Quinn Emanuel’s joint London chief on promoting women, money laundering and silk underwear

Why did you become a litigator? Probably from want of imagination. I returned from the US where I had been studying politics as a post-graduate and needed a job. My father, who was a lawyer, told me that it was quicker to become a barrister than a solicitor, so I became a barrister. I qualified as a solicitor only recently, but I still specialise in litigation.