Work Life Quiz: Anna Gregory, Gunnercooke

What was your first-ever job?

Waitress in a wine bar in Sheffield, where my love of wine started.

What was your worst ­experience as a trainee?

Photocopying litigation papers overnight and then not realising they were in bundles for a reason. I managed to completely destroy a partner’s week of work. I still cringe every time I see that partner.

Where’s the best place to go if you want to find out what’s really going on in the office?

Friday night drinks.

What time do you usually leave the office?

Variable depending on what transaction I’m ­working on.

What do you do at weekends?

Sleep, shop, catch up with friends and enjoy meals out. Occasionally the odd bit of exercise and grabbing some fresh air. Also attending sporting events, especially equestrian ones.

What’s your favourite ­restaurant?

Lonio in Fiscardo, ­Kefalonia, for a super-fresh fish dish. A little ­closer to home it would be the Lime Tree in Didsbury. Great food, ambience and within walking distance.

If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you have been?

Equestrian professional riding for Great Britain. I almost got there having competed professionally when younger.

What’s the best thing about your job?

My clients and my colleagues at ­Gunnercooke. We’re a close supportive team, which I really enjoy.

What’s the toughest thing about your job?

The feeling when a deal you’ve worked on really hard over a period of time aborts.

What has been your proudest professional moment?

Winning Young Lawyer of the Year at the Insider North West Professional Awards Ceremony, then a few years later ­taking Deal of the Year at the ­Lancashire Insider Awards Ceremony for a great acquisition for ­Enterprise, which was my first ­acquisition as their
in-house M&A lawyer.

What’s your biggest work/career mistake and what did you learn from it?

On a personal level, don’t have a relationship with another corporate lawyer: you’ll never see each other. Career wise, three different client events on one night isn’t a sensible idea no matter how much you enjoy networking.

What car do you drive?

Audi A4 cabriolet.

What book are you reading?

The Terrible Truth about Lawyers by Mark McCormack.

What’s on your iPod?

Adele, Kings of Leon, Tina Turner, Beyonce and some 1980s power ballads. I like all sorts but as my friends regularly tell me I’m not known to have the greatest taste in music.

What’s your favourite ­children’s book?

The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis.

What’s the most exciting deal/case you’ve worked on and why?

I’ve been very lucky to have worked on some great deals with some fantastic personalities, every one different, special and memorable for various ­reasons, and even had a laugh along the way. Long may that continue, please.

If you were stranded on a desert island what two luxury items would you take?

Lipgloss and my iPod.

What’s the longest you’ve worked without sleep?

Forty-six hours, two years on the run, both times completing in the early hours of Christmas Eve. Not the best preparation for Christmas and no intention of repeating it.

Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with and why?

I know, but I can’t say.

Tell us two truths and one lie about yourself (in any order)

I was shortlisted for an interview to be a weather presenter; I love going to the gym; I’ve been an extra in Emmerdale.