My legal life: Paige Gajic, Freeths

Conversations about gender in the law often focus on the fact that women make up just over half of the profession but are vastly under-represented at partnership level. So I was keen to take up the opportunity to interview Paige Gajic, a senior associate at Freeths, on young mothers in law.

Gajic knew from a young age that she wanted to be a lawyer: ‘I remember going to the Post Office and seeing paper legal forms. I helped myself to those and put them in my “legal briefcase” to “play offices” at home.’

As she was preparing for the final year of her law degree, Gajic found out she was pregnant. A tutor asked during a meeting: ‘Are you sure you can do this?’ Gajic left the meeting ‘frustrated and upset’. But she also describes herself as a ‘determined person’. Three months after her son was born, she sat her LLB exams. She did her LPC while working part-time in the hospitality industry.

Gajic applied for legal assistant and paralegal jobs. She was transparent during interviews about being a young mother. She was told the job was full-time and office hours applied. ‘I don’t know if they thought I was going to ask for part-time [working]. But I wasn’t. I knew what these roles were when I applied for them. I was going to make it work. From my perspective, I would not have applied for that role if I didn’t think I could offer what they were asking for.’

Gajic wondered whether her openness was costing her job offers, so she became less transparent so early – something she wouldn’t do now.

When Rothera Bray offered Gajic a training contract, it knew she was a mother. The firm even published a blog by her on balancing the roles of trainee solicitor, student and parent.

'I was very lucky to find a law firm which encourages you to flourish as a professional and a parent, which doesn’t come very often'

In her blog, Gajic spoke about wearing three hats: law student, trainee solicitor and parent. Gajic acknowledged that it was tough to maintain her ‘tripartite life’, but she also stressed that it is possible to have a professional career and a family.

‘You may not be able to work long hours, but your experience as a parent means you bring a different perspective to your training. You have an edge that not all trainees can offer. Thankfully, there are firms out there which recognise this,’ Gajic said in her blog. ‘Your training contract is a huge achievement and it is an investment in your child’s future as much as your own. I was very lucky to find a law firm which encourages you to flourish as a professional and a parent, which doesn’t come very often. I believe that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve half of what I have without the support of the partners and my colleagues at Rothera Bray.’

Another trainee the firm took on was also a young mother – who was inspired to apply after reading the blog.

Gajic was promoted to associate solicitor in 2022. She was encouraged to apply when she was pregnant with her second child and was able to defer her promotion while she was on maternity leave.

In 2024, Gajic moved to Freeths. She made clear from the outset that she was a parent and that she intended to work full-time. She asked about the firm’s working policies. While she wanted to be right for Freeths, ‘it needs to work both ways… I know I can give them my best and what I can offer as an employee, but are they offering me what I need, as an employer?’

Freeths operates a families and parents network where parents ‘build each other up, ask for advice… it gives you that little community who understand your situation, a support system’.

Firms risk losing talent if they lack family-friendly policies that help staff balance their responsibilities, Gajic said.

When she first entered the profession, Gajic ‘compartmentalised’ her life. ‘I used to think of my life as a lawyer separately to being a parent. Now, I’m both.’

Paige Gajic is a senior associate at Freeths in Nottingham