International Women’s Day Insights: Rebecca Brisley, Associate Solicitor

Written by Rebecca Brisley | Personal Injury and Medical Negligence teams | 08 March 2024

This International Women's Day, we're highlighting the journeys, challenges, and experiences of our female lawyers. Their stories show the importance of diversity, resilience, and empowerment in shaping an inclusive legal community.

Rebecca Brisley, Associate Solicitor in our Personal Injury and Medical Negligence teams, shares her thoughts below.

Rebecca undertook her Law Degree at Plymouth University and trained at a local firm, qualifying as a Solicitor in 2007. She has always enjoyed running a varied caseload, split between Personal injury and Medical Negligence work. She is a very experienced lawyer, having gained almost 20 years experience acting solely on behalf of Claimants.

Rebecca has acted for many military clients over the years and is uniquely placed to use her background and expertise to understand the needs of those currently or previously serving in the Armed Forces.

What challenges have you faced as a woman in the legal profession, and how have you overcome them?

Whilst this is absolutely not an issue here at Nash & Co (where happily 45% of our Partnership is made up of women) I do feel that there can be an unconscious bias against women in the workplace. 

In my view, one of the real issues with the legal industry is that team managers are often managing a team by virtue of promotion to partnership and not necessarily because they have leadership skills. Whilst leaders may have great technical knowledge and expertise, their people management skills can be sadly lacking. I love finding and building relationships with my team, and so I try to overcome issues like this by focussing on building solid relationships within the wider department. If the team has a solid base, then it can feel a little easier to navigate any issues with leadership.  That said, sometimes you just have to gather the courage to realise that you’re not in the best environment to suit your needs and accept that it is time to move on. 

I started at Nash & Co 6 months ago, and my first day here coincided with two other new starters, both of whom were female and I can honestly say that my experience here as a working mum has been nothing but positive, and I’m so pleased that I made the move here.

What is something within the profession that has pleasantly surprised you?

For all that I may have said above, I have made some really wonderful friends along the way and the camaraderie and friendship endures outside of the office environment. Most lawyers are happy to share their knowledge and experience, and I have WhatsApp groups where we all stay in touch and happily ask / answer questions. My inner geek really enjoys the strategising of cases with colleagues and barristers, and I often find that these conversations can be a really enjoyable part of my working day. 

How do you juggle your personal life and professional life and what advice would you give to other women in your position?

It takes a village! I am really lucky to have wonderfully supportive parents who live very locally to me, and their house is a home from home for my girls. Whilst I am incredibly lucky with my family support, I also think it is important to build friendships with the other parents that you meet in nursery and primary schools. These are the friendships that very much help to preserve your sanity when trying to juggle all that comes with trying to wear so many hats all the time.

Careers in the law often come with commitments that mean being away from home, or attending events in the early morning or evening and having a supportive network around you ensures that when the chips are down and you just need some help to get through, there’s normally someone you can ask. I also couldn’t fail to mention my supportive husband, who was excited to step into the breach and take a very extended paternity leave when my youngest was born so that it didn’t feel as though baby duties were solely down to me. Find your people, be that extended family, spouse or wider friendships, and put time and effort into those relationships because they will bring you a lot of the joy and support (and sanity!) that you need.

Sometimes life can feel really frantic, and like you never have enough time to be all the things that we are often expected to be; a great lawyer, a fantastic parent, a good daughter, a supportive friend – but remember that you can only be those things if you look after yourself and you’re not afraid to say no or ask for help sometimes.