Agathe, you have been a banking & finance associate at Hogan Lovells Luxembourg for nearly 3 years. What did Hogan Lovells bring to you?
I initially chose Hogan Lovells for their diverse and inclusive work environment and their global reach. Actually, the banking & finance team is led by a woman, Ariane Mehrshahi and 3/4 of its members are women. After only two years I was offered the opportunity to be seconded in our London office for three months to develop my expertise in the financial services regulatory field but not only!
I am now heading the Luxembourg Diversity committee bringing forward new inclusion initiatives within and outside Hogan Lovells with our volunteers. At Hogan Lovells, your ideas and initiatives are valued!
If you ever talked with Hogan Lovells lawyers or alumni you probably heard our motto “One team worldwide”? Well, it’s actually true! Being part of our network is being part of a global team. Within a couple of months, I had already met more than half of the finance teams in Continental Europe thanks to the regular meet-ups and trainings in London and Paris.
Mentorship is also a big part of Hogan Lovells’ work culture. I have been lucky enough to take part in our mentorship program as a mentee where a partner at our Amsterdam office has helped me find my niche expertise, the financial services regulatory.
Tell us more about the secondment, how was it?
It was amazing and daunting at the same time! Whereas we are 30 people in Luxembourg, I suddenly joined more than 1,400 other colleagues in London. I was seconded in the Tier 1 Fintech team led by Emily Reid which was a great opportunity to learn from the best!
The team made me feel at ease from the very first day and involved me straight away on UK files and enabled me to learn from their expertise, especially on payment services regulations. I also kept in touch with my Luxembourg colleagues and clients easily, thanks to the new technology!
I brought back this amazing experience to Luxembourg.
You are back from London since November 2017, what now? What’s next?
I want to use the tools and skills I got from my London experience in Luxembourg. To respond to the ever increasing number of clients’ regulatory challenges (Brexit, PSD2, MiFID II, etc.), we have now a dedicated regulatory team in Luxembourg composed of Simon Recher, Pierre Reuter as lead partner and me.
As a dynamic team we thrive in innovative fields like FinTech, RegTech, Insurtech and Space Mining. It surely brings opportunities, work and personal satisfaction!
The Luxembourg team, in general, is still growing, in particular in finance and Hogan Lovells Luxembourg has a bright future ahead, already celebrating its 5th anniversary in August. So let’s speak again in 5 years!
Follow us on 
and 