Tell me a bit about your background and how you started your career?

I was brought up in Surrey as one of four girls in a Greek-Irish family. My father worked in the rag trade before moving into property. I first became interested in the law while I was at school; my maths teacher was married to a criminal barrister, so I did a mini pupillage at his set. This was followed by various other mini pupillages, as well as work experience at law firms, the BBC and Foreign Office, all of which affirmed my love for the law and, in particular, commercial law.

After being called to the Bar in 1996, I started my career as a barrister at 4 Pump Court. Realising this wasn’t for me, I joined Wilde Sapte (then the preeminent investment banking firm in the City), undergoing advocacy training. This was fantastic – I learned the tools of the trade as a solicitor while being able to hone my advocacy skills as well.

I moved on to Weil, Gotshal & Manges before spending 10 years as a partner at Bingham McCutchen. In 2013, I moved to Boies Schiller Flexner to launch its London office.

What motivated you to found Pallas Partners, and in what ways are you challenging the status quo?

I saw a real gap in the market for a high-end litigation and disputes firm based in London and New York, as well as an opportunity to rethink how, as a new law firm, we can adopt a fresh, innovative approach to enhance and upgrade our service delivery to our clients. I took a blank piece of paper, thought ‘What should a modern law firm look like?’ and built it from there.

We’re different because we’re starting from scratch; we’re not shackled by years of bureaucracy or ways of doing things in a certain way. I can set the culture and values for the firm and look at ways we can improve the client experience; for instance, creating optionality around how they want to be charged.

I have placed responsibility and sustainability at the heart of the firm, with all our staff involved in shaping the strategy and defining what we want to stand for, with challenging targets set to ensure accountability. We have pledged to achieve diversity parity, become carbon neutral, as well as increase community support every year to 5% of resources by 2025.

Why is it so important for you to champion diversity within Pallas?

As someone who comes from a non-traditional background, I’ve been a passionate advocate for diversity for years. There isn’t just the moral obligation in that it is the right thing to do; diverse teams generate better results for their clients because they serve different viewpoints and opinions. In more and more instances, clients want to see diversity among their advisers.

To me, it’s about creating an environment in which associates, partners and the business services team can thrive and deliver outstanding service; an environment where clients have best-in-class teams who are operating at the highest level and delivering outstanding results.

What were the main challenges you faced in your career and how did you overcome them?

I felt like a complete outsider when I started out in the industry. I didn’t come from a professional academic family and, although I’d been fortunate enough to have had work experience, hardly knew any lawyers. Furthermore, when I started at the Bar, it was male and Oxbridge-dominated, so I felt I had to be flawless to be taken seriously.

Undoubtedly, this spurred me on. I was just so focused on succeeding. I worked incredibly hard, always going above and beyond and viewed every case I received as an amazing opportunity to get better.

What do you believe are the keys to effective leadership?

A clear vision and sense of direction, as well as accessibility and the ability to make tough decisions under pressure. Know your weaknesses, as well as your strengths, and build a team that can support you in every sense, as well as challenge you when necessary. You need people to test your views.

What advice would you give specifically to women in leadership roles? 

Be yourself and don’t try to be something you’re not. Ensuring a work/life balance for both you and the team is critical; if you create an environment where people want to work, then that really helps to drive your confidence in what you are doing and the ability to make the business a successful venture.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Always actively listen to people. So often, people are thinking about what they want to say next rather than truly listening to what is being said. When you are actively listening, you will properly understand what is being communicated and can respond accordingly. This extends to clients, colleagues and opponents…

How would you describe your work/life balance?

I work very hard and put in a lot of hours, as is expected when setting up a new business, but Covid-19 taught me an important lesson. For the first time, I was able to have dinner with my children, something I now prioritise where possible. I continue working in the evening afterwards, but that time is valuable to me.

I was cognisant of this when setting up Pallas; I wanted to create an environment that recognises that people have real-life pressures, with friends and family they want to see. I set out to build a culture where quality of work is valued over face time.

The City is constantly evolving – what are some positive changes you think should be celebrated, and what areas still need more work?

We have seen a significant move forward in the recognition and promotion of diverse talent in the City in the last few years, particularly within the legal sector, with more focus being placed on cultural change in the workplace. However, there is still more to be done, and in particular, we need to see more professional women in senior positions – especially leading FTSE 100 companies – and increased support in this area.

Having featured in Brummell’s Inspirational Women list in 2022, what is your next focus or goal?

My goal for the next 12 months is to continue to grow and build out both the London and New York offices of Pallas Partners with a blend of organic growth and promotion coupled with lateral hires, in our core focus areas of litigation, arbitration and investigations.