What were you doing before the MCL?
Prior to joining the MCL, I worked in Kenya at the largest corporate law firm outside South Africa, where I was involved in private equity driven cross-border mergers and acquisitions both from a corporate law and tax perspective. I then transitioned to a global consulting firm where I continued to gain exposure in the field of cross-border M&A and equity capital markets.
What were your impressions of the MCL?
For me, the MCL has been like a dessert – short and sweet. The MCL is fast-paced, with exams at the end of every semester. This required us to constantly keep on our toes. The teaching approach was a practical one interwoven with theoretical underpinnings that helped us to think through commercial realities that corporate lawyers often face. I particularly enjoyed the Corporate Taxation course for the comparative approach the lecturer adopted which helped us understand the tax considerations in international restructurings, especially in the UK and in countries like Germany. I also enjoyed the Deals course, where we had the opportunity to assess the transaction documentation of real complex transactions and query the practitioners who worked on the deals. Of immense value was the insight the practitioners provided regarding the risks they perceived and how they mitigated them within the respective deals.
What are your post-MCL plans and have they changed due to taking the MCL?
The MCL has concretized my interest in private equity and venture capital. I hope to immerse myself in this practice area with the intention of playing an integral role in ensuring that more capital flows into emerging markets to help create long-term value generation.
