If You Ask Me

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How do you build a career you love while making room for the rest of your life?

This week, Hannah and Sarah are joined by Elizabeth “Libby” Todd, private equity partner at Ropes & Gray and co-chair of its London Women’s Forum, for an honest conversation about ambition, motherhood and the support that makes a demanding legal career possible.

From fitting dates around deals to raising two boys, Libby shares the choices and compromises behind her career and the advice she still lives by: book the tickets. Make the plans, give yourself a chance to be there, and adjust when you need to.

We talk about shared parental leave, being open with clients, and why greater seniority can bring more flexibility alongside more responsibility. Libby also explains how coaching helped her plan for family life, why she is candid about the practical help she relies on, and how her state-school background shapes her commitment to social mobility.

A warm, practical conversation about making space for what matters, supporting the next generation of women in law, and finding your own way to make it work.

If You Ask Me is sponsored by BlckBx, the life admin personal assistant behind professional working families - saving you time, mental load and giving you back your energy.

Sign up at blckbx.co.uk and get 10% off with code Blue10

If You Ask Me is also sponsored by Rock Legal Search, a legal recruitment agency run by Tom Coode-Bate. Tom combines a depth of experience from a decade in private practice, an extensive network in the London legal market, and a focus on honesty and integrity to assist talented lawyers in making the moves that are right for them.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-coode-bate-19b72b30/

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LinkedIn can be an incredibly powerful business development tool for lawyers, but only if you use it with purpose.

In this episode, Hannah speaks to Helen Burness, founder of Saltmarsh Marketing and one of the UK’s leading voices on LinkedIn strategy for the legal profession. Helen explains why LinkedIn is now an essential part of building a legal career, developing a personal brand and creating genuine business opportunities.

They discuss how the LinkedIn algorithm has changed, why commenting can be just as valuable as posting, and how to create content that demonstrates your expertise without sounding overly polished or self-promotional. Helen also shares her thoughts on AI-generated content, training your feed “like a naughty puppy” and why likes and follower numbers don’t always tell the full story.

The conversation also explores why women often face an additional fear of judgement when becoming more visible and why that makes using their voices even more important.

Packed with honest advice and practical tips, this episode is for anyone who knows they should be doing more on LinkedIn but doesn’t know where to begin.

If You Ask Me is sponsored by BlckBx, the life admin personal assistant behind professional working families - saving you time, mental load and giving you back your energy.

Sign up at blckbx.co.uk and get 10% off with code Blue10

If You Ask Me is also sponsored by Rock Legal Search, a legal recruitment agency run by Tom Coode-Bate. Tom combines a depth of experience from a decade in private practice, an extensive network in the London legal market, and a focus on honesty and integrity to assist talented lawyers in making the moves that are right for them.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-coode-bate-19b72b30/

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Suzi Sendama once had her sights set on becoming Managing Partner of Mishcon de Reya. Instead, after 12 years at the firm, she took a leap into the unknown and built a legal career entirely on her own terms.

Now a Partner at Level, Suzi advises artists, designers, musicians and other creative entrepreneurs. She joins Hannah and Sarah to talk about trusting her instincts, finding clients through genuine connection and why ambition doesn’t disappear when you leave the traditional path, it simply changes shape.

They also discuss motherhood, autonomy and Suzi’s determination to have a successful career, time with her children and a life that still feels like her own, even if she can’t have all of those things at exactly the same moment.

A refreshingly honest conversation about redefining success, backing yourself and building a career around the life you actually want.

If You Ask Me is sponsored by BlckBx, the life admin personal assistant behind professional working families - saving you time, mental load and giving you back your energy.

