The Lawyer Inquiry: Susannah Williams was born in 1970 in Epsom, Surrey. She is a commercial litigation solicitor at Richards Butler.

What was your first job?

Newspaper girl, a job from which I got sacked.



What subject(s) did you fail at school?

Art. I was "seriously discouraged" from taking it for 'O' Level.



What was your first ever salary as a lawyer?

u17,000 or thereabouts.



What would you have done if you hadn't been a lawyer?

Become a foreign correspondent on The Times or a nightclub singer.



What was your most satisfying professional moment?

Settling an "unsettle-able" case in very good terms, and being told by my banker client that he was "seated but elated".



What was your most embarrassing professional moment?

Having to tactfully decline an offer of an affair from a (married) banker I was trying to market.



What do you least like about being a lawyer?

The constant feeling of having to run to keep up (literally sometimes!) and the mass of information you have to get to grips with especially with the Woolf Reforms at the same time as running a case load.



And the best thing about being a lawyer?

No one day is the same.



What annoys you most about clients?

Nothing really they pay for and expect a high-quality service, although it is nice to get praise from time to time when you do something particularly well.



Who do you most admire, and why?

Anyone who gets on with life in the face of adversity. My friend Beverley.



Which famous person or historical figure would be your ideal client, and why?

Brad Pitt with a very complex problem that we would have to have lots of meetings to discuss.



What is your most annoying habit?

An incurable aversion to people leaving newspapers lying around my flat. And impulse-buying.



What's your biggest fear?

Sneezing at 80mph on the motorway, and spiders.



How do you relax?

I don't really.



What is your most precious possession?

My sense of humour.



Where would you most like to be right now?

Receiving a cheque for last Saturday's winning lottery numbers and then impulse-buying with the money.



In 10 years' time, where do you see yourself?

In a plastic surgeon's, having "The Works".



To take part in the Inquiry call Jemma Pearson on 0171 970 4614