Dino Fontes is a Linklaters qualified lawyer, with a varied legal career in banking. Dino undertook both private practice and in-house roles before joining Re:link. Outside of the Law, Dino is passionately involved with various performing arts and community organisations.

Q. Dino, thank you for speaking to us today. To kick things off, please could you tell us about your journey to becoming a lawyer? 

A. I was born and brought up in Portugal until the age of 13. Becoming a lawyer wasn’t something that was expected of me because there was no family history of Law (other than an uncle who was a court clerk in Mozambique) and in fact only a handful of people in my family have a university education. My interest in Law started in secondary school in the UK, where an English teacher ran an annual series of mock trial competitions that caught my imagination. I enjoyed the experiences and thought I might become a barrister, and so I went off to university open days with that in mind.

I ended up reading Modern Languages at Trinity College, Oxford, but my interest in Law never waned and I remained determined to convert to Law after finishing my first degree. I joined the University Law Society and the Trinity College Gryphon Debating Society, and undertook a summer vacation scheme with a City law firm. I was delighted to be awarded a training contract with Linklaters and the firm sponsored my conversion to Law. Linklaters was a firm that I’d heard my peers talk about at university, and it struck me that it was a global organisation where I might be able to use my languages in a work context. This is exactly what happened when I was given the opportunity to undertake my second trainee seat at the Linklaters office in Madrid, to which I returned for six months after qualification when they were temporarily understaffed.

Q. What was your experience training with Linklaters? Can you share any lessons or learnings that have stayed with you to this day? 

A. It was incredibly busy but, at the same time, Linklaters had a very collegiate feeling. To this day, many of my closest friends are friendships I forged at Linklaters. It was an easy place to get to know people. 

As for the training, I gained skills that I have carried with me for life. Attention to detail, yes, but there were a range of softer skills, such as really listening to people and working a room, that have proved to be crucial to me in my career.

There were many positive influences and mentors around me. During my six years or so at Linklaters, I got a great bird’s eye view of how the firm functioned and I also made the most of client secondments at two American multinational investment banks.

Q. Can you talk us through your next move after Linklaters and share how you ended up working in-house before joining Re:link? 

A. When I moved to another firm after leaving Linklaters, I was seconded to a British multinational bank. I also enjoyed this secondment experience and it confirmed to me that an in-house move was likely my ultimate destination. 

I joined a Russian bank in 2011 as Legal Counsel (Director) where I stayed for nearly twelve years. I really enjoyed my work advising on lending transactions mainly in the emerging markets space, but things started to change following the annexation of Crimea, which led to sanctions against my company’s parent bank in Russia. This was followed by the Salisbury poisonings which led to more sanctions on the Russian entity. There were changes in my department but the silver lining was I was able to broaden my skillset as I got to turn my hand to a lot of new and different matters, including commercial contracts, company secretarial matters, and of course advising on Russian sanctions.

The 2022 invasion of Ukraine was a shocking time, which led to the redundancies of everyone at the bank in London a few weeks later. I stayed for another nine months on a fixed term contract to help with the necessary work involved in appointing administrators to wind down the bank. I then left and took a sabbatical to travel to South America and New York, and to visit family in Portugal. Before heading off on my travels, I had approached Re:link about joining the platform, and the team encouraged me to get back in touch when I returned, which I did. 

During my career break, I explored other interests (many of which surfaced in life coaching sessions) such as the performing arts.

Q. How interesting. Please could you share a little more about the organisations you became involved with? 

A. I had mentioned to a member of the Linklaters alumni team that I was interested in becoming more involved with the arts sector, and they recommended that I come along to a Linklaters alumni event with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Coincidentally, I had been attending this orchestra’s concerts for years. They’re a brilliant group who perform at the Southbank Centre, the BBC Proms, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, as well as abroad at various venues and events. They appeal to me because, uniquely, they play on period instruments (or faithful replicas), so you hear the music as the original composers intended. Secondly, their concerts take a more interactive and didactic approach – during performances the artists talk to the audience about the instruments, the music, and the period the pieces were written in. I also learned that the group has a third appeal, which is their partnership with a non-selective, mixed, state comprehensive school in Tufnell Park where they have had their offices for the last five years. After the school has used the main hall for morning assembly, the orchestra uses the space for rehearsals. An amazing side effect has been that students’ music grades have improved, as have results across the board. It’s the age-old cliché about the performing arts lifting us all up and, coming from a very humble background, I found particularly inspiring the idea that artistic and creative opportunities are offered to children and young people who would otherwise not be exposed to such experiences.

At the Linklaters alumni event I was introduced to the orchestra’s CEO, the chair of the board of directors, and some of the musicians. I was really drawn to the group and, after a series of mini-interviews, I was delighted to be offered a trusteeship with them. They also invited me to be a trustee of their Benevolent Fund, which is a hardship fund for musicians. Both roles are really satisfying and interesting to me.

For many years I’ve also been the chair of the board of trustees of Sputnik Theatre Company, a small theatre company, and in the last year I have also taken up volunteer roles as the legal and business consultant of I-PATH, a dance and performing arts examination board offering Ofqual-regulated exams; the associate producer of Once in a While (a new musical by Jane Morgan), which we hope will be performed onstage in the near future; and the board advisor for Living Bankside, a charitable organisation which works to create positive change for the local community in London SE1. All of these commitments are important to me. 

Q. It’s great to hear you’re able to continue your involvement with these worthwhile organisations whilst working as a Re:link lawyer. Can you tell us about your Re:link assignments so far and what you have enjoyed about the contract working model? 

A. My first Re:link contract was with an American multinational investment bank for six months. This was a valuable experience, which allowed me to return properly to the corporate world. I then moved on to a British multinational bank, where I am now. My current role has exposed me to work I would never normally do. I like to be challenged, and this style of work stops life getting boring. I need variety in my life and, while I continue to look for a permanent job, Re:link’s contract model allows me to keep embracing new opportunities. 

Q. We’re glad to hear that. Can you share with our readers your career highlight so far? 

A. My current Re:link contract is pushing me out of my comfort zone as I’ve been presented with documents I’ve never seen and challenges I’ve never encountered before, but my team at the bank is very supportive. This started initially as a two-month contract and, when I was asked to extend it to six months, I agreed on the spot!

Thank you for talking to us, Dino!