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Today is International Women’s Day, celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This year’s campaign theme is #InspireInclusion.
Today, tens of thousands of women practice as solicitors nationwide. Therefore it’s incredible to reflect that just over a century ago, women were only just beginning to break into the legal profession following the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919.
In the early 1920s, trailblazers like Madge Easton Anderson, Carrie Morrison, Agnes Twiston-Hughes, and Dorethea Heron made history by becoming the first female solicitors in Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland, respectively. Their tenacity and unwavering determination paved the way for future generations of women in law, challenging the male-dominated status quo.
Those women are owed a great deal – they fought with sheer determination for women to have the right to work in law, a profession that was dominated by men at the time. However, even today, the legal industry loses far too many brilliant women due to its inflexible working practices and its culture of long hours.
New model law firms can work better for women
At Nexa, we are proud to support women in law with an inclusive and positive working culture – wellbeing and work/life balance is our key focus. We think flexible working in all its guises is essential to accelerating change. We know that every one of our lawyers is an individual, and so they’re provided with relevant support that is unique to them.
As a new model law firm, we can offer all our lawyers a satisfying legal career in a supportive community of like-minded professionals, but with the freedom to work how they want to work.
That means the freedom to do the school-run and not feel guilty about leaving early (for whatever reason). The autonomy to work for the clients you want to work for and, of course, no pressure to meet targets or clock up the hours in the evening doing business development (if you don’t want to!). However don’t just take our word for it – take a look at existing Nexa Consultant Donna Taylor’s account of how consultancy works for her – to the point she could enjoy being a lawyer again!
Victoria Hibbert, Nexa’s COO says “The flexibility and freedom we offer our consultants means we are a place where women can thrive and succeed in their careers, enabling them to balance work and life – making their career work for them, not the other way around!”
At Nexa we believe happy lawyers make happy clients and we strive to keep this simple philosophy at the heart of all we do. Happy International Women’s Day!