Tell us about a typical day in your current role?
I work for EDF Energy in the nuclear energy part of our business. I have been working as part of the EDF legal team on our new station at Hinkley Point C. I started in the construction team and then moved into corporate-focused work such as financing, equity arrangements and corporate governance. This year, I am working in our Nuclear Operations business, transferring two of our defuelled stations to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). These are the first of this type of reactor that have been transferred in the UK, so it is very much a first-of-a-kind role, involving lots of stakeholder engagement across government, the NDA and EDF to make sure that the legal arrangements that sit around the transfers all progress smoothly and on time. It is a real collaborative effort and a great example of legal and other teams working together on a shared goal.
What has been the proudest moment in your career so far?
There have been several and, very shortly, I am hoping to add the transfer of our Hunterston B station to the list. I am very proud of my move in-house when I had never done so much as a secondment, and the three adjudications that we won under the first contract I worked on at EDF. I was also thrilled to be there when EDF was named the In-house Legal Team of the Year a couple of years ago at one of the big legal awards ceremonies. We all pretended we did not really mind about winning until our name was announced, but it really did mean a lot to us to be recognised.
If you could offer one piece of advice to your 21-year-old self, what would it be?
Stay curious and open to opportunities. In private practice, it is easy to feel constrained and not empowered to ask questions and really get under the skin of your clients’ businesses and industries, but do not be put off by thinking you are straying ‘outside your lane’ or wasting time. Constantly learning and being open to new opportunities has given me a rewarding and unexpected career. I never thought I would end up in the nuclear industry, and it is a privilege to be making a contribution to projects that will have a decades-long positive legacy.
In what ways did your time at Burges Salmon influence your career?
When I started at Burges Salmon in 2008, it felt quite conservative and traditional. Flexible working such as working from home was not done at all. When I left in 2018, it was a different place, particularly around working patterns and opportunities for progression. Along with a colleague, I believe I was one of the first at the firm to do a mixed PSL and fee-earning role on a job-share basis, which still continues in the Construction team. This showed me that there are different ways of having a successful and fulfilling legal career.
Who has particularly inspired you or helped you get to where you are today?
My partner. It is not always easy when you both work full-time in demanding jobs and have kids. He has supported me throughout my whole career, including when I announced that I was leaving the security of Burges Salmon and going to go freelance. He did, however, make me do an Excel business plan, which I did not much appreciate at the time. I would also say the legal team at EDF is, to a person, unfailingly supportive and inspirational, whether for their top-quality legal work, their commitment to our team’s wellbeing or just for being a lovely team to work in. It is probably no coincidence that a number of us are Burges Salmon alumni. In the last few years of my career, I have also increasingly valued and sought out the advice and help of people who are not lawyers, including commercial and technical colleagues at EDF. This gives me a different perspective outside the bubble of law and encourages me to understand our broader business, its objectives and future opportunities for me and the rest of my team.
If you had not followed a career in law, what would you like to have done instead?
At the age of 21, I would probably have gone into the civil service, but I still have a long way to go before I want to even think about retiring, so this is still a live question. One of the advantages of working for EDF is that we are not pigeonholed, and I will keep an eye out for international opportunities and non-legal roles in the future. Looking even further ahead, I plan to make use of my mediation qualification to help resolve workplace and commercial disputes.