Law firms in Europe made headlines this year by promoting women to the top of their leadership ladders for the first time in their history. While there is much more progress to be made in terms of advancing gender parity, members of the next generation of female lawyers are already making their mark on the profession as practitioners and practice heads—and are increasingly assuming their place as mentors and role models. Law.com International has spent months researching and calling for submissions about exceptional up-and-coming female lawyers from the top law firms across Continental Europe. Around 100 high-quality submissions have been whittled down to find the 25 women aged under 40 who represent the best and brightest practicing on the continental market. All candidates were judged against the following criteria: the quality of their client base; examples of driving forward the size or reputation of their practice area; the scale, significance and complexity of their cases; their client feedback and general market reputation; the standing of their mentor; and any other examples of career success and innovation. Read on to find out more about why these 25 rising stars were selected for this list.

Laurence Bary - Dechert
Laurence Bary, Dechert - Paris |
  • Year of birth: 1982
  • Position: Partner since 2021
  • Practice area: Competition/antitrust
  • Key clients: Airbus, IBM, Apple, Roche, Arkema, Amundi

There are not many lawyers who can confidently navigate the legal and business complexities of sectors as diverse as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, aeronautical and asset management. But Dechert competition star Laurence Bary boasts an enviable client list that is not limited to any one corner of the market. Elevated to the firm's worldwide partnership in 2021, Bary cites her team's successful competition defense of ArianeGroup, a space-sector joint venture, and representing Roche on abuse of dominance charges before the French Competition Authority, as cases of which she is particularly proud. "Having clients choose you as their counsel is always a very special moment," she says. Mentored by Mélanie Thill-Tayara, a Dechert competition partner who co-leads the global Life Sciences practice at the firm, Bary maintains that "the law is one of these professions where you can never get bored." Family claims most of her time away from work, she says, but Saturday mornings are "entirely my own: it can be either a tennis game or a boxing lesson, but I need to relieve the pressure with exercise."

Agniezska Braciszewska - Norton Rose Fulbright
Agnieszka Braciszewska, Norton Rose Fulbright - Warsaw |
  • Year of birth: 1983
  • Position: Partner since 2021
  • Practice area: Corporate/insurance
  • Key clients: Abris Capital Partners, a global commercial insurance and reinsurance company, a global automotive technology company

When Agnieszka Braciszewska was elevated to the partnership at Norton Rose Fulbright earlier this year she was also elevated to the role of head of corporate and M&A in Warsaw. An experienced adviser to private equity firms on asset acquisitions and disposals, restructuring of holding structures and equity transactions on the public market, she is also recognized for her work in insurance law and was one of the first warranty and indemnity insurance specialists in Poland. In addition, Braciszewska advises the firm's clients on data protection issues. "The pandemic has been incredibly challenging for everyone in different ways, but I am proud of our resilience and how our firm and the team in Poland have worked together and supported each other," she says. A new mother in addition to a new partner, Braciszewska would advise her younger self to "loosen up and have more fun, take on fewer tasks and find a better work life balance." She adds: "As my son becomes more mobile and demanding, it is almost impossible to find any time for myself. Half an hour would be a success and a great exercise in logistics."

Jennifer Bryant - Noerr
Jennifer Bryant, Noerr - Düsseldorf |
  • Year of birth: 1984
  • Position: Associated partner since 2017
  • Practice area: Arbitration, corporate, and financial disputes
  • Key clients: INEOS; a major U.S. manufacturer for the aerospace industry; a major international pharmaceutical company

Clients and competitors alike praise Jennifer Bryant for her abilities as a fierce litigator and a thorough and pragmatic advocate, describing her as "determined, assertive" and "trenchant." A key member of Noerr's arbitration and litigation practice in Germany, Bryant has built a stellar reputation both as a counsel to complex multinational businesses and as an arbitrator on a range of legal issues. She is the holder of a Ph.D. and a lecturer in Bielefeld University's arbitration department, as well as being one of four co-leaders of the DIS40, an initiative for young arbitration practitioners in Germany. Her young son takes up much of her time away from work, but Bryant also likes to go on long hikes, and describes herself as "a food and wine lover, and a terrible but enthusiastic golfer." Her advice to her younger self: "Don't panic too much. Things surprisingly often do fall into place eventually. That is advice which my current self still needs to hear from time to time."

