Hot 100 career quiz: Irwin Mitchell partner Emilie Cole

What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee?

Very early on as trainee, I was asked to travel from London up to Liverpool to visit a new client on my own: a male asylum seeker who was in prison facing deportation.

I had never been to a prison before. I had to pass through security checks and was taken into a small room with just a table and a couple of chairs. I waited there until my client was shown in. The door was locked behind him and we were very alone.

My client was a huge man, and was visibly angry and agitated.  As a young trainee I felt immediately intimidated, particularly as we were in a small and confined space. Nevertheless, as we sat down and started to talk through his case he began to cry. I felt incredibly sorry him and desperately wanted to help. I ended up leaving him £10 as I left so that he could call his family. I managed to stop his deportation on the basis of his Article 8 (right to family life) human rights.  I quickly learnt the positive difference I could make to people’s lives and that spurred me on in my legal career.

What is the wisest thing anyone ever said to you (and who said it)?

In 2012 I was working as an associate. Each year the firm I was at invited applications for partnership. I’d seen these invitations circulate via email every year and I’d always assumed you had to wait for a tap on the shoulder to say you should apply. A colleague of mine, Shazia Khan, who I still work alongside, said to me, “If you wait for someone to tell you it’s the right time, you’ll be waiting forever.”

We both applied and sure enough, we both made partner. I am forever grateful to Shazia for encouraging me, and giving me the strength to push my career forwards. Law can be so cutthroat and competitive. We owe it to each other to be supportive and kind.

Who (for better or worse) has been the most influential person in your career? Why?

Judge Claire Gilham, one of my clients. She first came to me in 2013. No one would represent her as she had a whistleblowing case against the Ministry of Justice itself. Other solicitors had said there would be a conflict of interest. I took the case on.

After five years of going through the courts, we eventually got her case to the Supreme Court where it was ruled that the law should be clarified to recognise office holders as having whistleblowing rights. This changed everything and we’re now going back to Employment Tribunal for the case to be determined. Working with Claire has been an incredible experience. The case has had its ups and downs but throughout we have been able to work as a team. Claire has huge legal knowledge and tenacity and it has been a privilege to work with a client of such character and determination.

Through the process I have learnt there truly is a system in this country for finding justice even when there doesn’t seem to be a clear route through. That is a lesson I will never forget.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to get to where you are/do the job you do?

There’s so much commonly heard and perfectly credible advice that could be useful. Work hard, make sure you pick a specialism you are genuinely interested in, don’t just go after the money… But some advice you don’t hear so often that I’ve had to learn through experience is ‘always leave a paper trail’. It’s almost difficult to place a value on meticulous notes from conversations, meetings and calls together with follow up emails to confirm details. This practice needs to become a habit. It can help win cases, save your reputation, and protect your career. Details like dates really matter in law as does agreed and clear understandings between clients and solicitors.

What’s your best friend from law school doing now? 

My best friend from law school is Maria Taibi. We met on the first day and stuck by each other for the rest of our time at law school. We had such a giggle, shared a mutual dislike of commercial property law and supported each other over lots of espressos! We have kept in touch and she is now a fantastic personal injury solicitor with two beautiful daughters.