Celebrating women in law

In light of International Women’s Day, our team members Natalie McEvoy and Jess Alden highlight important moments in their careers.

My return-to-work story - Natalie McEvoy, Counsel

I vividly recall the day Baroness Hale delivered the Supreme Court judgment in the case Gina Miller brought against The Prime Minister, in which Boris Johnson was found to have unlawfully prorogued Parliament. Having dropped my older children at school, I was taking my youngest to a football class, listening to coverage of the case all the way. I was stopped in my tracks because my old law firm and department had been on the winning team. I felt so proud of them for all their hard work, but was filled with thoughts of what might have been had I stayed. Would I too have been able, in some small way (I had been a support lawyer to that team), to have played a role in that case? It hit me that I had been lucky enough in my career to access work that was making the news and had walked away from playing a part in history.

Why had I stepped away? The age-old excuse; children. I loved being there for my three young children and no role I could find allowed me to participate in the client-side of work in a flexible-enough way. I had moved from client-facing work to Professional Support Lawyering; a role I thoroughly enjoyed. But while it gave me consistency across the academic side of my preferred field, I lost that buzz of being involved in the evolving case law.

My second turning point was when my son made an innocent remark about mummies not working. He was simply saying what he could see at home. I wasn’t the role model I had wanted to be, and I realised how increasingly important it was becoming for me to correct that impression. In the same way that I raise my daughter to shoot for the stars, I felt it just as important to raise my sons with visibility of women occupying all the same good roles that they might one day aspire to. Besides, it threw into focus that I was proud of my old job and the hard work that had got me there. I had accidentally lost my identity.

After a three year career break, I had all but given up on the idea of making it back, especially into my preferred field; media litigation and reputation protection. I assumed that I would be looking for a compromised, or “next best” thing. Then the phone rang and it was Jess Lovell, a partner from Slateford, asking me if I would consider working for them. I now effectively work for the length of time my children are out of the house. As flexible working employees demonstrate time-after-time, I’m so grateful for such maturity of engagement that I try my hardest to keep things ticking over well outside my hours.

I have been truly concerned about working women’s mobility during the pandemic. Women have overwhelmingly borne the brunt of childcare and homeschooling and there are countless stories of women having resigned to cope with the demands. I hope that still to come there is a period of repair and consolidation when companies which finally enjoy growth may make a point of recruiting to rebalance the blend of survivors. One positive aspect of pandemic-life, however, is that everyone has been fully immersed in the work-from-home experience, which made my request to work from home as a long-term arrangement pretty unremarkable. An outcomes-based employer can recognise that a presenteeism model does not work for everyone.

In my time out of the workplace, it often struck me how many great brains were stuck at home for want of a little more flexibility. I would take my children to baby classes packed full of capable women from brilliant jobs who had become frozen out of the workplace. Wouldn’t it be a great way to mark International Women’s Week to reach out to one and make a difference? The results show you are likely to find yourself a committed, loyal and intelligent employee. Be the change you want to see.

It’s incredible to be back.

My path into the law and the women who have influenced me - Jess Alden, Trainee Solicitor

On International Women’s Day this week, I reflected on the opportunities that I have been afforded as a result of centuries of women campaigning for change and the influences that other women have had on me.

My path into the law started with my application to University. I was privileged enough to go to Oxford University for my undergrad to read Law. I was the first person in my family to go to University. I was the first person at my school for a number of years to get into Oxford. I had to work hard to get there and to break that glass ceiling. I was once told that I shouldn’t “get my hopes up”. I ignored all advice like that - I think having the confidence to do that is in itself a privilege. Reflecting now, I am very grateful for the few teachers that believed in me and helped me, including one female teacher who told me not to give up when I was contemplating dropping out of Sixth Form. I’ve been lucky enough to have had some strong female influences in my life and the impact that they have had on me has been really profound.

My time at university solidified my own personal goals and what I wanted to achieve. Anything is possible. It was the best, (and the toughest!) three years of my life to date. I met many women who inspired me, ranging from professors to peers – these connections inspired me to do better and be better. I decided in my first year of university that I wanted to specialise in reputation management, and to find a training contract that field. Of course, ignoring the advice that there are so little training contracts in that niche area and it would be better to diversify my applications.

I’m now approaching qualification in September, having been afforded almost two years of hands-on experience in a wide variety of matters in the reputation management sphere. This has not only given me an abnormal amount of experience in interim non-disclosure injunctions but has also provided me with the opportunity to be mentored by senior members of the team.

Slateford have some strong women in its leadership who have all contributed to my development. The fact that over 50% of our work force is female, some balancing a very successful career and having a family at the same time - things that 50 years ago may have been mutually exclusive - makes Slateford a great place to work as a junior female employee. I am very excited to see how my next few years with the firm progress.