Why did you become a lawyer?

After graduating High School, I was very much in the boat of “I’ve got the grades, I guess I’ll be a lawyer!” There was absolutely no way in which I could’ve been a doctor. Blood and gore – not for me.

When I enrolled in University, I don’t think I gave ‘being a lawyer’ too much thought until around half way through my first year. I found myself struggling with the courses and barely passing. I began to question my choices and, in fact, I dropped out at the end of my first year, taking a semester off. I told my family and friends that the law simply wasn’t for me and I certainly was not going back. However, after working a fulltime job for 6 months, I had a profound realisation (as you do at age 19) that, whatever I did, there were going to be difficulties and challenges to overcome. I went back to Law School in the second semester of second year and took extra subjects to catch up, whilst also managing to talk my way into a job at a local plaintiff law firm. Being exposed to the practical side of law (and often thrown into the deep end) early on in my studies was, in hindsight, absolutely invaluable and really cemented for me that being a lawyer was what I wanted to do.

Why Moray & Agnew?

After I graduated, I continued to work at a plaintiff law firm doing a ‘little bit of everything’, as is ordinarily the case. A little later, one of my peers from law school, Madelaine McCullum (also now a Partner at Moray & Agnew) approached me to ask if I would put forward my CV for an available position in the CTP department. I remember managing to organise the interview directly after I had Court appearance in Newcastle. The entire time in Court, I was much more nervous about the interview than the case I was mentioning. Moray & Agnew seemed to me like ‘big law’. I got the job and have been here ever since (going on 9 years now). The firm has grown and changed over those years, and I am proud to work within an organisation that values female leadership, friendship, flexibility, hard work, and has supported me in so many ways.

What do you enjoy outside work?

Spending time with my husband and daughter, running, a good glass of wine or a margarita, and I can’t say no to a shopping trip...

Three words that sum you up

Hard working, friendly, kind.