Spotlight Profile – Claire Darby

October is the month I started at Pearson Hards 11 years ago. It is now also the month I become an equity partner. I know it’s a tad corny to say but I never believed this would happen.

I fell in love with law when I decided to take it as an option for A-Levels. It turns out it was also the thing I was best at and I came out with an A in the subject at A-Levels.  I went to Swansea University to study it as a degree and came home to Guildford to go to Law School.  Like many, I didn’t have a Training Contract by the time I finished law school so I headed off to be a paralegal, which is what a lot of people do before they start their formal Training Contract.

After a chance application to be a paralegal at a firm just off Fleet Street in London I gained a huge amount of litigation case handling experience and was given a lot of responsibility - pitching to new clients, managing other paralegals and eventually starting my training contract there in 2009. I learnt a lot from the people around me, but in particular, what was important to me. Long hours and late nights in the office weren’t for me and work life balance was hugely important.  So, after Lewis (my now husband) and I got married in April 2013 I realised I needed to make a change, especially if we wanted to start a family. I decided to quit my job after 2 years qualification, without another role to go to (My parents were delighted!) I was hugely grateful for an incredibly supportive husband who saw how much I needed to change career path.

So then came the job hunt. I lived in Godalming at the time, so the dream was a job in Guildford. A lot of big firms had a base in Guildford, and it seemed like a good stepping stone from the hub of London. But then the role at Pearson Hards came up. I had never visited New Malden but knew Kingston and Twickenham well as my Mum’s side of the family had lived there. I still remember my interview with Ian Lipscombe and Hatice Mustafa and roping my Dad into a trip to Ikea in Croydon after to kill two birds with one stone. I couldn’t believe it when they had offered the job to me before I had even walked through the yellow and blue doors.

I will be honest here; the role was not what I was used to. It was more of a general litigation role, and I had been used to working in banking litigation specialising in Professional Negligence and recoveries for lenders. I was nervous of the change, but I took the job and thought I would just see what happened.

After a week at Pearson Hards, I had called all recruiters and told them to stop looking. The culture was completely different to anything I had experienced and the people, including the Partners, were so nice! No big egos, no masses of drama, just nice people doing a good job and huge amounts of history to the firm. Ian reassured me that as a young lawyer I wasn’t expected to know everything, but that I looked like I had the tools to learn and the overall skills, tactics and procedure for litigation and that was enough. After that I relaxed, and I really enjoyed learning about each area that was presented to me.

I have seen and learnt such a lot in my 11 years and can honestly see I have seen it all - the good, the bad and the slightly bonkers. Since being at Pearson Hards I have partaken in numerous mediations, settled hundreds of disputes and been through a few Court battles - thankfully all that I have won! I am hugely proud of all that I have done at the firm for the past 11 years to help clients, and it is my greatest pleasure when I get to end an going battle for someone, which is usually having a massive burden on them, both financially and mentally.

What I am also proud of during my time and for which I am hugely grateful for the Partners giving me is the chance to be part of the management team at Pearson Hards. When Emma and I were offered partnership (yes we were a double act even back then) I had one child, Ella, who was just under 2 years old when we started talking about partnership. For me, equity partnership wasn’t quite right at that time.  They generously accommodated me and allowed me to join the team, embracing me and my views as much they did Emma, who had become an equity partner. 6 years on and I have never been made to feel like a second tier partner and now with both children fully settled at school, I feel like now is the right time to make that commitment.

I am so proud of what the firm has become, and it is not an understatement to say that no single person has been the reason, but the fact that everyone is so committed to doing a good job and making the firm a success. The Covid pandemic was a difficult time for everyone, but I really saw the strength in our team members and how everyone banded together to make it work. We have a great bunch of people, and our recent new recruits have been amazing and have really added a new investment to the firm. Emma and I really hope we can continue to grow and thrive as Pearson Hards has done. Although I am sorry to see the Partners go, as I have loved working as part of the management team with them for the last 6 years, I know they are leaving us in the best possible place, and I hope they are proud of what we achieve with the firm moving forward.