To coincide with International Women's Day on 8 March, Legal Week has asked a number of high profile female law firm leaders and partners for their advice for other women hoping for the same success. In the second of a series of pieces to be published this week, CMS UK senior partner Penelope Warne discusses the 'straitjacket' effect of traditional working culture

Since becoming one of only a handful of female senior partners in the UK top 20 law firms, I have been keen to overcome the 'straitjacket' of the traditional working culture that still characterises much of City life.

My priority has always been to lead a dynamic and driven business that is innovative and successful; no one wants to be in a firm that is not those things. But it is important that this is achieved in the context of a supportive and encouraging culture. It is also important to recognise that success comes not through requiring lawyers to still be at their desks at midnight – except when truly necessary. Getting the work/life balance right is an important part of building a sustainable and loyal team culture.

In an industry that is somewhat resistant to change, it can still be difficult to get to the top, particularly for women, who are largely underrepresented in senior roles. Although I am proud that CMS has more than 30% female partners, it is important that we see these numbers increase across the industry, particularly at the more junior levels. We need to pay more attention to the next generation.

The issue is not a lack of talent nor policies but rather making sure that policies are implemented and, importantly, championed at a senior level. It is vital that mentoring and agile working are embraced, and that unconscious bias and unacceptable 'banter' are eradicated.

At the time of my training in a top City firm, I was the only female in an intake of more than 100 trainees. It was a different world and not one that intimidated me as I navigated it.

However, the culture of a male-dominated industry defined by long hours and obligations to attend evening networking events was not broadly attractive.

While great steps forward have been taken in the City with shifting attitudes, agile working and mentoring programmes, there are still pockets of the City where women and men face unreasonable demands every day.

I believe we need to encourage authenticity – allowing people to be themselves without the pressure and expectation to behave in a certain way or work extreme hours.

Culture is so often underestimated, but it was a key driver for our impending merger [with Nabarro and Olswang]. While any merger is about bringing people together, that should not be at the expense of individuality and authenticity. Who says you have to wear a jacket and tie for website photos?!

Building an inclusive, diverse and successful firm is not only about gender equality and creating a supportive culture though. Corporate social responsibility is also important, to ensure that we are making a positive impact on the world by supporting those who are working on solving social and economic challenges.

I believe that talent is equally distributed across our society, and it is important that our workforce reflects this. As senior partner of a law firm, I feel that I have a particular responsibility to make a difference to the ways in which opportunity and encouragement are delivered. We recently hosted initiatives to support Diversity Week, which included workshops on the less profiled but still challenging issues of mental health, dyslexia and disability.

I am a big believer in the notion that change is good, and it is important for me to be a driver of the change in City law firms and to create a better culture that allows our teams to reach their full potential as lawyers – and as people.