International Womens Day 2022: Sarah Whitemore Interview

For our final interview during National Careers Week, we are discussing careers with Sarah Whitemore, Equity Partner and Solicitor in our Employment Law department.  Sarah has been a Warner Goodman employee since 1992 when she joined as a Trainee Solicitor and so has seen the world of law and the firm change dramatically during that time.  Over the years she has successfully worked her way up to Associate, Partner and finally, Equity Partner, also involving herself in areas such as the Marketing of the firm.

Sarah is a keen advocate for equal opportunities, supporting her team in their development in their careers.  Here, she explains more about her time working in law.  

1). What first attracted you to a career in the law? 

My parents were both working in education and were keen that I went to university and ‘fulfilled my potential’.  I wasn’t too keen to go and said that if I was to go, I would do something vocational with a job at the end of it.  It struck me that would be either banking or law.  A careers adviser suggested that I sit in at the back of the courts to see what being a lawyer was all about so I watched a few criminal trials and it all looked very exciting.  I was then settled on doing a law degree.

2). Why did you choose the path you did? 

There weren’t too many options available to me back in the day (we’re talking 30+years ago now).  If you had a law degree, the options were Bar School to become a Barrister or Law School to become a Solicitor.  My understanding was that there wasn’t much difference in terms of job between the two but as a Solicitor you were generally employed rather than self-employed which meant that you would be eligible for maternity pay and other benefits that would assist when supporting a family.  I knew from the outset that I wanted children and a career, and I thought that would be more easily combined in a Solicitor rather than Barrister role.

3). How has Warner Goodman supported you in achieving your career goals? 

I have achieved all that I would want in terms of career goals within Warner Goodman.  I started out as a Trainee Solicitor, was retained on qualification as a Solicitor and then became one of the Firm’s first Associate Solicitors when that role was introduced and then onto partnership. 

I wanted to be an Employment Lawyer when I qualified but the firm didn’t have an Employment team at the time.  A consultant told me I had two choices; I could either move to a firm with an Employment team or I could put together a business plan and grow one from scratch.  Warner Goodman supported me with the latter approach and I now head up the Peace of Mind team supporting employer clients with long term relationships with the firm and with a team of 15 or so colleagues around me. 

4). What has been the highlight of your career so far? 

Becoming Senior Partner was only a matter of time served, so I’m not sure that was it although there isn’t too far up you can go from there.  I look back on various cases where I feel that I have made a difference, particularly one case involving female dockworkers who were looking to break into new roles that were traditionally seen as men-only roles and others around the Wrens to Sea policy.  My old school report read that ‘Sarah is a keen promoter of pupil rights but she must realise that other people have rights too!’.   My career has been all about Equality law, the protection of employee rights and balancing those with the rights of others so you might say that teacher was somewhat prophetic!

5). Would you recommend Warner Goodman as an employer to others and why?  What aspects make us a female friendly firm? 

Warner Goodman is a great place to work.  We are very much a firm that puts our People at the centre of our philosophy.  There is no them and us or hierarchy and everyone is viewed as having a valid contribution to make to the success of the firm and each other. 

In terms of being female friendly, I would say that we are People friendly.  We have a healthy approach to flexibility in the workplace.  I have never had an issue with attending school assemblies, nativity plays and sports days or working from home when my children were sick or had random days off.   I worked part-time when it suited me and full-time when my children were older and the payback for that was a willingness to go the extra mile and work harder and smarter which rewarded the firm in the long run.  We have a lot of long term employees and Partners.  We value progression and thrive on people development and our flexibility is such that we retain staff for the long term by supporting their needs in the short term.

I have been proud to be an Equity Partner in a firm where the make up of the partnership is truly diverse and where at times we have had more than 50% of our Partners female.

6). Do you have any further comment to add?

What can you say about women working in the law…this Google comment might be of note:

Helena Normanton was a lawyer who scored a remarkable number of firsts in her legal career. She began as a history lecturer and, while teaching, she gained a first-class degree from the University of London. She was called to the bar in 1922 and became the first woman in England to practise as a barrister. 

I’m lucky because by the time I wanted to be a lawyer things had progressed greatly.  In fact I think at the time I graduated, it was about the time that female law graduates matched male law graduates 50:50 so equality was on its way.  There are clearly some real trail blazers like Helena Normanton that we need to thank for that. 

But, there are also very much renowned women in the law who continue to push the boundaries.  Baroness Hale, she of the spider brooch fame, is well known for championing the Children Act which is key to family law rights in the UK and more recently for being the President of the Supreme Court when they were deciding whether Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament was unlawful in September 2019.  But, she was also the first female Supreme Court Judge and yet she too had to make career choices based on her family commitments.  She changed from being a Barrister to being a law lecturer because being employed by a University, she would have maternity rights whereas self-employed barristers would not.

If you are considering a career in the law and would like to find out more about working at Warner Goodman LLP, you can read more on our Careers page, or email recruitment@warnergoodman.co.uk.