What was your route into the profession?
It was a slightly meandering one. I had wanted to be a lawyer from around the age of 12, and I did do a law degree at university, but hadn't really planned much beyond. I also came from a working class, state school background with no connections in law, so I didn't think I'd have much chance of obtaining a training contract. When I finished my degree, the priority was getting paid work—my first 'proper' job was working for approximately six months at a job centre. That was an eye-opening experience and certainly helped me build on the people skills I'd developed while working behind the bar in pubs as a student. Following that, I worked as an administrative assistant at HM Treasury (HMT) in its international financial services team. That was a fun role and I got to meet many interesting people from various regulators around the world, but I didn't see a long-term career path for me there, so I decided to keep my options open and re-focus on law by doing the legal practice course (LPC) which I started part-time while continuing to work full-time at the HMT. Working full-time and studying part-time was tough, but it was the only way I could afford to do it.
Towards the end of the first year of the LPC, I saw a job advert for an assistant investigator at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). I had learnt about the SFO during my degree, and I thought it would look good on my CV so decided to apply. Happily, they offered me the role and I completed the second year of the LPC while there, which they paid for, for which I was very grateful!
I hadn't planned to stay at the SFO long-term, but found I really enjoyed the work and I discovered while there that they had started offering a small number of training contracts, so I applied for one. Once I finished that, I worked for a year as a legal officer, then as an investigative lawyer and finally as a case controller, leading teams of investigators, police officers and lawyers and had overall responsibility for the investigation and resulting prosecution.
After 13 years at the SFO, I decided to make the move into private practice. This was something I hadn't thought would be possible when I was starting out, but became a viable path for me due to the rise in demand from City law firms for lawyers with my kind of experience following the introduction of the Bribery Act 2010 and the then unique corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery.
I also had the chance to undertake the role of specialist adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Bribery Act 2010. That was a post-legislative review of the Act, conducted over nine months in 2018-19, to ensure it was meeting its aims and that there were no unintended consequences. While not necessarily requiring a legal background, the deciding factor in my appointment was my experience both as a prosecutor for the SFO and in private practice. It involved approximately one day a week of my time, so I did it alongside continuing to work as a partner—it was a great experience and a real privilege to have access to some of the inner workings of government.
What has been your biggest career challenge so far?
Probably the transition from public sector to private practice. Going from having a constant stream of work to suddenly having billable hours targets and having to learn how to market myself and build a practice was a steep learning curve. Luckily the firm I joined was very supportive and had some great internal training courses to help develop those skills.
Which person within the legal profession inspires you most?
This is a tough one as there are many people who have inspired me over the course of my career and left lasting impressions.
In my early career, it was probably Miranda Moore KC, whom I first instructed on the prosecution of a financial adviser for fraudulent trading. She was one of the first female barristers I worked with. She was, and is, exceptionally capable, hard-working and personable, and worked really well with the multidisciplinary teams we had at the SFO. It was great working with a senior female figure and for me she was a real role model.
If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you choose as an alternate career?
An architect. I've always been fascinated by architecture, old and new, and I like the idea of designing something unique that would be around for a long time.
Who is your favourite fictional lawyer?
Diane Lockhart from The Good Wife and the spin-off/sequel, The Good Fight.
What change would you make to the profession?
Opening up access—this is something I've been thinking about a lot recently, having participated a few weeks ago in a discussion panel about social mobility in the legal profession. Non-traditional pathways into law, such as solicitor apprenticeships, are an amazing change, and I would love to see more firms embracing these and more positions being offered by those who already do.
How do you relax?
I am an AFOL—that is an Adult Fan of Lego—so building Lego sets is high on my list of things to do to unwind. I have quite a collection but am fast running out of room to display the finished articles.
I also like to read a lot—nothing particularly high-brow; mainly thrillers and sci-fi.
Dancing is also something I really enjoy, I used to regularly go to salsa and tango classes and found it a great way to unwind after work. Sadly, I do a lot less of that these days—definitely something to revisit.
When I'm not doing any of those, setting the world to rights over a glass or wine of a cocktail or two with friends is a favourite pastime.
Anne-Marie Ottaway is a partner in HFW’s global investigations and white collar defence team.
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