Tools, training and thinking for turning points at work.

Coaching professionals and leaders.

Dual role at an inclusion consultancy, splitting time between training organisations and building the successful Resolution team.As Director of Resolution, built a team that resolved workplace issues, based on diversity, deep experience, trusted impartiality and emotional intelligence. Value added:- Built high performance team on the basis that no-one had to accept work or attend meetings. Team was built during Covid, meeting only twice in person.- In two years, grew from 4 investigations a year to over 50, plus mediation and policy/bespoke work. - Worked with 20+ clients across the Financial, Legal, Charitable, Sport, Tech, Risk and Retail sectors. - 3x revenue growth in year one. In year two, 11x growth. The training role involved facilitating sessions to create great cultures, nip problems in the bud and equip HR/ER. Extensive experience of both face to face and virtual sessions. Value added:- Worked with over 20 clients across Financial, Legal, Consulting, Aviation, Insurance, Real Estate and across many countries. Sessions included working/managing with respect, inclusive leadership, harassment, adjusting to change, influence, disciplinary/capability/grievance processes and employee rep training.- Credited with introducing a new style of training to byrne-dean. Created high engagement/high safety learning environments in which the following feedback (from a Managing Director in Employee Relations) was typical, "Very informative and enjoyable. Even more considering it's a subject matter I'm very familiar with, it was still a really interesting and insightful use of my afternoon. Pitched just right."- 1:1 training with people whose success was at risk due to their impact.- Provided sessions for HR teams to support the profession during the Covid crisis.

Global HR leader focused on culture, change and people crises. Value added:- Initiated and led the 'Being Freshfields' global programme to increase speaking up and accountability for behaviour. A ground-up approach led to a code of conduct, training and policies recognised by the SRA as best in class.- Behaviour - addressed leader, firm, office, department and individual issues, navigating significant challenges. High reputation and regulatory risk.- Key member of the team that changed the firm's operating model, transitioning 800+ roles against challenging metrics. Leader of reorganisations and transformative exits.- On faculty for an award-winning Stephen Lawrence Foundation initiative to increase access to Law. Accountable for firm's first gender pay gap report.- 1:1 interventions with challenged leaders. - Go-to person for people with serious concerns.- Overall responsibility for engagement from 2011-14, increasing it by 16 points over 3 years to an all-time high. Ranked 1st in Magic Circle in Roll on Friday firm of the year survey 2014.- Introduced changes to facilitate informal resolution of concerns, decreasing grievances by 30% in a year.- Designed and delivered culture element of partner inductions. Also harassment training for partners.- Assumed many HRD responsibilities for 12 month interim period, sustaining performance during HR redundancy programme. Maintained performance of team under threat of redundancy for 5 years.- Initiated and drove changes in a large underperforming department, including management changes, restructuring and a reset relationship with HR. - Drove strategic project to identify the long-term capabilities required of fee-earners. Research with Cambridge University on the link between personality and career outcomes.- Led strategic change of counsel population: introduced business case reviews, core competency framework, globally aligned terms and training.- HR member of Information Security committee.

Member of the global HR leadership team accountable for Employee Relations and HR Legal. Accountable for people risk, including advice, policy, investigations, mediations, compliance and contentious matters. Value added:- Financial crisis response - designed and implemented the firm's lauded approach for reducing headcount while increasing engagement after the credit crunch. Reduced associate headcount by 15% in 9 months (one complaint), credited by senior partner for restoring HR's credibility.- Contentious HR - successfully and commercially resolved many contentious exits and claims against the firm including partner matters, SRA matters, discrimination and personal injury cases. - Change - in a risk averse, change-resistant, culture successfully delivered projects including redundancies/reorganisations, outsourcings, changing maternity terms. Legal advisor on introduction of flexible benefits, the first in the UK legal market involving changing 2000 contracts. The supplier adopted the revised contract as the new best practice.- Crisis management - wrote firm’s approach to managing people crises and successfully managed many, often under the scrutiny of the Legal press.- Leader - built high productivity/high performance ER and HR Legal team. Led 20 person investigation into senior fraud and bullying case. Conference speaker.- ESG - HR lead on the firm's first Corporate Responsibility report and on adopting the UN's Global Compact. Member of the firm's Diversity committee. - Recruitment and selection - changed the firm's selection process to avoid penalising ex-offenders. Overhauled pre-employment screening to protect the firm's culture. The immediate impact was a 7% increase in the withdrawal of offers to unsuitable candidates who would otherwise have joined at all levels of the business. - Partner performance - introduced global partner business planning to the firm.

Wide-ranging role as in-house employment lawyer, HR manager, ER manager, diversity, equality and inclusion go-to person and data protection manager. Value added:- Transformed HR's handling of contentious matters. Comparing 2002-4 with 2005-7, reduced tribunal claims by 33%, settlement costs by 57% and managed exit costs by 5%.- As in-house counsel, successfully defended the firm against wide range of claims, including wrongful and unfair dismissal, discrimination and whistleblowing. Accountable for compliance-led change.- Business services restructuring - key member of project tasked with the firm's first pan-business services change. 16% headcount reduction (275 exits) in 8 months through redundancies, outsourcings and voluntary severance - one complaint.- Training - designed and delivered training on a wide range of employment-related topics and in the context of collective consultation.- Initiated and delivered mentoring scheme for new partners, and researched the experience of new partners.- HR Manager for the Marketing and Knowledge departments, carrying out full range of generalist activities across employee life cycle.- Driver of equality, diversity and inclusion - introduced first global equal opps policy and online diversity training for all staff, nominated for the FT Innovation Award. Participation was voluntary yet 62% staff completed it within one month. Also redesigned and relaunched diversity monitoring and led drive to increase completion rate from 9% to 83%. Managed HR aspects of all client diversity requests. Founded firm's parents' network.- Introduced firm's first wellbeing measures to address work-related pressure, including policy, training and resourcing innovations.- Redesigned UK induction programme.- On international faculty for delivering global associate development programmes.- Accredited as a 'Who Do You Think You Are?' coach by SIMA (System for Identifying Motivating Abilities)

Led the ten person Employment, Pensions and Benefits knowledge management team. Delivering training, updates and conferences to fee-earners and clients.

Teaching English at Hokkaido University and supporting the community at an international church.

Employment solicitor handling a wide range of contentious and non-contentious matters for corporate clients and advising the firm on its own HR matters. Advised on range of share and business sales, IPOs (eg Hewlett Packard's demerger and IPO), outsourcings, investigations, FTSE 100 dismissals and contentious exits. Trusted advisor to the firm's HR department. Chaired the firm's first collective consultation exercise.

Trainee solicitor in Employment, Competition (Brussels), Finance and Real Estate departments

Teaching Company Law for six colleges