Building the Best Legal Career with M&A Lawyer Bill Ainley

Episode 26. A 40 year legal career is an incredible thing. Our guest this episode is Bill Ainley. Bill worked for decades in the world of law, mostly in corporate M&A. Right out of university, he joined a firm called Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg and became the head of M&A. After 40 years, Bill retired. He now sits on the Origin Merchant Partners advisory board. 

In this episode, Bill dives into his career and shares the aspects he loved about working in M&A at Davies and the key reasons he found working in corporate law fun, exciting, and empowering.

Key Takeaways

When Bill started at Davies, there were 19 lawyers. By the time he left, there were 245The key aspect that led Bill to stay for so long was the team atmosphere at Davies - for Bill, the longer you stay in law the more exciting it getsInvolved in some of the largest transactions in CanadaDavies emphasizes empowering its young lawyers early in their careerOne of Bill’s mentors taught him to be a duck: paddling furiously underwater but appearing calm on topThere are fantastic lawyers in every firm—you can differentiate using interpersonal skillsWhen hiring new lawyers, Bill tried to look for creative individuals with life experience and introspective qualitiesFeels he was lucky to have the career he did and accomplished everything he wanted to in his career

Bill’s Background

Holds a BA and LLB from University of Cambridge and a BCL and LLB from McGill UniversityHad a successful 40-year career at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg and played a role in some of Canada’s largest and most significant transactionsRetired from his career after 40 years