12/06/2026
I didn’t qualify at a Magic Circle firm. I trained at a regional firm and left two months after qualifying.
On paper, I wasn’t the obvious candidate for investment banking.
What got me in wasn’t pedigree. It was understanding how the business actually worked.
How funds trade.
How prime brokers operate.
How collateral moves.
Why a desk cares about one risk but not another.
That’s the part nobody tells you.
Banks already have access to some of the best legal minds in the market through external counsel. What they need in-house is someone who can take that analysis, understand the commercial reality, and help the business make a decision quickly.
If you want to move into banking, here’s where I’d focus:
1. Find your entry point.
Most in-house hiring runs through a relatively small network of specialist recruiters. Build those relationships early.
2. Target the right experience.
Derivatives, capital markets, structured finance, funds and regulatory work all create natural pathways in.
3. Learn the business.
Understand how products work, how revenue is generated, where risk sits, and how transactions actually flow.
4. Build commercial fluency.
Margin. Leverage. Netting. Liquidity. Risk. These conversations happen every day and the lawyers who understand them become trusted advisers faster.
The lawyers who progress fastest are rarely the ones who know the most law.
They’re the ones the business trusts to exercise judgment.
That’s who investment banks actually hire.
Follow for more in-house legal realities.
