happily less often now than years gone by), where I always tried to see the opportunity to learn and grow rather than just the challenge. Arriving at Blackstone as their first European legal hire was intimidating, however it was also the best professional opportunity that I could have imagined.

What is the wisest thing anyone ever said to you (and who said it)?

Make the best out of, and enjoy, whatever you’re doing and take pride in the outcome – my parents always majored on this, especially in situations where it was hard to do. Sometimes a task is not overly exciting (even in the legal profession), but if you do things to the best of your ability, then it’s possible to take pride in the job well done and then be ready for the next (and likely more interesting) thing.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to get to where you are/do the job you do?

We always encourage junior lawyers to be as curious as possible and always to be looking for ways to learn and experience more. For example, if you’re asked to manage a closing checklist, see how many of the documents you are able to take the lead drafting in addition. Opportunity is usually there if you ask.

City corporate partners are privileged to work on a diverse range of matters for imaginative and innovative clients: to be their trusted advisor, ultimately we need to demonstrate judgement and wide-ranging skills that they can rely on, and that starts from doing as much as possible at every stage of a career.

What’s your best friend from law school doing now?

My best friend at law school is now a high ranking officer in the British Army legal service. Having spent far longer than should have been needed explaining land law to me, he then swapped the City for two tours of Afghanistan and I think has never looked back.