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It’s not difficult to see why Kate Tyers, Global Director of Legal – Operations at Ricardo PLC, keenly advocates for those in her profession to cast off entrenched and outdated legal norms and embrace change. Her pathway to a legal career was strewn with what might be regarded as potential roadblocks, and which many in the legal fraternity don’t have to navigate: state school educated, Birmingham born of parents who worked in the public sector with no legal industry contacts. Oh, and throw into the mix her Midlands ‘northern’ accent.
But despite these obstacles, and despite her own admission that she never expected to become a lawyer – “it wasn’t my destiny” – she did in fact become one. In 2008 she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from Newcastle University, after which she did the University of Law Legal Practice Course part time, juggling study with work – the job a necessity so she had enough money to pay her fees – and she qualified in 2014.
Her dedication and patience were rewarded when she got what she terms the “golden ticket”, a training contract on England’s south coast working for a medium-sized law firm.
“In my opinion, it was better than being with a London law firm. We carried out London-style work but because there were fewer trainees we were more involved in the work. The firm made a big deal about its trainees being very involved and getting exposure to good-quality work, so that they were set up for success upon qualification. We came away with possibly more readiness to be a legal advisor than most of our peers in the City.”
After completing her training in 2014, she moved immediately in-house, accepting a newly qualified position for a start-up, and over the next decade she has remained in-house, taking on roles as a Legal Counsel, Head of Legal, General Counsel, and she is now Global Director of Legal – Operations at Ricardo PLC.
Opting to grow a legal career following an in-house trajectory might strike many in her profession as a high-risk strategy, but Kate has no regrets. “I knew early on that I didn’t want to stay in a law firm environment and that I wanted to go in-house. At the law firm, we had quite a few almost quasi-in-house clients and I liked dealing with and getting to know a client well. And it also gave me the opportunity to develop a good rapport with the sales function.
“Part of choosing to work in-house was wanting to be involved from start to finish rather than being drafted in to solve a problem. Getting to know a business well, where you’re more than just a legal advisor, that is what I enjoy.”
Neither is Kate a fan of the competitive environment fostered by private practice. “Over the years I have observed that there can be an unhealthy rather than a supportive competitiveness. The way law firms are set up can mean that partners are so emotional about their ‘baby’ i.e. the firm. It’s therefore difficult to tell them when their baby is “ugly” or needs improvement. There’s a real entrenchment of thought in some firms still that the partners are very superior and that junior lawyers will all bow down to them. It’s not helpful for the profession and it doesn’t foster an environment where people can thrive.”
Being a decent human being, one who is not afraid to show her feelings and is able to demonstrate empathy, is important to Kate. She’s an advocate of soft skills – what she refers to as power skills or human skills – and says they are key attributes for in-house personnel. “Lawyers are expected to have IQ but it’s hard to teach the curiosity mindset, which is critical. As lawyers, we need to be curious about what we’re doing, problem solving and so on, and EQ [emotional quotient] is also a massive part of our role these days – showing the more human side of leadership.”
That human side of Kate isn’t afraid to admit that working 24/7 is not for her and it’s something she actively discourages. “It’s not effective and it can mean that your output is actually lower.”
The perception that lawyers are robots, that they don’t have lives outside of work because they love their work so much, is a notion she’s eager to dispel. Having a family life, an active life, a social life or enjoying a glass of wine should not be about stolen moments or guilty pleasures.
When it comes to work, Kate is a fan of the traffic light (or red, amber, and green) approach. “If it’s an emergency and you need to get something done there and then that’s okay. Otherwise let people have a work-life balance and let’s get away from the ‘I was working all night last night’ scenario. You are not an effective employee if you haven’t got a life outside of work – and you’re a long time dead – so, enjoy life.
“I’d much rather somebody bashed out work in sensible hours during the day and then went home instead of participating in presenteeism, where they might churn out the work to start with, but then it drops off because people are simply not effective after working for a long period of time. We need to change the message – it should be more about balance, enjoying life and not working all of it.
“In the Ricardo Legal Team we’re about working to strike a balance, resetting expectations and making sure our employees are in the ‘thrive zone’ as that’s where they are most effective, successful and produce higher output.”
