What was your career path to Lucent Technologies?
I trained at Wansbroughs Willey Hargrave, now part of Beachcroft Wansbroughs, and after qualifying I was selected as a secondee to Imperial Tobacco in Bristol.
Half-way through my nine-month secondment, I accepted a job as assistant legal manager and stayed with the company for two years. I left Imperial Tobacco to join Dyson Appliances. Eighteen months later, in the autumn of 1998, I joined Lucent.
What motivated your decision to return to private practice?
There were a number of reasons for the move. As an in-houser, you are often working on your own or in a small team. I was attracted to the idea of being part of a physical legal team that I could expand or shape as appropriate and in which ideas could be shared.
Secondly, unless you are in the centre of a large in-house legal function, there is a greater ability in private practice to have a more pronounced career structure. You simply cannot get this to the same degree in-house. Thirdly, the opportunity was too good to miss.
