Secondment in London ǀ Robert Gordin

Robert Gordin works as a senior associate in our M&A Team. He advises clients on various forms of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and securities markets matters, along with corporate, commercial, and contract law.

Hi Robert! You recently came back from a secondment at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in London. What motivated you to take on the opportunity?

I’ve always been interested in working abroad for a leading global law firm, so when the chance to spend a year at Cleary came up, I knew this was an opportunity I wouldn’t allow to pass by. Beyond the professional draw, I was genuinely excited to immerse myself in another culture and see how a top international practice operates day to day. That said, this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision — it’s something I’d worked toward throughout my career at HS, and it felt like the right moment to take that step.

Was there anything that surprised you about working at a US law firm in the UK?

Not as much as you might expect, actually — I’d had the chance to work alongside global law firms previously, so I had a good sense of what to expect going in. What did surprise me was the sheer scale of the firm’s global reach. Even sitting in the London office, the mandates I worked on touched an impressive range of geographies and jurisdictions, which really brought home how interconnected international practice has become.

What were some of the highlights of your time in London?

Professionally, it was getting to work on genuinely global mandates alongside an exceptionally talented team, with strong support from the team and partnership at Cleary throughout. That combination made for some of the most rewarding work of my career so far.

Beyond the office, London is a city that has something for everyone, and my family and I made the most of it. We caught several football matches and musicals, and got swept up in the World Cup atmosphere, which was a lot of fun. More than anything, though, it turned out to be a wonderful place to live as a family — kids, dogs and all — and that made the experience complete.

What did this experience teach you?

It sharpened skills I already relied on — critical thinking, legal analysis and negotiation skills — by testing them in a different environment and against different expectations. Perhaps just as importantly, it confirmed something I already believed: the quality of work we do at HS stands at a genuinely global elite level. That’s something I’m proud of, and it’s given me even more motivation to keep pushing that standard forward here in Helsinki.

Any advice to someone pursuing a similar opportunity?

Set clear goals for your career and don’t be shy about voicing them — people can’t put you forward for opportunities they don’t know you want. Beyond that, it comes down to consistently putting in the work to become the best version of yourself professionally, so that when the right opportunity does come along, you’re ready to make the most of it.