The Hot 100 career quiz: “Moving to a US firm as a junior was a risky move back in 2005”
“My career has certainly not been one straight line from trainee through to partner. There have definitely been bumps along the way.”
“My career has certainly not been one straight line from trainee through to partner. There have definitely been bumps along the way.”
My journey to being out at work has taken in several different firms and spanned literally thousands of miles but has underlined, at least for me, that institutional support is key for LGBTQ+ people to be openly out and to thrive in the workplace. I started my career in Perth, Australia fresh out of university […]
Name: Geoffrey Bailhache Organisation: Simpson Thacher Role: Partner Location: London Trained at: SJ Berwin Year qualified: 2005 Read his Hot 100 profile What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee? I remember being a bundle of nerves! Very excited about starting, but with no idea what I was letting myself in for. Thankfully I […]
Name: Lynn Dunne Organisation: Ashurst Role: Partner Location: London Year qualified: 2007 Read her Hot 100 profile What’s your most vivid memory from being a pupil? Although I have lots of good memories of my time as a pupil, two things really stand out for me and, while not the most uplifting, both helped shape […]
Name: Sapna Dutta Organisation: Reckitt Role: Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Reckitt Health and Global Litigation & Investigations Trained at: Davis Polk Year qualified: 2006 Read her Hot 100 profile What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee? Looking back, I have immensely positive memories of my early years as a lawyer – […]
“Sometimes it is best to see what opportunities come your way and seize them when they feel right for you.”
Fred Banning, one of the legal sector’s most popular communications professionals, has died after a lengthy battle with illness. He passed away on the evening of Friday 19 May, leaving behind his wife Lesley and his sons Ollie and Charlie, to whom he was a loving husband and father. Diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer […]
Name: Farhaz Khan KC Organisation: 3 Verulam Buildings Role: Barrister Location: London Trained at: Outer Temple Chambers Year qualified: 2005 Read his Hot 100 profile What’s your most vivid memory from being a pupil? During law school I volunteered at Toynbee Hall LAC in Whitechapel and represented a whistle-blower in the Employment Tribunal (ET). The […]
Name: Jessamy Gallagher Organisation: Paul Hastings Role: Partner Location: London Trained at: Minter Ellison and Herbert Smith Freehills in Sydney Year qualified: 2000 Read her Hot 100 profile What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee? Realising with an abrupt and undeniable jolt that I was not cut out to be a litigation lawyer. […]
“You must make time to go out of your way to understand people as people not just as lawyers or a line on a spreadsheet.”
“If you want to succeed in a career in-house, work on a variety of different projects or roles which take you out of your comfort zone.”
Name: Hugh Sims KC Organisation: Guildhall Chambers Role: Barrister Location: Bristol and London Trained at: Guildhall Chambers Year qualified: 1999 Read his Hot 100 profile What’s your most vivid memory from being a pupil? It is difficult to pick one out now, especially as it feels like such a long time ago. Perhaps I would […]
Name: Dan Preston Organisation: Fieldfisher Role: Partner, head of construction Location: London Trained at: Mundays (now part of Knights) Year qualified: 2006 Read his Hot 100 profile What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee? I am still in touch with my training principal who remained at Mundays until his retirement a few years […]
“Career paths are sometimes wiggly, but if you trust your gut, you’ll probably end up in the right place.”
“There is no substitute for a positive attitude and playing to your strengths.”
“Politeness and kindness costs nothing and is a powerful tool as well as the right way to behave.”
“It is okay not to know the answer but have confidence that it is only a matter of time until you will figure it out.”
Name: Sarah de Ste Croix Organisation: Stephenson Harwood Role: Partner Location: London Trained at: Clifford Chance Year qualified: 2007 Read her Hot 100 profile What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee? I trained at Clifford Chance in London back before the GFC. It is difficult now to explain to my junior colleagues quite […]
“My grandfather said to me when making big decisions, visualise yourself in 20 years from that decision and try and live and breathe how that decision may look and feel.”
“Be authentic and human. In the work I do people buy people and your charisma and personality can take you a long way.”
“I subscribe to the idea that a certain amount of hard work is a necessary precondition to becoming competent in anything.”
“Don’t undersell yourself and have the confidence to push yourself towards new roles and unchartered territory – even when you don’t feel 100% sure or ready.”
Name: Zia Ullah Organisation: Eversheds Sutherland Role: Partner – Head of Corporate Crime and Investigations Location: London/Manchester Trained at: Porters Year qualified: 1999 Read his Hot 100 profile What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee? I have many! One of the stand-out work related memories is going on my first prison visit to […]
“What you want when you are 25 might be very different from when you are 35 and, inevitably the working world will have changed too.”
