I thought I was the only one
"I quoted lower, but I could have quoted higher. Why did I never learn?" (said by a senior lawyer at a Female Lawyers' Club fees and billing session)
For years, saying my fees out loud made me want to apologise mid-sentence. I'd say the number and immediately look for ways to make it sound better, or justify it. I assumed this was a personal failing, something everyone else had grown out of.
It turns out it wasn't just me at all.
Nobody asked me why I was leaving
Nobody asked me why I was leaving.
Colleagues asked, plenty of them, out of real curiosity. But across six different law firms, over more than twenty years, after I’d announced I was leaving each firm, nobody ever sat me down properly - not once.
We already know women leave this profession in numbers that should worry every firm. Around a third of female solicitors leave between five and ten years after qualifying, and don't come back (Law Society, 2022). Women make up the majority of solicitors and a fraction of equity partners. None of that is news to anyone reading this.
The feedback you got wasn't about you. Here's the research that proves it.
A few weeks ago, I was running a leadership session for a law firm’s women’s network. Around 109 people joined, which was already impressive, but what really stood out was that around 20 of them were men.
At the start of the session, I put a question up on screen and asked everyone to answer it in the chat. The question was:
"Have you ever been penalised for being assertive, direct, ambitious, independent or confident - traits often praised in men but questioned in women?"
Earn what you're worth, without working more hours
A few years ago, I acted for a group of individuals exiting a business. The main contact argued me down on my fees, and I agreed. I charged £15,000 for the whole matter. I later found out that my opposition, who I knew had a similar level of experience as me, charged £60,000 for effectively the same job, when I am sure that I had done more of the hand-holding. When I learned this, I felt sick: I had charged just a quarter of what my opposition had charged and I know I’d done a great job.
We learn the hard way. And then, sometimes, we get a session like the one we had with Matthew Dashper-Hughes, and we realise there might be a faster route.
This will stop you second-guessing yourself
"Know thyself."
These words were inscribed on the entrance to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi in ancient Greece, where people travelled from across the world to consult the oracle. The fact that this was the first thing they were asked to consider before seeking answers elsewhere feels about right to me. People have understood for a very long time that knowing yourself is one of the foundations of a well-lived life.
And yet most of us spend very little time actually doing it.