The Reignite Academy launched a year ago, with one simple aim: to enable lawyers to get their City careers back on track after a career hiatus. We chose the name “Reignite” because our aim was not simply to help people return after a complete career break. We also wanted to provide opportunities for people who […]
An interview with Anne Todd, who recently made the move Anne is an experienced commercial lawyer, specialising in telecoms, technology and data privacy. After qualifying in private practice, her varied career has included a number of firsts. She was General Counsel of Storm, one of the first pan-European wholesale telecoms companies; the first General Counsel of […]
It’s the feeling that someone’s investing in my career. That was the response when I spoke to one of our Reignite Academy candidates recently, when asking what motivated her to make the leap and return to private practice. She’s absolutely right, our law firm partners are very much invested in making this programme work. Why? […]
Common concerns Getting back up to speed with the law; adjusting to a different type of working environment; working alongside colleagues who might be years younger; balancing work and family life; the technology; the long hours. We’ve worked with several women returning to law after a career break and this pretty much sums up most […]
Just read a piece in HR News, saying that 80% of working mothers feel stuck in the job they’re in because they couldn’t achieve the level of flexibility they have elsewhere. The same research also showed that 57% say their career hasn’t progressed since having children. Forgive me for not being surprised. In my experience, […]
Last week we celebrated success at the FT Innovative Lawyer awards. The founding members of the Reignite Academy triumphed as winners for Innovation in Diversity and Inclusion. (I’ll refrain from pointing out that, since women make up more than 50% of newly qualified lawyers, they hardly represent a minority group and settle for the recognition […]
I chose this image because the model looks both comfortable and fretful. Much like many of the young women I come across who are looking up and thinking “Just how, exactly, is this supposed to work?” Meaning, “How on earth do I keep a career on track at the same time as being a mother, […]
The Reignite Academy At the Reignite Academy we are creating opportunities for “career break” lawyers to get their careers back on track. Women like Mehrnaz Afshar, who had taken time off from a magic circle firm to set up a small business, and Kristin Shelley, now a tax lawyer at CMS who took a break […]