Keen to build experience as a life sciences lawyer, there was only one place to go for Nadege Serna of Taylor Wessing. She talks about life in the Cambridge ecosystem.
What drew you to a career in corporate law?
I studied law and French at Trinity College Dublin. During my studies I undertook a couple of internships in Ireland, and a buddy scheme with Clifford Chance. I found all three really interesting. The pace felt fast – it was pressurised, but also exciting, challenging, and mentally stimulating. Following my internship at William Fry, in Dublin, I applied for a training contract there, starting in 2017, and settled into corporate law. My mum had her own business when I was growing up. Seeing what she had to go through and what could be in store definitely helped me – it was a rough ride at times, and I didn’t want that. Working in law you are at the forefront of all the action, but in a much more secure position. After my training contract ended, I moved to Dentons, again in Dublin.
How did your interest in the life sciences sector develop?
One of the early transactions I worked on was a Series A fundraising for ProVerum, a pioneering medical device company spun-out of Trinity College Dublin. In January 2022 they raised €30m, which enabled them to develop their product and get it to market without having to go through iterative rounds of fundraising. Seeing what could be achieved with the right kind of resource and finance, plus appropriate investors, proved invaluable – it was my first insight into healthtech and how exciting it could be. I really do enjoy working on deals with a healthcare or life science focus. There is a definite feelgood factor in helping companies whose products will have a positive societal impact.
Why did you move to Cambridge?
Covid was a big motivating factor for returning to England. Ireland suddenly felt like far away, in a way it had never felt before. That aside, I wanted to be in a hub of life sciences and healthtech excellence. There’s nowhere better than Cambridge. It is a fantastic and exciting ecosystem, geared towards innovating and fostering growth. Dublin is too, to a lesser extent, but it is on a different scale here. I was offered a place at Taylor Wessing in May 2023, in what used to be its corporate technology and life sciences team, and is now emerging companies and M&A. I really feel like I landed on my feet.
What is your current role?
I am a senior associate. I do a lot of early-stage VC funding and bridge-financing rounds. It is the perfect balance, in that I get a lot of early-stage life sciences work in Cambridge, helping to scale groundbreaking companies in the sector, but I also have access to larger M&A deals both in Cambridge and coming out of London. I want to build my experience so that I can take on a full-lifecycle advisory role, and that is definitely helping. Given the nature of spinouts, we often work closely with the Taylor Wessing patents team here in Cambridge. With start-ups, my role is predominantly on the company rather than the investor side. We help clients attract investment and then draft the investment documents – subscription agreement, shareholders’ agreement, disclosure letter – to run the investment process. We have a very collaborative approach with founders, who are almost always new to such a process at such an early stage. We look to build strong relationships and be advisers in the truest sense of the word.
I would love to see the early-stage companies I’ve worked with so far get to exit point within the next five to 10 years.
What recent transaction stands out?
Rezolve AI’s $90m acquisition of digital experience experts Crownpeak, which closed just before Christmas last year. We acted for Rezolve, which provides AI-powered solutions for online commerce. It is growing very quickly, and has become a large international company with bases across the world. Having offices across different jurisdictions meant we were well-placed to act. I would normally lead the SPA process and run due diligence but, given the size of this transaction, my focus was on the diligence. It was a short timeline, but still required lots of negotiations – that made it very challenging, but exciting and fulfilling at the same time.
What are your plans for the future?
I want to build up my network within the Cambridge ecosystem. The Cambridge team get involved with various initiatives, including Innovate Cambridge, which drive innovation and investment into Cambridge, recognising the city as a centre of excellence and talent. We also host an annual summer party and life sciences event to try to facilitate relationships between companies and investors - it is important for our clients and we encourage these connections. There are various networking events aimed at helping companies scale and grow. I would love to see the early-stage companies I’ve worked with so far get to exit point within the next five to 10 years. I also want to continue to grow our presence in Cambridge and capitalise on the innovation and appetite for growth that is most definitely here.