Sign up at blckbx.co.uk and get 10% off with code Blue10

If You Ask Me is also sponsored by Rock Legal Search, a legal recruitment agency run by Tom Coode-Bate. Tom combines a depth of experience from a decade in private practice, an extensive network in the London legal market, and a focus on honesty and integrity to assist talented lawyers in making the moves that are right for them.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-coode-bate-19b72b30/

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In this episode of If You Ask Me, Hannah and Sarah are joined by Selina Hinchliffe, Partner and Head of Commercial Services at Shakespeare Martineau, for a refreshingly honest conversation about ambition, motherhood, partnership and finding your voice in law.

Selina shares the career pivots that took her from Eversheds to Browne Jacobson and then to Shakespeare Martineau, and reflects on how COVID unexpectedly changed the course of her family life. After years of moving at full speed, lockdown gave her the pause she needed to ask a bigger question: what was she waiting for?

We also talk about one of the least-discussed experiences in the legal profession: returning from maternity leave as an equity partner. Selina speaks candidly about handing over client relationships, rebuilding momentum, managing a national team, and the vulnerability of trying to step back into a practice that has not simply been waiting untouched.

This is also a brilliant conversation about LinkedIn, visibility and business development after children. Selina explains why she started showing up more honestly online, how it helped her rebuild her profile, and why posts some people dismissed as “fluff” have opened doors, won work and helped other women feel less alone.

An honest, powerful episode about resilience, legacy, working parenthood and why motherhood can make you not less ambitious — but more courageous.

If You Ask Me is sponsored by BlckBx, the life admin personal assistant behind professional working families - saving you time, mental load and giving you back your energy.

Sign up at blckbx.co.uk and get 10% off with code Blue10

If You Ask Me is also sponsored by Rock Legal Search, a legal recruitment agency run by Tom Coode-Bate. Tom combines a depth of experience from a decade in private practice, an extensive network in the London legal market, and a focus on honesty and integrity to assist talented lawyers in making the moves that are right for them.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-coode-bate-19b72b30/

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In this episode of If You Ask Me, Hannah and Sarah are joined by Katherine Res Pritchard, Partner at Howard Kennedy and one of the UK's leading family lawyers.

Katherine shares her unconventional route into law, from working in magazine publishing to retraining as a solicitor while raising a young daughter. She reflects on building a legal career alongside motherhood, why becoming a parent sharpened her ambition, and the practical advice that helped her succeed as a trainee and beyond.

The conversation also explores Katherine's work supporting children through family separation, why children's voices are too often overlooked during divorce, and how hearing directly from them can transform the way families navigate conflict.

Drawing on both her professional expertise and her own experience of divorce, Katherine offers a hopeful perspective on one of life's most difficult transitions, reminding us that separation doesn't have to define a family and that there can be a positive chapter on the other side.

Whether you're a lawyer, a parent, or simply interested in leadership, resilience and family life, this is an insightful and reassuring conversation about career, ambition and putting children first. 

If You Ask Me is sponsored by BlckBx, the life admin personal assistant behind professional working families - saving you time, mental load and giving you back your energy.

Sign up at blckbx.co.uk and get 10% off with code Blue10

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In this episode of If You Ask Me, Hannah and Sarah speak with Francesca Ainsworth, Corporate Partner at Lewis Silkin, about her journey from training and qualifying at Linklaters to becoming a partner while on parental leave.

Francesca shares why she chose to leave Big Law just three years after qualification, how she found a firm culture that aligned with her ambitions and values, and the moment she realised partnership was a goal worth pursuing.

The conversation explores:

•  Why leaving a prestigious firm can be the right career move 
•  Building a successful legal career without sacrificing life outside work 
•  Becoming partner while on parental leave 
•  The importance of mentors and sponsors in career progression 
•  Lewis Silkin's groundbreaking equal parental leave policy 
•  Why changing workplace culture matters as much as changing policies 
•  The role flexible working has played in retaining talented lawyers 

Francesca also reflects on motherhood, leadership and the societal shifts still needed to create genuine equality in the legal profession.

A thoughtful and honest discussion about ambition, partnership, parenthood and redefining what success in law can look like.

If You Ask Me is sponsored by BlckBx, the life admin personal assistant behind professional working families - saving you time, mental load and giving you back your energy.