“Work hard, embrace opportunities that come your way even if they take you outside of your comfort zone and learn from your mistakes.”
“Have confidence in your own opinion; focus on doing the best job that you can in the way that best suits how you work.”
“Winning cases is about knowing the facts and the law inside out; and preparing for every judicial question that might come your way.”
“Sometimes it is okay to take calculated risks (even though lawyers tend to be more risk averse) and to follow your heart to do what you really want to do.”
“Be pragmatic in the advice you give clients and be bold enough to give a view. Bland technical answers setting out options with no guide as to which are most suitable are not useful to clients.”
Cripps’ new leader sets sights on further growth Tunbridge Wells: Gavin Tyler stepped down as managing partner of Cripps at the end of April after a long career at the firm. His leaving dinner was apparently a highly emotional occasion, not least in gratitude for the sense of calm and stability he brought during the […]
Liverpool headquartered Weightmans has enjoyed a comfortable few years, which has seen it keep hold of its position of as one of the UK’s top 50 firms by revenue.
Paul Jenkins was a bold choice for managing partner, and now he’s running the firm during one of the most turbulent periods in its history. 15 July: Ashurst partners: ‘We can turn things around’ 26 July: Ashurst CFO quits
The story of the re-entry of the Big Four accountancy firms into legal services has occupied many minds in the last year or so. But in the UK, there is one notable absence – Deloitte. While its rivals EY, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers have all been busy hiring senior lawyers from top private practice firms Deloitte has stayed away from the UK market.
Last November Irwin Mitchell announced that it was acquiring southeast firm Thomas Eggar. The deal gave the northern-focused Irwin Mitchell an additional six offices in the south of England and has boosted the firm’s turnover to £250m.
Allen & Overy’s (A&O) new management outlined their strategy to partners last month in the 45-degree Dubai heat. But what were the hot topics on the agenda?
Private prosecution boutique Edmonds Marshall McMahon caused a stir earlier this year after it made the biggest lateral hires in its short history.
Orrick’s global boss and London head talk about bringing the firm’s base in the capital up to scratch to meet the needs of global clients, Microsoft and Instagram.
Linklaters’ new managing partner Gideon Moore speaks out about his plans to review everything at the firm to “check that what we’re doing still makes sense”.
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) launched a new plan of action on Thursday (28 April) that gave an enticing hint at its plans for expansion in the US.
Manchester has become a competitive breeding ground for back office-style legal processing centres and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) wants to be one of the city’s biggest players.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is among a minority of international firms to have by-passed Hong Kong and entered into Greater China via an office in Shanghai. Six years after its 2006 launch in Shanghai, the firm expanded its mainland China footprint to Beijing and most recently it announced a plan to set up a base in Hong Kong.
Laura Uberoi is a Council Member at the Law Society and, alongside Kayleigh Leonie, represents junior lawyers of 0-5 years PQE. In October Laura was elected as president of her local law society and in doing so became one of the youngest and most junior solicitor to ever hold such a role across the country. […]
I feel like a tranquillised hippo. My limbs weigh two tonnes and my brain’s too heavy for my head. It’s November and I have 3,000lb-ungulate jet lag, so I must be at MIPIM Asia. For readers who only know MIPIM Cannes, MIPIM Asia is Cannes’ more refined Hong Kongese cousin. Each year about 900 property […]
Julia Salasky, CEO of CrowdJustice, the online crowdfunding platform for legal action, spoke at the Law Society’s Future of Law lecture. In this adapted version she shares her experience using innovative technologies to connect lawyers and clients with funds to take legal action
While firms are beginning to embrace the opportunities that tech can provide, the advice sector remains underfunded when it comes to digitisation.
A few weeks ago, I was asked by a paralegal at my firm whether or not they should apply be applying for vacation schemes or if they should go straight to the training contract applications. To be frank, it stumped me, as it’s something I’d not given much thought to since qualifying. It brought to […]
By Richard Oliphant The market for legal services is highly competitive. The recent report by The Lawyer and Intapp (‘Navigating a new reality in the client-empowered’) revealed how law firms are investing heavily in ‘intelligent automation’ technologies and using data analytics to improve client service and stay ahead of the pack. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning […]
In the wake of the Brexit vote, there is a need for some clarity on the general subject of globalisation and a law firm’s strategic positioning. First, globalisation is not a decision. It is a force and, for all intents and purposes, a force of nature. It is the movement of people, ideas, products, services, […]
After last week’s historic decision by the British people to leave the EU many will want know immediately what the implications are.