Charlotte Colin-Dubuisson - Linklaters
Charlotte Colin-Dubuisson, Linklaters - Paris |
  • Year of birth: 1982
  • Position: Partner since 2021
  • Practice area: Antitrust and foreign investment
  • Key clients: GrandVision, Nestlé, Galderma

Paris-based Linklaters partner Charlotte Colin-Dubuisson was initially planning to be a criminal lawyer but developed "a real passion" for competition law while at university. Her mentors include Olivier d'Ormesson, a former Linklaters' partner who established the competition practice in Linklaters Paris, as well as current partner Pierre Zelenko, with whom she has been working closely over the past 10 years. She currently advises GrandVision in the framework of the Phase II investigation opened by the European Commission concerning EssilorLuxottica's acquisition of GrandVision to Hal Holding, a deal worth €8 billion in the optical retail sector. It is the biggest retail merger ever reviewed by the European Commission. Aside from her practice, Colin-Dubuisson lectures competition law at Sciences Po Paris and Paris II Panthéon-Assas University.

Gea Condorelli - Osborne Clarke
Gea Condorelli, Osborne Clarke - Milan |
  • Year of birth: 1989
  • Position: Senior lawyer (since 2018)
  • Practice area: Data protection
  • Key clients: Satispay, Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario, Re-Forme S.r.l., MBE Worldwide, Engie Italia, Sony Music Entertainment Italy, Facebook Ireland.

Osborne Clarke senior lawyer Gea Condorelli is one of just five legal affairs experts for privacy that the Italian Government calls upon for data protection issues, in addition to being appointed as the go-to associate for data protection queries from oil and gas giant Eni. Condorelli says her main driver for specialising in such an "innovative and constantly evolving sector" as technology law, "where legislation has to keep up with the digitalisation of an ever-increasing number of goods and services." The pandemic, she adds, has only deepened her appreciation for technology, allowing for greater communication between teams and "breaking down barriers even at an international level." One area where she would like to see greater advancements, however, is getting more women into senior roles within the legal sector: "It happens very frequently that I or my female colleagues, as young women, are assumed to be trainees rather than qualified lawyers."

Tereza Courmont Vlkova, Paul Hastings - Paris |
  • Year of birth: 1987
  • Position: Partner since 2020
  • Practice area: Banking and finance, private equity
  • Key clients: ICG, Arcmont Asset Management (formerly known as Bluebay Asset Management), Tikehau Investment Management, PAI Partners, Antin Infrastructure Partners, Apax Partners

Tereza Courmont - Paul Hastings
A native of the Czech Republic who speaks flawless French, Tereza Courmont Vlkova has advised on some of the biggest private equity financing deals in France over the past year. Promoted to partner at Paul Hastings at the age of 32, Courmont Vlkova wins plaudits from colleagues and clients alike for her impressive caseload, much of which is in repeat mandates; her expertise at both the borrower and the lender sides of deals; and her interpersonal skills, especially a sense of humor that helps lighten tense moments and builds team spirit. "Tereza is a rockstar," says Olivier Vermeulen, office chair of Paul Hastings Paris, whom Courmont Vlkova counts as a mentor. "She is really smart, a hard worker and has an impressive ability to understand and handle complex transactions." During the pandemic, Courmont Vlkova says she learned that "even if it is technically viable to work remotely 100% of the time, social and work interactions are essential for me to maintain a good personal and professional balance." Her advice to younger lawyers: "Take your time; a career is a marathon, not a sprint."
Marie-Sophie Dibling - King & Spalding
Marie-Sophie Dibling, King & Spalding - Brussels |
  • Year of birth: 1983
  • Position: Partner since 2019
  • Practice area: International trade
  • Key clients: European Biodiesel Board, European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePURE), Moroccan Textile Industry Association (AMITH), Moroccan wood industry (Cemabois de l'Atlas), Moroccan refrigerators industry (Manar)

In addition to her legal practice, Marie-Sophie Dibling will be spending the next year managing the campaign of a female candidate for the presidency of the Brussels Bar Association (French Order). "There has never been a female president," she says. "This needs to be fixed and I want to contribute to this objective." Dibling has already made her mark on King & Spalding's international trade practice in Brussels. She and her team took key mandates on behalf of the European biodiesel industry and the European renewable ethanol industry to ensure a level playing field against foreign imports. She counts former World Trade Organization head Pascal Lamy as a mentor and was elevated to partner at age 33 at her prior firm, where she built the first international trade practice in Morocco before helping to open the King & Spalding Brussels office in 2019. A fan of ocean sailing and of travel, Dibling discovered during the pandemic that while "not traveling does have positives," working in the office is "invaluable. Our job is so demanding, which makes social connections even more important, especially for younger people."

