ILFA Experience: Bernard Mukasa, Uganda, ILFA Lawyer 2014
My ILFA 2014 Experience:
I had the pleasure of being selected as one of two Ugandan Secondees to undertake the 2014 ILFA Flagship Programme. I was on secondment for 4 months (September to December 2014) in London at the offices of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, under ILFA Flagship Programme.
My initial experience was a cultural shock, as expected, especially concerning issues like the food, the transportation system, the speed at which people work and move and the level of interaction they had. Luckily our initial session was a cultural awareness session that went miles in helping many of us secondees to adjust our expectations and mind-set.
In the first three weeks of our secondment, we undertook trainings in projects, project financing, energy law, PPPs, International Arbitration, oil & gas law, presentation skills, negotiation training, Transaction Management, UK Corporate & Finance Law, Regulation of extractive industries, environmental law, capital markets, public international law and private equity among others. We also attended day long lectures on public international law, international human rights law, international arbitration law and law of the sea at both the prestigious Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
While at Freshfields, a magic circle firm, I sat with the International Arbitration Group, The Mergers & Acquisitions team and the IP Team. While in London, I also had the privilege of making presentations to Freshfields on Uganda in celebration of Black History Month as well as addressing the Law Society of England and Wales on behalf of the ILFA Secondees at a Gala Dinner held in their honour at the Law Society at which Dr. Mamphela Ramphele was Guest of Honour.
My social experience in the four months consisted of sandwich lunches, quiet train and bus rides with little or no interaction, many ILFA socialising events, British Culture like Guy Fawkes night, Halloween and Thanksgiving, The Mayor of London’s show and parade, the Poppy display at the Tower of London and celebration of Remembrance Sunday, visits to the O2 arena, London bridge, Westminster, Big Ben, River Thames, Emirates stadium, Wembley, Stamford Bridge and many others.
I have returned enriched with various experiences and enjoyed my time in London especially getting to watch my favoured Arsenal team at the Emirates stadium. I made many friends both based in London and now from all the African countries represented, I networked greatly and have subsequently received some work for the firm as a result of it being referred to me, I have developed a lot professionally and had access to many transactions that I had never imagined. I truly enjoyed London and as a result of this ILFA secondment I will be a different lawyer, a different person and proud Ugandan. A once in a lifetime opportunity I advise all my peers to try.
Bernard Mukasa