Deirdre Trapp, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Career timeline

2009 – Global client partner
2000-06 – Global head of Freshfields' competition group
1995 – Made partner, Freshfields
1987 – Joined Freshfields as a newly-qualified solicitor
1985 – Articled at Carter Faber (which subsequently merged with Manches)

"When I first started out I was doing a range of work – it was excellent exposure and I had to grow up very fast. It was the boom time in the late 80s and I decided to try my hand at a bigger firm. It was intimidating at first – every second person seemed to be public school and I thought I'd made a mistake. But I realised it was a lot more diverse, grew to love it and got involved in all sorts of interesting work. I haven't looked back."

At Freshfields, initially Trapp was involved in a lot of financing and corporate work, before becoming involved in what were groundbreaking electricity privatisation projects. "There was a lot of economic and political goings on around the work and someone remembered that I had done philosophy, politics and economics at university – from that point on, I became more focused on economic regulatory and competition work."

Why did you become a lawyer? I was intending to be an economist but got married after university and lived outside London where the opportunities for economists were very limited, so I re-trained.
Who has been the biggest influence on your career? Rachel Brandenburger (for her high standards of legal scholarship), Anthony Salz (for looking at it from the client's point of view) and my husband (for looking at it from my point of view).
Aside from your clients, which business figure do you most admire and why? Marjorie Scardino, first female FTSE 100 CEO. Not bad for a former lawyer.
What advice would you give to young female lawyers starting out? It's a meritocracy – if you're good you will get on. If the father of your children does not share equal responsibility for them, he will hold you back.
What most annoys you about the profession? Reluctance to change outmoded working practices.

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Lista Cannon, Fulbright & Jaworski

Career timeline

March 2007 – took over as head of the London office of Fulbright & Jaworski and remains a full-time disputes practitioner
April 2005 – Joined the London office of Fulbright as a partner and head of international disputes
1992-2005 – Joined Richards Butler, became head of commercial disputes and sat on partnership board
1980 – returned to work in the UK and rejoined Boodle Hatfield to establish its commercial litigation department
1975 – Passed New York Bar and joined Sullivan & Cromwell in US as a litigator
1974 – Qualified as a solicitor at Boodle Hatfield

When Cannon qualified, she became the first American woman admitted to practise in the England and Wales. "At the time it was a rather bold move by Boodle Hatfield to give me articles, and to ask me back again. When I first came to university over here there were some magic circle firms that did not offer women training contracts."

Why did you become a lawyer? When I was younger I regarded them as peacemakers.
What is the closest you have come to doing something other than law? Attempting pre-medical training in the hope of becoming a doctor.
What's your proudest professional moment? Representing the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan against the Government of Iraq before the invasion of Kuwait.
What advice would you give to young female lawyers starting out? Choose an area of law that is challenging; maintain balance in your life and be open to changes in direction and the unexpected: use the unexpected as an opportunity to grow: a legal career is not necessarily a straight line. Take responsibility for your career, you can't be a passenger; play a long game: pace yourself.

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Sharon White, Stephenson Harwood

Career timeline

October 2009 – Took over from Sunil Gadhia as chief executive of Stephenson Harwood. Remains head of the corporate practice
2007-October 2009 – Corporate head at Stephenson Harwood
November 1997 – Made partner at Stephenson Harwood
1988 – Joined Stephenson Harwood
1984-86 – Trained at Memery Crystal and did two years' post-qualification experience

White left school after her O-levels and studied her A-levels at night school while bookkeeping at an accountancy company for three years. Originally, White thought that she didn't want to make partner and was happy in her current role, but she says taking maternity leave in 1996 prior to making partner made her realise how much she enjoyed what she did.

As chief exec, White has taken responsibility for strategy implementation. Her key aim over her five-year term is to improve the firm's international network, working more closely with the firm's offices abroad.

Why did you become a lawyer? The starting salary of £2,000 per annum given in the Law Society brochure in the careers room at school was the main attraction.
What is the closest you have come to doing something other than law? I did work in an accountants for two years but audit and double-entry bookkeeping only strengthened my resolve to be a lawyer.
What's your proudest professional moment? Being asked to become chief executive.
What advice would you give to young female lawyers starting out? Choose your life partner carefully. Someone who believes your career is important as theirs is a great asset.

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Deirdre Walker, Norton Rose

Career timeline

2010 – Current group head of commercial, real estate and disputes, member of the Norton Rose Group executive committee
2002-09 London managing partner
2000 – Head of department
1997 – Made partner
1991 – Transferred to Norton Rose dispute resolution department
1989 – Joined Norton Rose corporate department
1987-89 – In-house lawyer at the Department of Trade & Industry
1986 – Called to the Bar

After a short stint at the Bar, Walker answered an advertisement for a job at the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), working on legislation such as the consumer protection act and areas such as the Post Office monopoly. "I really valued the quality of the people [at the DTI], and the work was varied but I just found it very slow.

"Many assume that lawyers have a linear career path and that if you don't make partner after seven years, then you never will. The fact is that at various points in our careers other events are going on in your life outside of work that may mean it is not possible to devote yourself to your career and juggle competing demands. This should not mean that your career is over – we will all be working longer, perhaps for 40 years – and to end a career just because you want to put it on hold for a period does not make any sense. The waste of talent and money is breathtaking."

Why did you become a lawyer? I just always wanted to be one. I was spurred on by my English teacher telling me that I wouldn't make it – it's never been in my nature to take no for an answer!
Who has been the biggest influence on your career? My stepfather – it was he who persuaded me to join Norton Rose in 1989 when I wanted to join a smaller firm. His view was that I would have greater opportunities, and how right he was! (But don't tell him I said so!)
What's your proudest professional moment? The most recent was when 97% of the staff in London voted to join the Flex scheme that we introduced – the trust and confidence placed in Norton Rose as an employer was enormous.
What advice would you give to young female lawyers starting out? Find your niche and be passionate about what you do – it's a great job working with really talented people – and keep your options open.
What most annoys you about the legal profession? The slow pace of change is frustrating.

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Moira Gilmour, Field Fisher Waterhouse

Career timeline

2009 – Re-elected for second three-year term as managing partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse
2006 – Took over as managing partner at Field Fisher
2005 – Deputy managing partner, joined the finance committee
2004 – Head of real estate, joined the board
1997 – Joined Field Fisher as a partner from media and communications boutique Allison & Humphreys, which merged with Field Fisher
1989 – Partner in Kennedys litigation practice
1988 – Became partner
1987 – Blyth Dutton, which subsequently merged with LG
1985 – Assistant solicitor at Nabarro
1981 – Qualified at McGrigor Donald

Although for the majority of her career Gilmour has worked in the real estate sector, she originally started her career as a construction litigator, before specialising in development in the height of the boom during the 1980s. While at Allison Humphreys she handled a lot of work on large infrastructure projects, particularly relating to the telecoms sector.

Gilmour does not have what has become a typical City lawyer background – her parents had a shop, while her grandparents were coal miners. She grew up on a council estate, and went to the local comprehensive. When she went to Glasgow University to study modern language and philosophy on a scholarship she became the first person in her family to go to university.

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For a full statistical analysis of female representation at the UK's top 30 firms, [asset_library_tag 768,click here].