Theresa Ehlen - Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Theresa Ehlen, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer - Frankfurt |
  • Year of birth: 1987
  • Position: Partner since 2021
  • Practice area: Global transactions, IP/IT
  • Key clients: Siemens, EQT Partners

While tech is typically a male-dominated space, Theresa Ehlen was promoted to partner in May 2021 and became one of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's first female partners in the global transactions and commercial, IP/IT practice. Despite playing key roles in many tech M&A transactions, such as EQT Partners investment in Schülke & Mayr at the height of the pandemic, she remains committed to female visibility in the sector. This is seen through her work co-leading the firm's "Female talent for tech" initiative, a networking effort to promote women in the tech environment through networking and exchange of experience. "There are still not enough female role models in most organisations, and women who do make it into leadership are under much more scrutiny than their male colleagues and subject to much higher standards," Ehlen says when asked about the biggest obstacle to female career progression, adding that unconscious bias is also a key barrier.

Vanessa Foncke - Jones Day
Vanessa Foncke, Jones Day - Brussels |
  • Year of birth: 1981
  • Position: Partner since 2016
  • Practice area: Global disputes
  • Key clients: Ferro Corporation, Heidelberg Cement, Telenet

Despite originally wanting to become an engineer, dispute resolution has served Vanessa Foncke well. In 2017 she became the youngest ever member of the board and executive committee at the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation. At Jones Day, she co-chairs the Brussels Office's associate training program, and devotes considerable time to developing junior lawyers as a mentor in both formal and informal roles. Foncke is also serving as presiding arbitrator in an arbitration estimated at €33 million concerning disputes following the acquisition of the largest Belgian-based group of retirement homes, and is the lead counsel in long-running, far-reaching, and highly contentious arbitration proceedings representing Ferro, the German subsidiary of U.S.-based Ferro Group. Clients have described her as an "extremely good negotiator" and as "extremely hands on, shows an in-depth knowledge of the file".

Rocío García - DLA Piper
Rocío García, DLA Piper - Madrid |
  • Year of birth: 1987
  • Position: Senior associate (since 2018)
  • Practice area: Corporate
  • Key clients: Apollo Asset Management, Groupe Colisée (currently held by PE house EQT), Novobanco, Globant.

Law "runs in the blood" of DLA Piper corporate associate Rocío García: Both her father and grandfather were lawyers. García's outstanding skills won her the appreciation of a major client, Groupe Colisée, which requested that her role in several of their deals last year was that of a partner's. She is also the coordinator of the start-ups and venture capital practice in the Madrid office and is the Spanish delegate for the firm's the LGTB+ Diversity and Inclusion International Group. But despite such a hectic schedule, García says that the pandemic taught her to pace herself, among other things. "I have realized that silence is not as scary as I thought – in fact, very useful if well used. I have noticed that my level of resilience is higher than expected and that empathy and affection are compatible with zoom and teams. Last, but not least, I have also unfortunately verified that cooking is not my thing."

Diane Lamarche - White & Case
Diane Lamarche, White & Case - Paris |
  • Year of birth: 1981
  • Position: Partner since 2019
  • Practice: Commercial litigation
  • Key clients: Amber Capital, Elliott Advisors, Deloitte, Alec Wildenstein Jr., Iliad, LFPI Gestion, Hydranautics, Famille Brancion, Skello

