Marc Shrimpling
Solicitor - Competition
Email: marc.shrimpling@burges-salmon.com
I joined Burges Salmon in September 2009 as an NQ Solicitor, having trained at Slaughter and May in their London and Brussels office. Prior to that I studied law at Oxford and at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
The decision to move to Burges Salmon and the decision to move to Bristol were very much entwined. I recently got married and my wife and I thought it was the right time to move out of London with a view to being able to live somewhere where we could walk to work and where half our salaries wouldn't be spent on rent! Our new flat overlooks the Downs and is fast becoming something of a weekend guest house for many of our London-based friends. Yet despite the more relaxed pace, Bristol is far from being a sleepy city and we've had a great time trying out as many restaurants and bars as we can fit into our spare time.
Although I enjoyed many aspects of my training contract, I found that because of the size of transactions handled by magic circle firms, the role of junior lawyers can involve dealing primarily with the vast amounts of administration and data processing that inevitably accompany such deals.
I was keen to ensure that, even as an NQ, I would be exposed to as full a range of competition and EU law matters as possible and that I would be directly involved in answering the core questions that clients raise. After only a couple of weeks in the competition team at Burges Salmon, I realised that I had a job that ticked every box. I had already directly advised our corporate teams on the competition law implications of proposed deals and drawn up possible alternative structures to make the deal competition law compliant. I had also advised a client following a decision by the OFT to impose a mutli-million pound penalty on it for cartel involvement.
The competition team and the wider commercial group are a pleasure to work alongside. Even when a deadline is looming large, the atmosphere remains friendly and supportive. Just as important, when we are less busy there is no obligation whatsoever to put in "face time" after hours and so seldom miss the firm's 6-a-side football games in the evening!
In terms of the practicalities of moving down to Bristol, Burges Salmon could hardly have made it any easier. I took one long weekend to flat-hunt and even that left me with plenty of spare time as Burges Salmon had arranged for a local relocation specialist who had already drawn up a shortlist of suitable flats based on a criteria we had discussed over the phone. It felt like being on Location, Location, Location!
Burges Salmon offers me the best of both worlds: challenging and high-profile work but with the chance to enjoy evenings and weekends.
Please do not hesitate to contact Marc Shrimpling if you would like more information on the Competition team or relocating from London.