When Maryam Ziarati McLoughlin moved out of private practice, she was not met with the farewell she had hoped for. “When I decided to move in-house, a fellow private practice lawyer told me that they were disappointed that I was taking a step back in my career. I like to think that perceptions of going […]
Leeds has a fantastic financial services sector, but does it have fantastic finance lawyers? That’s what UK Infrastructure Bank’s general counsel Davinder Mann is trying to get to the bottom of.
Energy is at the forefront of our shared consciousness. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raised grave concerns about Europe’s use of natural gas, and emissions from transport and factories the world over are not alleviating the climate crisis we find ourselves in. The importance of green energy is growing with each passing day – and Alight […]
Aristocrat is a big name in the gambling industry. A major provider of slot machines at casinos around the world, in recent years the business has branched out into the mobile gaming industry with its subsidiary Pixel United, building up its brand with the takeovers of Plarium, Big Fish and Product Madness. In 2021, Aristocrat’s […]
It would be fascinating to see exactly how many young lawyers were influenced by Calista Flockhart’s 90s portrayal of Boston lawyer Ally McBeal. The show was a critical and commercial success, winning multiple Emmys and Golden Globes over the course of its five-season run. One lawyer who can vouch for Flockhart’s influence, and also to […]
After 10 years as a corporate lawyer at Slaughter and May, Habibunnisha Patel had a nagging feeling that told her she wanted to do something else. Exactly what, she wasn’t sure. “I’ve never had a 10-year plan,” she remarks. By this point, she had a broad range of experience under her belt in private practice, […]
It is a busy but exciting time to be a regulatory lawyer. Fluro general counsel Jenny Steven has done anything and everything in her career from bank charges litigation to regulatory advisory work. Trained at Hogan Lovells and qualified into retail banking, after a client secondment at Lloyds, she got a call to join payday […]
Arrive at the National Gallery and you can tell that a lot is going on. Work on the outside to clean its 1830s stone facade; corridors lined with school groups, tourists and London locals; the extension of the Salisbury Wing in full swing – and yet there are still opportunities to calmly stare into paintings […]
At the start of 2016 restructuring partner Ashley Katz became the latest big-hitter to move over to Fried Frank Shriver Harris & Jacobson’s growing London base.
Shami Chakrabarti says she was surprised that the 13 January announcement of her imminent departure from civil rights charity Liberty attracted so much attention. Sandwiched between the deaths of celebrities David Bowie and Alan Rickman, the news still made the front page of several national newspapers, notably left-leaning The Guardian and The Independent
Since appearing in The Lawyer Hot 100 two years ago Reed Smith’s Tamara Box has taken on a new role at the US firm
John McDonnell QC was named in the Hot 100 in 2005 for his diverse practice, celebrity client roster and the launch of his new chambers, Thirteen Old Square.
Now in her 16th year at Travers Smith, Helen Croke has been key to the success of the firm’s private equity group. One of eight partners in the firm’s dedicated private equity and M&A team, Croke qualified at Travers in 2001 and moved up into partnership seven years later. The team has remained largely unchanged […]
Cathy Pitt is building CMS’ strength in the ever-changing world of funds
Jonathan Berger has found the ideal place to pursue his media work
Dan Oates is helping to build Fried Frank’s London private equity team
Mona Arshi is a prize-winning poet and former human rights lawyer. She recently won the Forward prize for best first collection. You began your training contract at JR Jones in the same week that Doreen and Neville Lawrence instructed the firm on the murder of their son Stephen. How did that time influence the rest […]
Hays general counsel for UK and Ireland Evelyn Styles tells The Lawyer why she chose a role in-house over private practice. Did you start your career in-house? I trained at a small high street practice and it gave me first hand experience of dealing with all aspects of legal maters, such as contract and commercial […]
Travis Perkins general counsel Deborah Grimason grew up around business – though she’d be the first to admit that her father’s bakery delivery business in rural Northern Ireland was a far cry from the FTSE 100 company she now guides through legal minefields. Grimason knew two things growing up: that she wanted to enter a profession […]
Natalie Sherborn left the criminal bar and is now a senior associate at defamation and reputation management firm Schillings. She tells us about how and why she made the move. What’s your background? I went to a state comprehensive school in Essex. I don’t know if anyone in our family even knew what a barrister was, […]
Maclay Murray & Spens partner Jill Reid entered private practice after 25 years in-house with Chevron UK, Shell and Dana Petroleum. Why did you make the move into private practice? I feel that my role [at Dana] as General Counsel and Company Secretary in an oil and gas operating company having assets in multiple jurisdictions with […]
Travers Smith’s David Patient gives his advice for those moving into a management role. Was moving into a management position always a career objective for you? It has certainly not always been a career objective for me, but something that evolved over time. I had the good fortune to have the opportunity to open our […]
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