One of very few female Paris partners in her areas of expertise (complex litigation and stock market litigation), Diane Lamarche is acting on all the current major cases on the market, including highly publicized stock market battles such as Lagardère, Unibail, Suez and Danone. Elevated to partner in 2017 at her previous firm, she joined White & Case in Paris as a partner in 2019 and launched the firm's stock market litigation practice, which she has since doubled in size. Mandates of which she is particularly proud include assisting Amber Capital on the management of its minority stake in Lagardère ("extremely intense and diverse"), and representing Alec Wildenstein Jr. of the art-collector family with numerous civil, tax and criminal French proceedings ("a unique level of complexity"). She counts as a mentor the legendary litigator Jean-Pierre Martel, with whom she worked for 11 years at Orrick: Lamarche credits him with transmitting the core values of rigor, listening, pragmatism, pugnacity, independence, and integrity. A mother of four, active in organizations that promote the development of women in the law and raise funds for charitable works, her advice to younger lawyers is to "believe in yourself, work hard but play hard, and there are no limits except those we impose on ourselves."

Manon Lamotte - Eversheds Sutherland
Manon Lamotte, Eversheds Sutherland - Paris |
  • Year of birth: 1986
  • Position: Counsel since 2019
  • Practice area: Employment
  • Key clients: Major players in airlines, travel, new technology, and pharmaceutical/life sciences

Employment law moved front and center during the COVID-19 pandemic as companies reached for advice on how to handle business disruptions. Manon Lamotte, a counsel, was a key player on the Eversheds team advising major international travel players in France on the closure of activities and the implementation of mass redundancies. She and her team won plaudits from clients ranging from "just awesome" to "amazing" to "one of the best lawyers I have ever worked with," and - the supreme compliment - a client who said they intended to "steer more work to you in the future." A keen reader with a passion for Jane Austen - her daughter's middle name is Darcy in homage to "Pride and Prejudice" - Lamotte says she chose employment law for "the unique possibility to work with a diverse range of people and be so closely connected to different businesses across a variety of industries." Among her proudest achievements over the past year was "the ability to assist many clients directly impacted by the pandemic and seeing how our support has contributed to their capacity to keep the business operating." She added, "The pandemic has made our role as lawyers even more concrete and tangible."

Giorgia Lugli - Latham & Watkins
Giorgia Lugli, Latham & Watkins - Milan |
  • Year of birth: 1983
  • Position: Partner since 2021
  • Practice area: Corporate/private equity
  • Key clients: Bain Capital, Bluegem Capital Partners, Cerved, Platinum Equity, TeamSystem, The Carlyle Group

Despite only being promoted to the Latham & Watkins partnership at the start of this year, Milan-based corporate partner Giorgia Lugli has played a "central role in many of the transactions completed by our firm in recent years," according to the firm's local corporate chair Stefano Sciolla. Another partner in the team adds that she "combines excellent technical skills with an exceptional level of commitment," contributing expertise on all manner of corporate, private equity and restructuring mandates. Lugli offers international and Italian advice to major private equity firms including Bain Capital and The Carlyle Group, saying that what makes her happiest is "seeing clients happy and my younger colleagues satisfied with their development." Indeed, Lugli served as local leader of the Women Lawyers Group in Latham's Milan office and has actively contributed to running a number of programmes and initiatives to promote diversity within the firm.

Désirée Maier - Hogan Lovells
Désirée Maier, Hogan Lovells - Munich |
  • Year of birth: 1986
  • Position: Partner since 2018
  • Practice area: Compliance and investigations
  • Key clients: BMW, various automotive companies (Fortune 500, DAX 30), various life sciences companies (Fortune 500, DAX 30)

Désirée Maier's leadership has been instrumental for the development of Hogan Lovells' compliance and investigations practice and where it stands today. Elevated to partner at the age of 32, Maier has helped lead a team that has doubled in size in three years, to over 80 team members. It has become one of the largest and most diverse teams fully dedicated to compliance, investigations and white collar crime in the German market. Highly commended by her clients for being quick, precise and efficient, her strengths lie in the set-up and management of complex cross-border investigations, often involving more than 100 parties in multiple jurisdictions. She also has particular experience in advising during dawn raids, managing the overall impact on her client's business. Her notable mandates over the past year include advising a leading automotive company on internal investigations, and supporting the compliance department of a leading life sciences company on various cross-border compliance investigations. With a young daughter, Maier sees balancing home and work responsibilities as a particular challenge for her profession: "Lawyers need a certain level of flexibility, which doesn't always fit in with standard childcare arrangements. However, on the flip side, one benefit that we have is that we can rely on the teams we work with and we don't always have to handle everything on our own."

