PERVADE!

Hi everyone, Here’s a fun fact to kick off today’s post: I’m on a mission to cut out carbonated drinks from my life. As you would imagine, this often means not just avoiding the fizzy stuff itself, but steering clear of any digital or physical content that even remotely touches on it. Yet, when I stumbled upon the news that AriZona Beverages (longtime maker of 99 cents beverages in the US) had accused Evercore (a prominent global independent investment banking advisory firm) of a confidentiality breach, I couldn’t resist the urge to dig further into a case that so beautifully intersects Law and Investment Banking. A can of AriZona sitting pretty. Let’s get right into it. What happens when an investment bank, with the sole consent of its client, uploads a Supply Agreement between that client and a third-party to a Virtual Data Room (VDR). The third-party then claims that this upload is a breach of confidentiality, arguing that the agreement contains sensitive business secrets and that i...

So, here we are, dearest reader- four (or so) months into the craziest decision of my life: leaving a thriving, well-defined career path in Law to start anew in the uncharted territory of Investment Banking, brimming with the monsters of dizzying Excel spreadsheets and the dragons of PowerPoint designs. Back to Ground Zero as a neophyte. A newbie. A novice. A JJC if there ever was one.  Now, depending on your outlook and/or motivations, you’ve either concluded that I am batshit crazy or something akin to brave—maybe even a bit of both. And I’ll accept that without offense. After all, geniuses are often seen as having a touch of madness. But I digress. Here’s the thing. I didn't approach this new path without meticulously planning and carefully weighing my options. To temper my expectations, I embraced this journey as something of an experiment, knowing that if things didn't work out, my career prospects would remain intact. God-willing, I’d be okay no matter what. After all, n...

How many more Twitter threads? How many more hashtags? How many more essays? How many more hot takes? How many more battles? How many more ensuing losses?  How many more?  What’s it gonna take for women to just be left alone? Hate it here. Absolutely detest the dread of terror a spoilt, wicked, uncontrollable & reckless creature potentially places on my womanhood. Hate. Hate. Hate it.  PSA: There is no space for rape apologists or  murder-sympathizers here.

I got into a mild argument with my Mother last night. And as is often applicable within emotionally arduous circumstances, I hated the process but I loved the outcome. Interestingly, our squabble didn’t stem from a typical or momentous causative factor such as relationship drama, shamelessly dozing off at morning devotion or recklessly letting the dishes pile up in the kitchen- in which case, I would usually be the culprit in all of these scenarios. (Or the victim, depending on the lens you choose to use. ) Instead, good ol’ WhatsApp- specifically, a WhatsApp broadcast- triggered the rise of stormy seas in my household last night.  Here’s what happened. I had been minding my business when my phone chimed in response to a new message notification. I picked it up, half-expecting to see one of those “hahahahaha” or “thank you for sharing” jerkers.  Please believe me when I say that nothing in the world could have prepared me to absorb what I now consider to be the father of all t...

I cannot definitively remember the exact spot, hour or date that we met. Of course, I know that it was circa 2012 and within the sprawling grounds of the University of Exeter’s Streatham campus. Now that I think about it, it must have been at one of the many student residences where you’d frequently find the minuscule population of African & Caribbean undergrads huddled together for one or all of these activities- to eat, gist and generally have a good time in all the ways that only we could. Or maybe it was at our weekly Christian fellowship- NOOMA, to be  precise- that our paths first crossed. What I do remember, however, is feeling instantly at home with this flawlessly dark-skin toned, slightly talkative but incredibly gorgeous and spirited young woman. She would later be introduced to me by a mutual friend as “Esther.” Our budding friendship would involve several shared interests, the most paramount being an insatiable love of food. Never mind that we were both Law student...