PARTNER, TAX LONDON LAW SCHOOL GRADUATION YEAR 2000 YEAR JOINED WEIL 2019 YEAR PROMOTED TO PARTNER 2014 HOMETOWN DERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND What did you want to be as a child? When I was about 6 or 7, I wanted to have two jobs when I grew up: a vet during the daytime and a stand-up comedian in the evenings. While tax law does not present the same opportunities for animals or hilarity, I am undoubtedly more suited to it (and one job is quite enough)! If your younger self could see you now, what do you think her reaction would be? I was 9 years old when I first visited London and was completely captivated by it. I loved the old buildings and squares in “legal London,” the cultural diversity and the “buzz.” I concluded that I was definitely going to live there when I grew up. My younger self would be impressed that I am a true London lawyer (and living in an old townhouse)! What was your first job? It was selling vacuum cleaners door-todoor during the summer holidays when I was at university. It was pretty brutal. It was commission-based, and I hated having to pressure people to buy the expensive machines. Taking into account petrol, I ended up making a loss that summer, which shows quite how bad I was at it, but it was definitely an interesting experience! Knowing what you know now, what might you have done differently when you were starting out? I’ve found that colleagues (at all levels) are often “pigeonholed” by others as being of a particular type. This can result in unhealthy behaviours; for example, allocating one person a particular type of work, or dismissing someone’s comments too readily. Over the years I have learnt to try not to make assumptions about people. This had broadened the spectrum of colleagues and clients who I have formed deep working relationships with. It’s now a cliché, but working with a diverse group of people with different qualities certainly yields results. Looking back, what did you stress over that was unnecessary? Moving careers. I have done it twice and both times found the process stressful. But in both cases I have never regretted the decision to move, so the stress was worthwhile! What were some of your insecurities/ fears when you were starting out that you wish you could go back in time and tell your younger self not to worry so much about? There are many times throughout my career when I worried about whether I was capable of doing the job and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the complexity of transactions and the amounts at stake. However, I now realise that I’m not alone, and that many people experience similar worries. In moments of self-doubt or adversity, how do you build yourself up? In our environment we are often working under pressure, and colleagues, clients or opposing counsel can also be under a tremendous amount of pressure to achieve a deadline or a particular result. When feeling the pressure, I try to take a step back and remember this context. Talking things through with colleagues, rather than bottling them up, inevitably helps. Things are rarely as bad as they might seem in the heat of the moment! What do you turn to when you need perspective or to unwind during a challenging time? Running. The temptation is sometimes to think “I don’t have time,” but I find that often solutions occur to me when I am out jogging and have stopped staring at a problem on the screen. What’s the best piece of professional advice you received? People worry about the risk of taking an action, but often forget about the risk of not acting. I think that’s valuable to remember whether in a career progression context (e.g., making a job move, contacting a potential client), giving legal advice (e.g., expressing a firm opinion on a point) or developing a team (e.g., giving feedback). Has learning from a mistake ever led you to success? Undoubtedly, yes. We all make mistakes, and it’s those who learn from them to develop, rather than being beaten down by them, who will be most successful. We all make mistakes, and it’s those who learn from them to develop, rather than being beaten down by them, who will be most successful. “ ” 14 · WEIL WOMEN’S WISDOM
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