Irian Saleta Martínez Pérez - Ashurst
Irian Saleta Martínez Pérez, Ashurst - Madrid |
  • Year of birth: 1983
  • Position: Partner since 2021 and head of global markets for Spain since 2020
  • Practice area: Global loans and global markets
  • Key clients: SocGen, Caixabank, Santander

Irian Martínez Pérez heads Ashurst's global markets team in Madrid. A specialist in both derivatives and real estate finance, she has played a pivotal role in the development of Ashurst's market-leading derivatives practice, the firm says. The firm cites her influence on two major deals that closed within a very tight timeframe because of how well the team she led operated and collaborated. "I have a problem-solving attitude and I love working with people," she says. "Building a team of high-performing associates in the derivatives practice has been a great opportunity." A proponent of more female role models, Martínez Pérez cited two women in particular as important influences: her grandmother, whom she visits whenever she can in their homeland of Galicia in northern Spain, and Karen Davies, the newly elected Ashurst chair. "Having more females in senior leadership roles is of critical importance," Irian says.

Sarah Michel - Goodwin Procter
Sarah Michel, Goodwin Procter - Paris |
  • Year of birth: 1984
  • Position: Partner since 2018
  • Practice area: Private equity funds
  • Key clients: Antin Infrastructure Partners, Latour Capital, EMZ Partners, Naxicap Partners, Chequers Partners, Rothschild & Co, Jolt Capital, Cerea Partners, Artemis, Ciclad, Quadrille Capital

Elevated to partner at 34, Sarah Michel represents many of the leading French and European investment funds on all aspects of their business. In July 2020, Michel and Goodwin's Paris Private Investment Funds team assisted Antin Infrastructure Partners on the closing of its fourth fund, Antin IV, with total commitments of €6.5 billion. The oversubscribed fund makes it one of the largest funds to hold a final closing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mentored within the firm by prominent partners Arnaud David and John Ferguson, Michel also counts the former president of EDF, François Roussely, as a valued mentor whom she met during her studies and with whom she went on to work at Credit Suisse. Now as an established partner, Michel has become a mentor herself, devoting time and energy to her firm's French women's initiative, Women@Goodwin. "Despite all the talk about gender equality, we still live in a very unequal world," she says. "Women's access to leadership roles are still too rare." Her advice to younger colleagues: "Be yourself, trust yourself and be ambitious!"

Eva Monard - Jones Day
Eva Monard, Jones Day - Brussels |
  • Year of birth: 1985
  • Position: Partner since 2021
  • Practice area: Government regulation/international trade
  • Key clients: Ansaldo Energia, Avient, Bombardier, Cambodia Rice Federation, Fincantieri, JA Solar Holdings, Jinan Meide Casting Co., Jindal Saw, Lincoln Electric Holdings, Solvay, UPM Kymmene Corp.

"At the very start of my career, I may have felt a bit intimidated by the very impressive background and experience of some senior lawyers," says Eva Monard. "I learned quite quickly, though, that it is crucial to do things your own way and according to your own personality. You will never be as good a lawyer by copying someone else's style." Promoted earlier this year, Monard is now praised for her exceptional all-around experience that includes litigation, WTO matters, free-trade agreements and customs law. Her notable work over the past year has included representing the Cambodia Rice Federation in the first-ever challenge of an EU safeguard measure that reimposed import duties on a least-developed country - a case with no legal precedents and a profound humanitarian component. A prolific author with over 25 articles on trade law issues to her credit, Monard counts Jones Day trade partner Renato Antonini as a longtime mentor who taught her to think outside the box, not take anything for granted, and never give up.

Annette Printz Nielsen - Bird & Bird
Annette Printz Nielsen, Bird & Bird - Copenhagen |
  • Year of birth: 1984
  • Position: Partner and financial sector practice head since 2020
  • Practice area: Financial
  • Key clients: Several major international and local payments companies

"Adapting the legal sector to a modern diverse way of thinking is an extremely important task and if we don't adapt we will lose the brightest talents including the women," says Bird & Bird's Annette Printz Nielsen when asked about the barriers to female career progression in law. The Copenhagen-based lawyer is recognised for her work in the fintech space and has been the head of the firm's Danish financial sector group since November 2020. Outside of her practice, she is also an ambassador for the European Women Payments Network and is pushing for women's advancement in cards, fintech and payments in Europe. She believes business leaders need to show "personality and vulnerability" in order to be role models for the next generation.

