My legal life: Sarah Russell, Fox Whitfield

A friend’s mother, whom I liked greatly, said she thought I should become a lawyer. So I worked as a legal secretary during university and concluded it would be interesting. I was interested in family law but realised that I would find it emotionally difficult. Claimant employment law has just the right amount of human interest for me.

I like public speaking so was flexible about becoming a solicitor or barrister. After a politics degree at York, I did the GDL, a master’s in law at King’s College London, and then the bar vocational course. I then cross-qualified to become a solicitor while working as a paralegal at Pattinson & Brewer in London. One of the things that most attracted me about the bar was the idea of being self-employed. In the long-term I’ve achieved that through being a consultant, and I like doing my own employment tribunal advocacy, so it’s all worked out well.

I’ve always wanted to make things better for people and achieve social change. As a solicitor I was appalled to see people’s employment rights being trampled and was aware of other people who were having similar experiences but who couldn’t afford legal advice. So I joined the Labour party and got involved. I was then encouraged to attend a local event for women to find out about becoming a councillor. For the second session, the homework was to complete the application form… so I submitted it. There was then an interview process, following which I had to give speeches to be selected by a Labour party branch as their candidate. I led an election campaign while pregnant and on maternity leave with my first daughter. I was elected when she was eight-months old. It was quite the learning curve.

After nearly nine years as a councillor I have decided to stand down in May. One of the nicest things has been using my legal skills in a different context – I loved chairing a scrutiny committee, and giving a strategic steer on HR. My committee had a major role in scrutinising the council’s ED&I strategy and it’s changed significantly as a result. I’ve also helped to secure additional spending on domestic violence and abuse. I was very proud of that.

'Many clients are senior executives and it helps to have been on a board and understand how decision-making will be taking place about their future'

I’m vice-chair of a housing association. The council nominated me for the board initially, although I’m now independently appointed for my combination of legal and local knowledge. Housing is so crucial to people’s lives – seeing the large association run well is important to me. I chair the remuneration and governance committee. I agreed to become vice-chair on the condition that I could do it as a job-share with a fellow board member. I believe we’re a national first.

I work hard and manage my time carefully. I’m a consultant so I have complete flexibility to manage what I do and when, which is helpful.

I regularly work during evenings and weekends. This is convenient for my employed clients because it’s easier for them to speak to me at those times. My clients are typically very stressed and they rarely have to wait more than a few hours for a response from me.

I also work around the needs of my three primary-school-aged children so everything is slotted around the nativity/sports day and so on. It’s helpful that employment law is so seasonal – summer holidays tend to be relatively quiet. Surprisingly, it’s been easier to manage as I have become more senior on the council and the board. As chair of a committee, you are consulted on the dates of meetings so it becomes easier to ensure those aren’t in the school holidays.

I’m a completely different lawyer as a result of my other roles. Nothing throws me. I’ve learnt a lot about how people behave and how the world works, and I find it much easier to predict how a client scenario might play out and judge how to negotiate with different people. Many clients are senior executives and it helps to have been on a board and understand how decision-making will be taking place about their future and the future of organisations.

Most importantly, I’m a happier lawyer. I enjoy the contrast between working with clients and working as a board member. I do a lot of settlement agreement negotiations – they’re quite short and intense. Being a board member is about building something long term. There’s nothing like having a bit more variety in your working day to maintain enthusiasm for all the elements of it.