Sign up at blckbx.co.uk and get 10% off with code Blue10

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In this episode of If You Ask Me, Hannah and Sarah speak with Natalie Quinlivan, Partner in the Dispute Resolution team at Fieldfisher, about her  route to partnership and what she learned from briefly stepping away from private practice to raise her young family.

Natalie shares how she took a two-and-a-half-year career break, navigated the uncertainty of returning to law during the pandemic, and deliberately set herself the challenge of making partner within two years of returning to practice—a goal she successfully achieved.

The conversation explores the realities of rebuilding confidence after maternity leave, the importance of coaching, sponsorship and honest feedback, and how becoming a parent reshaped Natalie's approach to leadership, ambition and success. She discusses the practical support systems that enabled her career progression, why culture matters when choosing a firm, and how women can advocate for themselves rather than waiting to be recognised.

Natalie also reflects on the challenges of balancing partnership with raising young children, the importance of building a personal and professional support network, and why she believes motherhood has made her a stronger lawyer rather than holding her back.

If You Ask Me is sponsored by BlckBx, the life admin personal assistant behind professional working families - saving you time, mental load and giving you back your energy.

Sign up at blckbx.co.uk and get 10% off with code Blue10

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In this episode of If You Ask Me, Hannah and Sarah speak with Aoife McDonagh, Partner in the Funds & Investment Management Group at Maples Group, about building a successful legal career while navigating motherhood, ambition, leadership and career change.

 Aoife reflects on beginning her career during the global financial crisis, securing a training contract at a time when opportunities were scarce and how the relationships and team culture she experienced early on continue to shape her approach to leadership today. She also discusses the impact of AI and innovation on legal practice and what firms must do to attract and retain talent, particularly women.

The conversation explores the "squiggly moments" that often define women's careers in law, including Aoife's decision to leave her long-term firm while expecting her second child and join the Maples Group with a clear ambition to make partner. She speaks candidly about the pressure women place on themselves, the importance of being vocal about your own career goals and why simply "keeping your head down" is rarely enough.

If You Ask Me is sponsored by BlckBx, the life admin personal assistant behind professional working families - saving you time, mental load and giving you back your energy.

Sign up at blckbx.co.uk and get 10% off with code Blue10

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In this episode of If You Ask Me, we speak to Louise Jeffers, partner in clinical negligence at Browne Jacobson, about building a successful legal career in a way that is both ambitious and sustainable.

Louise reflects on her route into law, her move from claimant to defendant work, and the career path that led her to partnership while raising two young children. She talks openly about the realities of combining leadership and motherhood, the support systems that made it possible, and why becoming a parent did not reduce her ambition but gave her a deeper sense of clarity, empathy and purpose.

The conversation also explores some of the bigger structural questions facing the profession, including what law firms need to do to retain more women, why genuine flexibility matters, and how better support around maternity leave and return to work can make a real difference.

Louise also shares her thoughts on financial independence, why women in law should be talking more about money and investing, and how having financial freedom can create more choice over the shape of a career and family life.

This is an honest, thoughtful conversation about leadership, motherhood, money and what success can look like when you define it for yourself.

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In this episode of If You Ask Me, Hannah and Sarah speak to Marianne McJannett, employment law partner at Aberdein Considine, about building a legal career on her own terms.

Marianne shares the story of how she stepped into leadership unusually early, taking on major responsibility just months after qualifying, and how that shaped the way she thinks about confidence, networks and career development. She also talks candidly about using LinkedIn to raise her profile, build credibility and open doors, including how it supported her path to partnership.

The conversation also explores the reality of combining a demanding legal career with motherhood. Marianne reflects on returning from maternity leave, the adjustment of the first six months back, the importance of support at home and at work, and why becoming a parent sharpened her ambition rather than limiting it.

This is an honest and practical conversation about visibility, leadership, flexibility and what career progression can look like when you stop following the traditional script.