Interview with Monidipa Fouzder
Before qualifying as a tax solicitor at Shakespeare Martineau, Camilla Tamiolakis spent a decade with the Financial Ombudsman Service. For four of those years, she was an adjudicator resolving complex financial disputes, with a particular focus on the PPI financial mis-selling scandal. She would look at the evidence and then decide whether the selling process was fair or unfair.
Camilla was promoted to quality assurance, ensuring cases were resolved in line with guidelines set by the FOS. This involved checking other people’s work: ‘I wasn’t getting into the meat of cases. It felt like I needed that further challenge.’
Having studied law at university, Camilla says she used many skills in her role as an adjudicator that a lawyer would. ‘I was going through lots of information, regulations, and coming up with an outcome. It seemed like a natural progression to pursue a career as a solicitor.’
She was always interested in the commercial and corporate side of law, and she enjoyed her seat in tax. ‘Tax is very heavily statute-based. I really like areas of law that have a lot of statute involved.’
Camilla qualified in 2024 and is now training to become a dual-qualified tax technician. ‘Tax is such a complex area of law. It’s not something that’s really taught during a law degree or LPC. I thought it was a good idea to get structured training so I have a holistic view of the tax system, which would give me a good foundation for my legal career.’
Camilla has been a driving force in Shakespeare Martineau’s junior networking initiative, London Connect, which was in its early stages when she joined. ‘The idea is to encourage junior lawyers and trainees to start networking and build networks from an early stage.
'People were so passionate about sustainable business practices and B Corp as a whole. It was a great network to be part of. I looked for other events but there weren’t that many in-person options'
‘We’re trying to organise events that bring people together so we can start developing our own networks, not just with lawyers but juniors from other industries like accountancy or real estate; anyone who could be a client one day.’
The network has also been building relationships with B Corp-certified businesses. Camilla recalls attending a B Corp networking event and was blown away by the number of people there. ‘The place was rammed. People were so passionate about sustainable business practices and B Corp as a whole. It was a great network to be part of and I learnt so much. I looked for other events but there weren’t that many in-person options.’
Camilla saw an opportunity for the firm to host events. She pitched the idea to senior colleagues in the London office and organised the first event in 2024. The network collaborated with a sustainable print, design and marketing company that Camilla met at the B Corp networking event to organise a greenwashing workshop that featured food and drink from B Corp partners. Last year, the network organised a panel discussion with an environmental consultancy, exploring the new B Corp standards and what they mean for recertification.
Camilla’s interest in B Corp feels like a full-circle moment. When she applied for a training contract at Shakespeare Martineau, she was asked to do a presentation on a business idea. Her pitch? A vegan, sustainable hotel.
Discussing the importance of networking for juniors, Camilla said the London Connect team wanted to make such encounters less awkward. ‘Sometimes you go into a room and everyone breaks off into circles. We wanted it to be a lot more informal and fun. That’s what we’ve managed to achieve.’ Events have even included a table tennis tournament.
Camilla co-founded The Student Lawyer Podcast in 2020, while applying for training contracts. ‘When Covid happened, I was stuck inside. I thought, how can I continue to build my network from my room?’
Camilla and her sister, who was studying law, came up with the idea of setting up a podcast. Many early interviews focused on securing a training contract and pupillage. However, they also enjoyed interviewing people from different backgrounds. For instance, they interviewed an electrician who went on to secure a training contract and a DJ-turned-barrister. ‘We were keen to share stories of people who have taken a non-linear route into law,’ says Camilla – who now belongs to this particular cohort of lawyers herself.
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