Five minutes with…Deborah Kirk, Skadden

Welcome to the latest instalment of Managing IP’s ‘Five minutes with’ series, where we learn more about intellectual property practitioners on a personal and professional level. This time, we meet Deborah Kirk, partner at Skadden in London

First, I tell them I’m a lawyer. When they ask what kind of lawyer (if they haven’t already asked for my input on their divorce or a boundary dispute), I tell them I am a technology lawyer who does deals.

If they are still talking to me, I go on to explain that I help our clients figure out the most complex of technology and IP challenges from a legal point of view, primarily in the context of buying and selling businesses. I am guilty of the odd ‘deal name drop’ and saying that I’ve moved IP assets for Beyoncé, acted on the sale of Chelsea Football Club, and negotiated with David Beckham’s legal team. This often leads to a couple more questions (not all of them legal).

But seriously, my ‘job’ has changed shape over the years as tech has become omni-everything. IP and technology have become central pillars in transactions. Today, every company is, in some way, a tech company—even if they don’t identify as such, and every deal is a tech deal in some way, shape, or form. 

No two days are ever quite the same, which is part of why I love the nature of my work. I’m a night owl, rather than an early starter, so while the old ‘but first…coffee’ adage is a little tired, it’s real for me.

I’ll take a scan of my emails and respond to anything urgent. Then, after (just) convincing my minuscule sausage dog that he really can survive the day without me, I’ll head into the office or to my first meeting elsewhere. I have about an hour commute, which I like - quiet time to deal with pressing matters and hit my ‘to-do’ list.

I’m quite methodical about filing emails and doing a ‘to-do’ list for the next day before I log off for the night means I start the day knowing what I have to achieve. Each day, I also aim to do one piece of knowledge sharing (a LinkedIn post, or writing a blog) and two things from a business development point of view. That can be lunch, coffee, reaching out to a client, or even just meeting one of my new colleagues to catch up.

For the remainder of the day, I’ll likely have a mix of calls, supervising my team by discussing an approach to a matter, and checking drafts of key documents. I have an excellent team, and we collaborate really well.

Once a week, my team finds time to socialise to get to know each other. I get so much from listening to the perspectives of my team, not just on work but on life generally. I don’t think more junior lawyers realise how much we partners learn from them.

Part of the sell for me at Skadden was the collaborative partnership, and that has rung true. I was fairly immediately involved in some landmark transactions.

Most recently, I worked alongside the team advising cryptocurrency Tether on the announcement of Twenty One Capital—a Bitcoin-native company launched by Tether, Bitfinex, SoftBank Group, and Jack Mallers—through a definitive business combination with Cantor Equity Partners.

This was a deal that showcased how important creativity is in the work we do. The team took an innovative approach in a market-leading transaction, which was great to be a part of.

I’m also pulling together heat maps for several clients to help them navigate the complex and multi-faceted regulation of technology coming out of Brussels and the UK. The scale of regulation can be overwhelming, but we can de-mystify the jumble and help them decipher the wood from the trees.

The nature of the work is also varied: I describe my practice in three pillars: providing expertise on M&A/PE deals, stand-alone tech and IP collaborations, and finally, advisory work.

My team has numerous matters on the go at any one time. Sometimes we flip into deal execution mode, where we will be focused on getting a particular transaction over the line, but that’s usually just a few days (and the other matters don’t tend to disappear). So, the nature of what I do requires me to be nimble and able to switch between deals quickly.

For people who come and sit with us as trainees and vac schemers, I tell them that flexibility and dynamism are key to this role, both due to the juggling acts involved, but also the constantly changing technological and regulatory landscape we are dealing with.

The most exciting aspects are twofold: the subject matter and the people. Technology is ever-changing and consistently fascinating. Getting to solve problems of high-quality clients in collaboration with smart, engaging, dynamic colleagues makes me highly fortunate.

The most stressful part is managing my expectations of myself. I think lawyers are quite severe self-critics, and while it’s a good thing to strive, we occasionally we should remember to think a little about what we have achieved rather than what we haven’t.

A good practical way I’ve found to manage this and keep my sense of due north is by having a plan and clear goals.

This applies to any lawyer, but here are three things:

1) Integrity (always).

2) Being able to anticipate the next challenge or question from your client (even if they don’t think of it). This links with always trying to make your client (rather than yourself) look good.

3) Offering practical, commercial solutions. This is bandied around a lot, but it’s a small pool of lawyers that execute on it. Practically minded lawyers are what our clients need. They aren’t interested in quoting cases and what Article 7 says. They want to know what to do. A confident lawyer focusing on their client’s needs will go out on a limb for them and say ‘knowing you and your business, I think you can swallow that risk’ or, on the flip side, ‘this one is a risk I think you really shouldn’t take - why don’t you do X instead’.

Not so much a misconception, but I think being ‘both’ an IP and tech lawyer is an interesting one right now and often misunderstood.

She’s no longer with us, but still…my sister.

I believe if you aren’t doing what you want to do, change it. But, if I weren’t an IP lawyer, I would probably be in something to do with music.

The voice inside you is onto something. Listen to it.

Know yourself. Curate a life you love.

I cannot get through Whitney Houston’s version of the US national anthem without crying. It’s the bit where she sings ‘and the rockets’ red glare’ that gets me…amazing.