Jennifer Bethlehem, Birkbeck graduate & partner at city law firm Freshfields, talks to students
Jennifer Bethlehem was the guest at this term’s Legal Practice Conversation, providing students with an insight into life at a leading international city Law firm.
Jennifer Bethlehem was the guest at this term’s Legal Practice Conversation, providing students with an insight into life at a leading international city Law firm. Prior to entering the legal profession, Jennifer worked in nursing and studied Politics and Philosophy at Birkbeck.
In one of her recent cases, Jennifer acted for AstraZeneca, successfully defending the company from a takeover bid by Pfizer. Had the takeover bid been successful, Pfizer would have become the world’s largest pharmaceutical business.
The takeover attempt was highly political and received considerable attention in the media. School of Law students were given an invaluable insight into the role a lawyer plays managing and negotiating the relationship between shareholders and directors’ interests, the role of the Takeover Code, and the complexities of the interface with the public interest.
The latter was particularly evident in this case and led to reforms and increased regulation to hold companies to account over the claims they make in takeover campaigns.
Jennifer concluded the seminar by discussing the value of education as an end in itself - and the special role played by Birkbeck and its model of evening study. Drawing on her own experiences, she provided useful advice on the challenges facing mature students who wish to enter the legal profession.
Legal Practice Conversations offer School of Law students the opportunity to meet solicitors and barristers, and better understand how law works in practice – beyond case law and textbooks! In each event, the invited solicitor or barrister discusses a reported case they were involved in or an example of their practice and offers advice to students looking to pursue a career in the legal profession.
More information:
- AstraZeneca takeover bid in the news: "Pfizer drops AstraZeneca takeover bid" "Pfizer ends attempt to buy AstraZeneca"
- Jennifer Bethlehem profiled by The Lawyer: https://l2b.thelawyer.com/from-nurse-to-freshfields-corporate-partner-jennifer-bethlehem/
- Legal Practice Conversations
- Events in the School of Law
Photo credit: epSos.de