“I don’t get nervous doing legal presentations – but I was nervous at the starting line of the Olympics”

I got into rowing at university for two reasons. First, I’m six foot six, so I knew I was a good height and size for it: the taller you are, the longer your stroke. Second, I wanted to be better at the sport than my brother, who had taken it up a couple of years earlier.

I love – loved – being out on the water. I don't do it anymore. My shoulder is too broken. But I actually had a dreadful start with rowing. 

During my first race, a bend in the river came around. We kept going straight, ploughed into the riverbank, broke the boat and didn’t finish. My mum and dad were watching on.

I chose law as a career because I’ve always been pretty logical. I thought law would suit me. I tend to get an idea in my head and just crack on with it.

During my training contract, I was rowing before and after work. I was obsessed with it. I love the teamwork element. When you row well together, and with good technique, you go faster. 

It's crazy to think about how I managed rowing alongside my training contract. A barrister doing a secondment with us at the moment rows at London Rowing Club. She is out on the water before work, in the cold, dark and rain. I often wonder “how do you do it?” Then I remember I did it too, because I wanted to be my best and was completely driven to succeed.

I qualified into the employment team at my firm in 2005. Shortly after, I got asked to join the national rowing team. I worked part time for a bit. But when I got selected for the World Championships in 2006, I quit work and joined the national team full time for six years.

“You're not going to look back when you're 60 and wish you’d spent more time behind a desk”. That’s what a partner I worked with told me when I talked to him about the decision to take a break to pursue rowing.

My mum and dad were a bit surprised by it. I lived with them while I was at law school, and they had seen me qualify and get a job. They’d also seen me row at the Henley Regatta, and I’d always get knocked out pretty early. But they were supportive. I’m glad I did it – I didn’t want any regrets.

I’ve worked at London law firms, been part of in-house teams and founded my own boutique sports law firm. I like change. Starting my firm brought out my competitive nature, a bit like rowing did. I wanted to work on the best cases and I wanted to win them. That competitive edge hasn’t left me.

Being in-house at UK Athletics, as general counsel and chief operating officer (COO), is different to my previous roles. It’s non-stop. I've probably got a list of 60 things I'm managing. You never really feel like you get through your to-do list. 

Unless you've got a big in-house team, you're expected to cover lots of different things. That's sometimes challenging, but it’s also good fun learning about different areas of law.

I’m also closer to the decision making, which is great. I've got a seat at the table for discussions on how the business runs. Plus it’s nice not to have to do timesheets!

I got a medal at every level of rowing event I competed in, from the boat race to the World Championships, except for the Olympics. I was in the team at Beijing 2008 and London 2012. In that sense, it's the one that got away – and it's the big one.

10 years ago, I probably would never have talked about the London Olympics final because it was so sore. I can look back now and say I enjoyed the experience. I'm proud of what I achieved, even though I didn't get the medal I wanted. 

I was doing a presentation a few years ago and someone said, “you must be really nervous”. But I wasn’t – I’d been pretty nervous sitting in a boat on the start line of the Olympics, and that put things in perspective. I think dealing with the pressure of elite sport helped me progress in law. 

At the top level in sport, you're training two or three times a day, seven days a week, with a day off every month. You’re always exhausted – it’s a real pressure cooker environment. If you can build an ‘A team’ that is successful in that context, those skills are transferable. It really helps you understand other people and build strong working relationships. 

The Oxford vs Cambridge boat race – I was on the Oxford team in 2009 – is very different to other competitions. You start training in September and the race is in April. We didn’t have long to gel together as a crew. You get to know a great bunch of guys from around the world, with the challenge of bringing together lots of different rowing styles into a team of eight. It was a brilliant experience – probably mainly for the fact that we won!

What makes a good environment for in-house lawyers? I think it’s the same as other high-functioning teams. You need a culture where there is respect and integrity, where people aren’t afraid of failure, know they matter and that their opinion matters. If you have those elements, things tend to go well.

UK Athletics is responsible for selecting the athletics team for Team GB. As their lawyer, working on the Paris Olympics and Paralympics was incredible, even though I wasn’t competing.

My role was to assist our performance team, for example, by helping to draft the athletics selection policy. I was advising in the selection meeting and dealing with any appeals or issues that came up from the selection. The atmosphere in Paris was amazing. I was in the athletic stadium on the night Team GB runner Keely Hodgkinson won the 800 meters.

The most important lesson I’ve learnt as a solicitor – and what I tell other people – is to try to do the right thing in any situation. It’s something to live by.

Looking back, it was tough putting my law career on hold. Especially when I felt like I’d just got started. I feel for people who have been on career breaks for whatever reason. You worry how it’s going to be – if you might have forgotten everything. But you won’t have. If you were good at your job, you still will be.

If you’re returning to the profession, my advice would be ‘just go for it’. Hopefully, you’ll find supportive people out there who will understand. And you’ve got a lot to give.

That’s what life is sometimes, isn’t it? Sometimes you’ve got to take a break from a role, whether it’s because of having kids – the toughest job in the world – or, in my case, mucking around in boats!

I picked up an injury after I finished rowing. It is probably a good thing in some ways, because otherwise I’d still be out on the water all the time. But I've got other priorities with work and family now. 

I try to stay fit with a bit of cycling, but my aim is to not take it too far. These days, you’ll find me having a thrash on the gym bike, clearing my head after a long day.