AWS chief pushes for flexi-time INTERVIEW: Anthea Grainger speaks out for female solicitorsAnthea Grainger, the new chairwoman of the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS), is living proof of the possibility of having if not everything, then at least a fairly hefty chunk.

A mother of three, she managed to combine her growing family with 23 years spent as a consultant at west London firm Darlington & Parkinson, where she worked flexible hours, before taking on her current role as a part-time chairwoman with the appeals service.As a result, one of the focal points for her time as AWS chief will be promoting flexible working.

The biggest problem facing female solicitors is the long-hours culture, she explains.

Firms have to realise and many are that people simply cannot work for years on end under tremendous pressure, and clients often dont want to be seen by someone whos been in the office for 14 hours already.Ms Grainger describes her old firm as incredibly helpful in its willingness to build a probate and trust practice around her requirements, and is generally positive about changing attitudes in many firms.

There is a more positive feeling towards part-time working and working from home, an acceptance that in the days of e-mail and video conferences, you can work from home as much as you can in the office.To make womens issues such as these more prominent, Ms Grainger is committed to getting an AWS representative on the Law Societys ruling council during her tenure, and urges female solicitors to use their ballot papers to vote for change.

Despite the improved attitudes to part-time working, Ms Grainger is adamant that there is still a role for the AWS.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, she says.

Of our 10,000 members, we have a number of female partners from big City firms who continue to feel isolated by their male colleagues, and want to spend a day just with women.Maybe they want reassurance that, as Ms Grainger shows, it can be done.Victoria MacCallum