Later this month, I will step away from legal practice after more than 25 years in the profession. Moments like this inevitably invite reflection, but they also prompt you to think about what comes next for the team and the role experienced lawyers have in creating space for those coming through behind them.
What matters most to me is seeing the commercial team move confidently into its next phase, with strong leadership already emerging from within. Watching colleagues develop their expertise, build their own client relationships and step into leadership roles has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my time as a partner.
Careers in law rarely follow a single, predictable path – mine certainly didn’t – and the experiences that brought me into the profession shaped both the work I was drawn to and the way I approached it.
Before qualifying as a solicitor, I spent 15 years working with people experiencing long-term homelessness and addiction. It was demanding work that often involved handling highly sensitive personal information in difficult circumstances, and it showed me how the way that information was handled could affect people’s trust in the services around them. It was through that experience that my interest in data protection first developed and, ultimately, what drew me towards practicing in this area.
I joined the firm in 1999, at a time when data protection and the legal questions surrounding new technology were still emerging areas of practice. Much of the work involved grappling with issues that were only beginning to take shape, which meant learning quickly, working closely with colleagues and clients, and adapting to a landscape that seemed to shift year by year, if not month by month. As the field evolved, so did the team working in this area, and since becoming a partner in 2011 I have had the privilege of helping to support and develop that team.
What began as a small commercial contracts group of four or five lawyers has grown into a team of around 15, supporting clients across a range of sectors including media, healthcare, technology and the third sector. Seeing colleagues build their own client relationships, develop specialist expertise and take on greater responsibility has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my time as a partner.
That development is reflected in the next generation of leadership within the team. Mel Hall and Susan O’Farrell (who both joined the firm as trainees) now play a central role in the practice and have built strong reputations in their own right. Mel has been recognised as a Rising Star in Chambers and Legal 500, and Susan’s recent shortlisting for Rising Star of the Year at the Managing IP EMEA Awards reflects the reputation she continues to build within the profession.
Later in my career, I also had the opportunity to return, in a different way, to the values that first shaped my working life. Serving as Chair of Aberlour Child Care Trust, and previously chairing the Independent Fundraising Complaints Panel for Scotland, allowed me to contribute to organisations working at the heart of the third sector. In many ways it felt like a natural continuation of where my career had begun, bringing together my legal work with the sense of public service that first drew me into professional life, and in a firm that supports and encourages you to do so.
Looking back, my own route into the profession is a reminder that there is no single path into law. Different experiences shape the way people approach the work and the values they bring to it. Seeing the strength and ambition of the lawyers coming through today leaves me confident that the team – and the profession more widely – will continue to evolve and thrive in the years ahead.
