Women in Law Awards 2021 BANKING & FINANCE UNITED KINGDOM - 10 - Although Foot Anstey was an amazing experience and a great start of her professional legal career, Edyta knew that the rigidity of private practice was not something she could fully embrace. To gain more perspective and experience, she decided to take a gap year and focus on discovering her true passions whilst travelling. She found that time invaluable, but also discovered very quickly that she was missing the hustle and bustle of the corporate world, which led her to a decision to “try and make it” in London. Returning to London was not easy, all her friends were already fully embracing their new careers and to Edyta it felt like she was back to square one, but she did not give up on pursuing the career she has always dreamt of and continued searching and applying for jobs in the city. “The interesting thing is that I didn’t quite knew at the time what kind of role would be best suited for me. I had some litigation and corporate experience, and I was always attracted to the idea of having “a Wall Street career”. I trusted my intuition and kept sending CVs to places that triggered my interest.”. “When searching for my next adventure, I came across a niche of lawyers specialising in trading agreements and derivative negotiations; like tax lawyers, they seemed to be representing a very different breed. Soon enough, the vision of becoming a legal counsel working for a global investment bank became an attainable goal and I decided to pursue a career in this field. Opportunity met with preparation, and I joined Credit Suisse as their legal counsel and negotiator shortly after leaving private practice. I will never forget the day I was told I got the job – I was ecstatic!” Edyta spent a couple of years heading Credit Suisse’s OTC documentation team in Poland and then returned to London to continue working as their legal counsel within the global prime advisory group. At that point, she says she was totally hooked and new that banking and finance was her niche and where she wanted to develop and grow her career. Hungry to explore more opportunities within the industry, Edyta then decided to move to the buy-side and joined Man Group plc, the world’s largest listed hedge fund manager. She describes her time at Man as “absolutely fantastic - this is where I grew and developed not only as a derivatives lawyer, but also as a person, strategist, project manager and leader co-heading the Prime Brokerage and Trading Legal team in London. Man has given me an amazing opportunity to build a platform of contacts and ability to access an array of industry experts from all over the world. It’s people that matter the most in this industry and if you look after your network, it will look after you. I am grateful and proud to have built long-lasting friendships and strong working relationships worldwide in the industry that has the unfortunate reputation of being cutthroat and highly competitive”. Although Man Group was a genuinely great experience, Edyta’s entrepreneurial spirit soon took over. “I hit a point where I started realising that if I don’t make some brave decisions, I will always be building someone else’s dream. I craved the freedom of creating a life by my own design more than the comfort and safety of a corporate job. Becoming my own boss was the only way I could make this happen.” FIT LEGAL SOLUTIONS – FIT FOR PURPOSE Deciding to leave Man Group was a very difficult decision, says Edyta. “When I told my friends, bosses and family that I was going to leave my comfortable corporate job to pursue the unknown and “setup my own consultancy business”, I received very mixed feedback to say the least. Nonetheless, I persevered and followed my intuition, as they say – only those who can see the invisible can do the impossible.” FIT Legal Solutions was born out of years of Edyta’s experience and desire to help market participants navigate through the myriad of derivatives documents and trading relationships. The company has grown to specialise in providing bespoke derivatives documentation and business consulting solutions to market participants globally. With over a decade of hands-on experience working in the legal, banking and finance industry, Edyta was able to secure her first clients almost immediately after leaving her corporate job. Her diverse and extensive international experience in derivatives practice and a well-rounded understanding of a wide range of trading documentation, as well as unique approach to legal negotiations and charismatic persona were some of the key factors her clients considered before hiring her. Throughout her professional career, Edyta managed a number of high-profile strategic launches, including single investor mandates and sovereign wealth funds. She also led negotiations of legal documentation templates and headed successful implementation and delivery of various transformative, cross- “During that time, I’ve built certain resilience and discipline. I felt the pressure I took on myself, but I knew it was the kind of pressure that creates diamonds and not one that bursts pipes.” “When I told my friends, bosses and family that I was going to leave my comfortable corporate job to pursue the unknown and “set-up my own consultancy business”, I received very mixed feedback to say the least. Nonetheless, I persevered and followed my intuition, as they say – only those who can see the invisible can do the impossible.”
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