Anouk Rosielle - Dentons
Anouk Rosielle, Dentons - Amsterdam |
  • Year of of birth: 1984
  • Position: Partner since 2020
  • Practice area: Arbitration
  • Key clients: Citco, Bio Energie Centrale Cuijk, Vestel, Japan Airlines

Recommended for this list by several members of Dentons' European management team, Amsterdam-based arbitration partner Anouk Rosielle boasts an excellent reputation within the firm. She is a key member of the Dentons team working with Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison to represent global financial services company Citco in a long-running litigation related to the 2008 Madoff scandal. Her litigation practice spans several active sectors including energy, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and distribution disputes, and in her spare time she volunteers as a language coach for a refugee foundation. "There is an abundance of women's interest groups, female empowerment courses and networking initiatives," she says, "but in my view, many of these proceed from the notion that women must find a fix for the fact that their career progression lags behind that of men. The root causes, however, are often not problems created by women nor are they problems that only women can solve. We should all take it upon ourselves to promote the advancement of those groups that are underrepresented."

Strati Sakellariou-Witt - White & Case
Strati Sakellariou-Witt, White & Case - Brussels |
  • Year of birth: 1983
  • Position: Partner (since 2020)
  • Practice area: Antitrust / competition
  • Key clients: Saudi Aramco, Sun Chemical, Lenovo, Zimmer Biomet, Toshiba

Very few lawyers can say they have led a team on a $70 billion acquisition. But Strati Sakellariou-Witt has played a key role in positioning White & Case's EU antitrust team as the go-to practice for complex merger control cases. She led a team of 15 lawyers advising Saudi Aramco on its $70 billion acquisition of SABIC in 2020. This involved defining the strategy for the deal and securing unconditional approval in 23 jurisdictions. Sakellariou-Witt has also grown the EU antitrust pharma practice via her parallel trade litigation before the Greek courts for AbbVie and Pfizer. A Greek national and a key member of the firm's Women's Network and a role model for working parents, she advocates for greater recognition of the different societal pressures on both men and women. Her advice to her younger self: "It is okay not to know everything. It is okay not to be perfect. We often focus on results only. But it is equally important to enjoy the process that gets us there. Involve others, don't be afraid to acknowledge your imperfections, seek mentorship and work together as a team for the best possible result."

Séverine Schrameck - Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Séverine Schrameck, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton - Paris |
  • Year of birth: 1983
  • Position: Partner (since 2019)
  • Practice area: EU and French competition law
  • Key clients: Veolia, IBM, Total, Essilor, Elsan, Valeo, Accor

Séverine Schrameck has established herself as a leading practitioner in EU and French competition law, winning plaudits from many peers. For Cleary she has advised a Who's Who of corporate clients on some of the most complicated and high-profile M&A cases of recent years, including Veolia Environnement in its €11.3 billion acquisition of Suez. For Elsan, a leading private hospitalization group in France, she and the Cleary team broke important new ground during the COVID-19 crisis by persuading the French Competition Authority that market consolidation in the healthcare sector could contribute to overall improved quality of medical services. Mentored by giants in the field including Cleary competition partners Maurits Dolmans and Antoine Winckler, Schrameck in turn is heavily engaged in mentoring a new generation of women competition lawyers. During the pandemic, she says, "I realized how important it is that we look out for one another. It reminded us about the small things that are so important when working together: asking your colleagues how they are doing, paying attention to signs of stress, and finding ways to build cohesion."

Katrin Schröder - Osborne Clarke
Katrin Schröder, Osborne Clarke - Cologne |
  • Year of birth: 1981
  • Position: Senior associate since 2019
  • Practice area: Dispute and risk, focus on insolvency and restructuring
  • Key clients: Pimkie Germany/Framode GmbH, Superdry Germany Gmbh/DKH Retail Ltd.

