Associate, Bristol
I completed a music degree before doing the GDL and converting to law. While studying music, I suffered a wrist injury which prevented me from completing all of my performance modules. Instead, the university allowed me to complete modules from an alternative degree – and I chose criminology. I found the legal aspects particularly interesting, and this sparked my journey to qualify as a solicitor.
After completing my GDL, I worked as a paralegal at a number of firms in London. After finishing my training contract with a firm in Reading, I qualified into commercial litigation, before moving to Bristol in 2017 and joining Ashfords. There are a lot of transferable skills from music to law, especially within litigation – creativity, attention to detail and analytical skills are particularly helpful.
In 2022, I went on maternity leave after a long journey including infertility and IVF treatment. I was very open with my team about my experiences and everyone was incredibly supportive. Unfortunately, the month before I returned to work, after a further successful round of IVF, I experienced my first miscarriage. I felt incredibly lonely and isolated. Although I had been very open about our IVF journey, I initially felt less comfortable sharing our experience with miscarriage. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that surely I couldn’t be alone. One in four couples experience miscarriage and so I knew there must have been many others in the firm also going through similar experiences. That was when I volunteered to become Ashfords’ Fertility in the Workplace Ambassador through Fertility Network UK.
The role of a Fertility in the Workplace Ambassador is fairly wide. It includes raising awareness of fertility and baby loss in the workplace, encouraging open conversations to reduce stigma, acting as a point of contact for colleagues and signposting to relevant available support. All of this helps to foster a supportive culture and hopefully means that others won’t feel the isolation I felt upon returning to work. I also worked closely with our HR team to encourage the introduction of a baby loss policy, which is now in place, and a fertility policy, which is currently going through the final stages of approval.
'Since launching Fertili-Tea, it has received positive firm-wide engagement and support from not only those impacted by infertility or baby loss but also colleagues looking to support those who are'
Having a baby loss or fertility policy in place can significantly enhance a firm’s offering. Not only does having these policies provide crucial support for employees facing loss, or a difficult fertility journey, but it also helps to foster a supportive workplace culture, and to attract and retain talent.
On a personal level, our fertility journey continued after my return to work. I was incredibly fortunate that Ashfords supported me through further rounds of IVF. I finally fell pregnant again on our fifth round but unfortunately, at a routine scan, we found out that our unborn baby girl had an incredibly rare fatal genetic condition. Our precious daughter, who we named Freya, was born sleeping on 11 February 2025 after an extremely traumatic birth. I had a prolonged period of time off work to process, grieve and recover physically. When I returned to the office, I had a renewed passion to continue my work raising awareness of infertility and baby loss issues. I set about forming an employee-led support group to cover all things fertility, baby loss, family planning and reproductive health, and Fertili-Tea was launched earlier this year.
Since launching Fertili-Tea, it has received positive firm-wide engagement and support from not only those impacted by infertility or baby loss but also colleagues looking to support those who are. Our members, both female and male, meet monthly to share experiences and knowledge. The group has helped others in the firm feel more confident in sharing their own experiences and journeys with their supervisors and provided a support network to those who initially felt like they were alone.
My experiences with baby loss and infertility have shaped me as a person and as a lawyer. I am far more patient and understanding with people, as you never know what others may be going through. Sharing ours and Freya’s stories with others has been met with overwhelming support. I am proud to have helped others navigate their own journeys.
Baby Loss Awareness Week is 9-15 October
No comments yet