4 Law Firm Leaders Share Their Stories
In 2015, Webber Wentzel’s Sally Hutton became the first woman lawyer in South Africa to be appointed as a managing partner.
“There are now a few of us woman leaders in law firms operating in South Africa, including Lerisha Naidu, managing partner of the Johannesburg office of Baker McKenzie, Lee Mendelsohn, ENSAfrica’s chief operating officer, and Jean Meijer the managing partner of Herbert Smith’s Johannesburg office,” she said, adding that 45% of Webber Wentzel’s broader leadership team today are women.
Juggling Leadership With Family Commitments
Hutton started her legal career at Webber Wentzel in 1995, first in derivatives law and later in private equity and M&A, while juggling her practice with raising a family.
“I always had an interest in leadership issues and broader issues, and enjoyed having a voice and an impact on the way the firm ran,” she said in an interview with Law.com International.
In 2010 Hutton became a practice leader, joined the firm’s board and the remuneration committee, and from then until 2014 was actively involved in leadership structures.
Then in 2014 the senior partner David Lancaster retired due to illness, and the firm decided to split the senior partnership role into two with a senior partner and a managing partner.
“That’s when I was encouraged to put my hand up for the managing partner role and was elected in 2015, and Christo Els was elected as senior partner. We were in those roles initially for five years and were then each elected for a further five-year term.
“Both of us have continued to practice and our dual leadership has enabled us to do that.”
Being Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
On lessons learned on the way up, she said, “In order to keep learning you have to do difficult things and be comfortable being uncomfortable – because otherwise you are not learning.
“The challenge is to surround yourself with people that are not necessarily like-minded, because they are the ones who sharpen your decision-making in many cases.”
Her advice to aspiring woman leaders in the legal profession is to take on challenges. “Learn as you go. The opportunity to lead doesn’t come around that often, so rise to the occasion when it happens.”
Michelle David started her legal career in 2006 at African firm Bowmans and is today a director and the chairperson at Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa. She practices as a financial services regulatory lawyer.
“I’ve always been interested in how the operations of the firm work, and very vocal at various levels on what I think things should look like, even while at law school.”
So when she joined Norton Rose in 2012, it didn’t take long before she became involved in its subcommittees.
“If you want a space to transform, you’ve got to be part of it. So, I found myself on various committees including the supervisory board, and the remuneration committee.”
When the position of chair went out to election last year, David was elected unanimously by the partners.
Key insights gathered during her rise to leadership include the importance of having a plan which changes as your career progresses.
Knowing from the start if you want to be part of a law firm is also important. “A lot of people just muddle along and then realise that law is not for them.”
The Challenge of Diversity
“I’ve also learned that being female and a woman of colour you have to accept that at times either your gender or your race is going to cause bias as to what people think your technical or strategic capabilities are,” said David.
Elsewhere in Africa, Law.com international interviewed women leaders, from Rwanda and Algeria respectively.
Rym Loucif began her legal career in Paris before returning to Algeria ten years ago.
“I subsequently joined Gide Loyrette Nouel as counsel and later joined LPA-CGR Avocats as a partner before founding my own practice, Loucif & Co, three years ago with two associates.”
“There was room for an independent boutique firm like ours that works on business law with a focus on M&A transactions and highly regulated sectors, and working with lawyers that understand the requirements of international clients,” said Loucif.
Her firm focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions and the establishment of joint ventures, “and we have particular expertise in the field of energy – oil and gas in particular – and Loucif & Co works with international law firms.
“With the war in Ukraine, Algeria has become a key supplier of oil and gas to Europe, especially to France and Italy.”
Florida Kabasinga is the founder and managing partner of Certa Law in Kigali, Rwanda, which she started in 2016 and now has 13 lawyers.
Among other things, she speaks at conferences globally on cyber security and international humanitarian law.
On the insights she gathered during her rise to her current leadership position, she said, “Anything worth achieving requires a lot of hard work. Building a law firm needs a mindset of building from the bottom up.”
Have a Vision and Strive to Achieve It
Key lessons learned on the way to becoming a leader include realising that not everyone shares your vision, but it’s important to have one and to strive to achieve it.
“There will always be obstacles along your journey, you just have to find the right formula to overcome them,” she added.
On the advice she would give women lawyers who have ambitions to rise to the top, she said, “You can achieve anything in the legal profession that you set your mind to.
“Being a woman is your biggest strength. We are great at multitasking and we are as smart as the men we work alongside. Be each other’s champions in the workplace. If you can’t support the next young woman lawyer and lift them up, who will?” (Law.com)
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