As a senior associate, Katrin Schröder has helped put Osborne Clarke's insolvency practice "on the map" in Germany, according to the firm. Her leadership on restructuring plans for the mass-market clothing companies Pimkie and Superdry during the pandemic helped the clients preserve stores and jobs, while their competitors were forced to close completely. The chief operating officer of Pimkie was so impressed by her work that he replaced his former advisers and engaged Osborne Clarke for restructuring work in Austria, Belgium and Spain, even though there had been no previous client relationship. "A well-composed team is the most decisive factor for the success of a project," says Schröder, who decided to pursue restructuring law after seeing "the effects of bad insolvency administration" in her East German homeland and "wanted to do it better." A keen bird-watcher who loves to cook with family and friends, Schröder feels the greatest barrier to women's success in the law is "adverse work-life balance," which she feels can prevent women from finding the mentors and forming the networks that are crucial for advancement.

Mariken van Loopik - De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek
Mariken van Loopik, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek - Amsterdam |
  • Year of birth: 1981
  • Position: Partner (since 2015)
  • Practice area: Banking and finance
  • Key clients: ABN AMRO, ING

Mariken van Loopik always knew she had the makings of a lawyer and describes the career as fitting her like a glove. Her client list certainly affirms that, with ING, ABN AMRO and Rabobank just some of the financial institutions where she is a trusted adviser to the boards, and she is also head of De Brauw's financial institutions group. Her advisory role in boardrooms is her biggest professional achievement to date, she says, "especially for a woman of my age, achieving this position in a boardroom still dominated by men of another age." Alongside fee-earning and mentoring, she somehow finds time for other passions, including a co-editor role at the Dutch financial review, Tijdschrift voor Financieel Recht, and a guest teacher at the Grotius Specialisatieopleiding Financiering en Zekerheden, which provides postgraduate specialisation training for lawyers who have been working at in the legal profession. Perhaps her advice to her younger self can also apply to many: "Be more patient; sometimes just ride the waves and have trust that the world has changed in such a way that talent is recognised, regardless of race, color, gender or inclination."

Elena Varese - DLA Piper
Elena Varese, DLA Piper - Milan |
  • Year of birth: 1983
  • Position: Lead lawyer (since 2018) and co-head of practice for Italy
  • Practice area: Consumer goods, food and retail sector
  • Key clients: Nike, Converse, Mondadori, Wind Tre, Lamborghini, Duracell, Lidl

Milanese lawyer Elena Varese occupies a niche spot in the legal industry, acting for several major retailers on intellectual property matters. She was appointed to defend Tecnica Group on the drafting of the appeal before the General Court of the European Union for the protection of the three-dimensional trademark on the iconic Moon Boot, the first après-ski boot. She is the firm's only non-partner who has been appointed as a sector head, taking on the mantle of co-head of the consumer goods, food and retail sector for Italy. The motives behind choosing this career path, Varese says, were mainly due to the uncertainty of a life of a film or food critic - "qualifying as an IP lawyer allowed me to combine some of my passions with my work and my argumentative nature," she says. Outside of work, Varese enjoys "discovering new wine cellars and restaurants," as well as exploring "new little villages in Italy, which often combine great hospitality, touristic attractions and tasteful products."

Dorothée Vermeiren - Clifford Chance
Dorothée Vermeiren, Clifford Chance - Brussels |
  • Year of birth: 1984
  • Position: Partner and practice head since 2019
  • Practice area: Litigation and dispute resolution
  • Key clients: Amazon, Belgian state, Airbus, Aimco, Banque Degroof Petercam, PSA International, ING Belgium, Lucerne, KONE Belgium, Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht

As head of the litigation and dispute resolution practice at Clifford Chance's Brussels office, Dorothée Vermeiren has grown the practice since her promotion to partnership in 2019. At the same time she has acted for Amazon in high-stakes litigation over book pricing in Belgium, the issues from which are likely to be escalated to EU courts, and for the Belgian state in recovering millions of euros in misappropriate state funds from a complex multinational fraud scheme. Her drive to become a lawyer started in childhood, when she says she "always felt the need to defend those who I considered were treated unjustly." An outspoken advocate for diversity and inclusion, Vermeiren sees "the different expectations of men and women" as a major obstacle to women's advancement in the law: "Women are still expected to combine work and a family life, and, in my view, insufficient attention is paid to the challenges this poses to their career progression." With reporting by Hannah Roberts, Varsha Patel and Meganne Tillay.