“Comparing in-house to private practice is chalk and cheese”: from Magic Circle lawyer to not-for-profit leader

Joining the Magic Circle

When I moved from private practice into the voluntary sector, I had no idea what would come next. There were no guarantees. I just knew that I wanted to make a move and then didn’t look back. There was no game plan.

Growing up, I wanted to be a flight attendant, a teacher and a florist at various points. Then I came to the law at about the age of 14 and didn’t veer off track. It came from being very motivated by wanting to see fairness – the principles of justice and equity – and seeing the law as a vehicle through which I could contribute to that.

As a lawyer in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at a Magic Circle firm, I got to do exceptional work with a broad range of brilliant clients. I also got to live in Singapore, India and Dubai.

I found myself labelled ‘the Arsenal girl’, early in my private practice days. Given I didn’t know anything about football, that probably surprised me as much as anyone else at the time. We took on the Arsenal portfolio and that coincided with my qualification – so a large part of the first two years of my corporate M&A life was spent doing football player transfers and going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

My work in the CAS related to a contested football player transfer, which was not your usual bread and butter for a corporate Magic Circle lawyer in 2005. I remember sitting outside the court on the lake in Lausanne, Switzerland with the player and club representatives. We won the case.

I’d spent three of my 10 years at Slaughter and May on secondment. The skills you’re honing through that are adaptability, versatility and agility of mindset. You need to be able to apply things at first-principles level and go into any situation with that degree of grounding that means you can reflect your client’s interests.

My experience with Slaughter and May was amazing. But there was always that nagging feeling, “Is this something I see myself doing in another five, 10 or 20 years?” I decided the only way I could make that decision was to step out of law entirely.

So, I took what was intended to be a three-month break. I thought I would be a lady of leisure, taking long lunches. But then I realised I would get bored quite quickly. I could do something constructive with my time.

Finding my professional purpose

I’d already become interested in international aid and development. I had completed a nine-month programme with Advocates for International Development (A4ID). I spent three months that summer volunteering with Islamic Relief Worldwide, a grassroots Muslim faith-based community organisation every Muslim household in this country will know. That became the springboard for my move into the not-for-profit sector.

Comparing in-house to private practice is chalk and cheese. In private practice, as a lawyer, you are the business. The firm relies upon its lawyers and 90% of the workforce is doing what you’re doing.

I went from that environment to being in a team of two, serving 40 countries around the world. You’re no longer the business. You’re there to enable the mission. That’s a major transition that you make when you move in-house.

Understanding the non-profit world

The in-house legal support not-for-profit organisations need varies enormously. There’s no one-size-fits-all. The ‘business’ – for want of a better word – of not-for-profit organisations also varies. It depends on factors such as whether it’s an advocacy-focused organisation or not, the regions it operates in, if it has a retail footprint and how it is funded.

Not-for-profits must think very carefully about where every penny goes. Overhead costs mean money is coming away from serving their mission.

One of the most rewarding experiences of my career has been supporting the release of individuals who had been imprisoned. They had been caught up in the politicisation of the civil society within that country. I worked personally with the lawyers in that country and the individuals involved to secure their release, as well as supporting their families through the ordeal.

Making a difference

I love the breadth of my current role as general counsel (GC) and company secretary at Cancer Research UK, and the mission of the charity. Everybody who works here has a personal story to share about how cancer has affected their life – and I was no different.

I was very fortunate in the sense that, up until the age of 40, I didn’t feel personally impacted by cancer. Then, a month before COVID-19 hit, my father was diagnosed. And a family member, who is a husband and father to two children, was diagnosed at the age of 36. Over the course of COVID-19, we lost three people to cancer. I also lost my uncle in 2025.

I saw members of my own family navigating the complexities of our wonderful care system. At times, it felt as though they were falling between the cracks.

My background in international aid and development is all about how we bring about greater equality in a world where there is huge inequality. Our cancer and health inequality strategy at Cancer Research UK – launched in 2024 and part of our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy – is actually looking to address exactly that: identifying where there are health inequalities in our systems.

People’s experiences in relation to cancer in the UK are not necessarily the same. They can be impacted by all sorts of factors, including race and age.

My entire career has been filled with challenges. I spent a decade in supporting organisations in crises who were responding to crises through a sector that was in crisis. Quite frankly, you can't get more complex than that. It hones your skills sharply, very quickly.

People kept asking me when I moved into the voluntary sector, “Did it feel like a jump?” But it didn’t really. It still felt like an organic move.