Career spotlight: Tom Curnow, Corporate Associate

What attracted you to join Burges Salmon?

I made the decision to relocate to the South West (where I grew up) after living and working in Liverpool for nearly 9 years. When shortlisting firms that I wanted to apply for, I focused on two main factors; firstly, Bristol based firms which had an excellent reputation for advising on high quality corporate and M&A transactions and secondly, firms which I thought would be a good cultural fit for me.

Burges Salmon was easily at the top of the pack in both respects. It has an excellent reputation in the legal market with a highly regarded Corporate and M&A team. In addition, it has a really clear and well articulated vision which resonated with me and was aligned to my own goals and ambitions.

Ultimately, a career at Burges Salmon represented an opportunity that was too good to pass up.

How have you found your integration into the team?

My integration into the team has felt seamless. The onboarding process is really smooth and from the first day you are set up with a contact partner and a ‘buddy’ (someone at a similar level to yourself within the team) who can help answer all the questions you are bound to have as a new starter.

Regular check-ins with my contact partner have really helped me get settled and everyone in the team has been welcoming and fun to work with.

Can you tell us about the types of work you have been involved in?

The Corporate and M&A work that Burges Salmon does is invariably of a very high quality with interesting clients. This means that I have already had some great exposure working on private acquisitions and disposals within the private equity, renewable energy and owner-managed business spaces.

However, this just scratches the surface of the work that is on offer and in a busy and high performing Corporate and M&A team there are lots of opportunities to get involved in a real variety of impactful corporate work, which produces great results for our clients and communities.

What has been your highlight to date?

It is difficult to pick just one, but something that really stands out (and this was relatively early soon after joining) was when the Corporate team partners organised a drinks social after the October 2024 budget as a thank you for all the hard work the team had put in to the corporate transactions which were targeting completion before any potential increase in the capital gains tax rates.

As I am sure any Corporate and M&A solicitor will know, the run up to the 2024 budget was a particularly busy period and having that effort recognised and acknowledged was a definite signal to me that I had picked an excellent team to join.

What makes Burges Salmon a great place to work?

The people you get to work with and the outstanding workplace culture which is embedded in the firm are the first things that come to mind. The quality of work you do here is also excellent and the opportunities for personal development are first class.

Would you recommend Burges Salmon to a friend?

Without hesitation.