“When you’re a partner, the buck stops with you – you really do feel the weight of that responsibility”

It was my mum who first told me: “I think you’ve got skills that would be very useful as a lawyer.” As a teenager, I looked at routes into law and realised that it would be very difficult and take years to qualify. There were other things I enjoyed – I thought about other careers. But my mum encouraged me to walk the difficult path.

I applied to a firm – and didn’t get a training contract. I remember breaking down on the floor at my mum’s house, in tears. Having done application after application, then finally getting an interview… but then not getting the contract was just deflating.

Now when I look back on that, I laugh. I believe that there was a purpose in not getting that first training contract. With hindsight, I’m actually very glad that I didn’t. It’s meant that I’m where I am now.

I worked as a paralegal at Allen & Overy – now A&O Shearman – and gained an understanding of what my department was doing. I made a really good stab at it. People started noticing me; the hard work was working!

When you’ve worked as a paralegal and you start a training contract, you realise that you’ve already got so much under your belt. Particularly if you’re doing it for more than six months or so.

I was a paralegal for just under three years, and I’m still working with the clients I worked with then. Many of those people at the organisations I worked with 17 years ago are now very senior in their organisations. I’m really grateful for the relationships that have developed over time.

I needed a way to fund my way through the GDL and LPC. A friend of mine said, “Look, you’ve been making these cakes. Why don’t you sell them?” I didn’t know where to start so I approached a sandwich shop that was opening opposite Liverpool Street station in London, and said, “I can see you don’t have any desserts. Would you sell my cakes?”

I brought in some tasters, and I managed to make sure I had the right packaging and health and safety certificates within 48 hours! The cakes all sold out on the first day. So, every week I took my cakes along in a little shopping trolley. The money I made saw me through law school.

When I started at A&O Shearman, I realised I couldn’t make the cakes anymore – I just didn’t have the time. But now, 17.5 years later I’m doing a cake-decorating course. It’s a wonderful hobby that has brought me much joy over the years.

Becoming a partner was one of the hardest things I’d done. It is a real process, but I came out of it feeling like I knew the firm and was very proud to be on the brink of becoming a partner there. For three months, I’d take out every Saturday to prepare, which was hard because I have two children. But I thought, “Whatever the outcome, I’ve learnt something – the time has not gone to waste.”

When you’re a partner, the buck stops with you and you really do feel the weight of that responsibility. Sometimes people think that partners are off lunching, having a drink and doing a bit of schmoozing on a business trip. This is not the case. There’s a lot that we do in addition to doing our legal work, looking after our teams and dealing with the financial side of things. There’s a lot of admin. (There is also some fun to be had!)

The biggest challenge for me has been finding balance – and thinking about how to prioritise. I have two remarkable children, I’m married to a great guy, I’ve got five fantastic siblings, and a wonderful mum. There’s a lot going on in addition to my work. Learning to prioritise my well-being alongside all that is something that I’m working on.

If I’m decorating a cake, for example, I can’t think of anything else. I have to turn off my ‘work brain’ because it requires such a level of concentration. I’m also learning how to play the drums. If, when I’m playing, I start thinking about how I’m going to sort out a particular investment for a client, my rhythm just all goes to parts. I’m giving time to drumming and to cake decorating – but it is, in essence, giving time to myself.

My husband gave me some good advice: “Don’t let other people’s insecurities become your own”. It’s an important point to remember in a sector like law, which can be extremely competitive.

“Always act with integrity” is another bit of advice that’s stuck with me. That was from our firm’s former managing partner Andrew Ballheimer. I want people to say of me, “She was honest and what she did was right, even if it was a difficult decision.”

I really do value my team. It’s important that, as a partner, I look after my team and make sure that I can see how I can help them to achieve their goals. That’s a big part of my job and I take it very seriously.

Making partner, at a time when there were no other Black partners in the London office, was a real moment for me. Now there are more than six Black partners in the London office.

It really is about being yourself: I’m a Christian, and there’s a Christian society at A&O Shearman which has provided much support to me and others over the years. I do feel that A&O Shearman really has something for everyone. And, in terms of mental health and well-being, I am proud that A&O Shearman is a place where people are able to say they are struggling and know that that is not the definition of weakness, but rather an indication that one needs a break.

When you start out in law, you have an idea of what it takes to be a good lawyer – but at that point, it’s still just an idea. In fact, it’s not just about the smarts and it’s not just technical ability. It’s more than drafting an amazing memo or drafting a good document, it’s more than knowing the law, it’s more than being able to get the business. It’s a combination of all of those things – in you and across your team – that makes you a great lawyer.