Life During Law: Diala Minott

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Life During Law: Diala Minott

My mum is Syrian and my father’s Iraqi. I was raised in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. I was influenced by the war in Lebanon and then the war in Iraq. Constantly moving and never having a place that you can call your own, but also fighting to be educated.

As a girl in Saudi Arabia, I had to dress up as a boy to go swimming and horse riding. All the things women weren’t allowed to do. When I became a teenager, I wasn’t allowed to any more. It was very obvious that I was not a boy and I found my world cut in half. Continue reading “Life During Law: Diala Minott”

Disputes perspectives: Bankim Thanki QC

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Disputes perspectives: Bankim Thanki QC

My father had been a lawyer in India and East Africa but wasn’t keen on me becoming a lawyer. It’s a bit of a standing joke but it’s true – every Indian parent wants their kid to become a doctor, whether or not you have any skillset in that direction! My dad was dead against the Bar in particular because it didn’t have a regular income attached. There was no family encouragement whatsoever. Continue reading “Disputes perspectives: Bankim Thanki QC”

Disputes perspectives: Sue Millar

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Disputes perspectives: Sue Millar

I was always naturally argumentative. But I didn’t have any role model at all, nobody that I knew was involved in law.

I was either going to be a journalist or a lawyer. What swayed me? I grew up in the 1980s and you start to get politically awakened in your teens. This was at a time when Margaret Thatcher was in government and everything was extremely political. I realised that I would probably have to write in accordance with the political wishes of the editor and I didn’t think I could do that. Continue reading “Disputes perspectives: Sue Millar”

Herbert Smith Freehills: Between two peaks

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Herbert Smith Freehills: Between two peaks

London. A bitingly cold day at the end of January and Legal Business ventures out on a novel expedition to Liverpool Street. An enforced pandemic-induced break from office-dwelling has made deciphering which of Exchange House’s two entrances will gain us access to the Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) offices a little more challenging than it should have been.

Luckily it’s not just us. Ironically, Justin D’Agostino, HSF’s chief executive, encounters the same quandary. This is his first in-person meeting since taking the top job in May 2020. It is also his first day in London for nigh on two years. Continue reading “Herbert Smith Freehills: Between two peaks”

Life During Law: Tihir Sarkar

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Life During Law: Tihir Sarkar

I grew up in the Midlands in the ̒80s. It was hard hit by the recession. My dad lost his job as an engineer, working for Smiths Industries, which supplied the car industry. It was the deindustrialisation of large parts of the UK. My father was a businessman and entrepreneurial. He became self-employed, started his own printing business, but it was certainly not stable.

I became a lawyer because I wanted a regular job. There were no lawyers in our family. It wasn’t a profession that was accessible or easy to understand from my background. Growing up in the ethnic community in Birmingham, second generation, the only other options on the table were being a doctor, a dentist or a pharmacist and I definitely didn’t want to be any of those! Continue reading “Life During Law: Tihir Sarkar”

The management interview – James Palmer

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The management interview – James Palmer

Legal Business: What has the pandemic taught you about leadership?

James Palmer: Everything teaches me. The last 15 months or so have been – and I’ve said this internally – the most extraordinary of my lifetime in most respects. Who would have anticipated this? I like change and challenge, but nothing prepared me for a year at home. Has it taught me things? Oh boy – yes! Continue reading “The management interview – James Palmer”

Life During Law: Natasha Harrison

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Life During Law: Natasha Harrison

My maths teacher was married to a criminal barrister, so I did a mini-pupillage at his set. Loved it but decided I didn’t want to do criminal law. Over the years that followed I did more mini-pupillages, including at a commercial set, a common law set, as well as work experiences at law firms, the BBC and Foreign Office. All of which confirmed I wanted to do commercial law.

I really wanted to go down the barrister route, but I was the first person in my family to go into law and I didn’t know any barristers growing up. I had been to Durham rather than Oxbridge and I was a girl. Continue reading “Life During Law: Natasha Harrison”