Bird & Bird is an international law firm guiding organisations through a world being shaped by technology, innovation and regulation, and driving the transformation of legal services delivery. They combine exceptional legal expertise with deep industry knowledge and refreshingly creative thinking, to help clients achieve their commercial goals.  Bird & Bird have nearly 1800 lawyers in 34 offices across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa, as well as close ties with firms in other parts of the world.

Tell us about your career progression to date 

My legal journey began as an intern in the Legal Advisory Section of the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, an experience that was as formative as it was eye-opening. It was there that I discovered, with equal parts humour and clarity, that the world of international law and I were perhaps better suited as admirers of one another from a distance.

With a refreshed sense of direction, I returned home and embraced private practice, joining a boutique law firm in my hometown as a trainee lawyer. It was the kind of environment where you learn quickly and grow even faster, and it gave me exactly the foundation I needed. Before long, I found my way to a multinational firm in the capital, where my career truly hit its stride.

Among the milestones I hold closest, I am proud to have been among the first five women in Saudi Arabia to obtain a licence to practise law following the landmark legislation permitting women to enter the profession, a moment that felt deeply personal and, I hope, quietly meaningful for those who came after.

From private practice, I took a pivotal turn into the in-house world, stepping into the role of Head of Legal, Governance and Board Secretary at a financial institution. That chapter sharpened my perspective considerably, and ultimately led me to where I am today: Partner and Head of Corporate and M&A at my current firm, a role that brings together everything I have built along the way.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in law? 

As it turns out, my legal career began far earlier than law school; it began at approximately age nine, in a negotiation over a My-Size Barbie Doll.

My parents, firm believers that life rewards you when you work hard, decided early on that if I wanted something, I was going to have to make a case for it. And so, when I set my sights on said Barbie, life-sized, aspirational, absolutely essential, my father did not simply reach for his wallet. He handed me a pen and asked me to write an essay justifying the acquisition. I did. Apparently, I was rather persuasive, because I got the doll. My father, for his part, was so impressed (or so amused) that he has kept that essay to this day. I can only assume it holds up.

This became something of a household tradition. That two CD player boombox? Present your argument. Summer camp? Submit your brief. I was, without fully realising it, being put through an informal but rigorous training in negotiation, advocacy, and the art of getting what you want through sheer force of well-structured reasoning.

The penny truly dropped in high school, when I joined a debate team and was assigned to argue a side I genuinely, passionately disagreed with. And we won. And in that moment, standing there having successfully argued against my own convictions with a straight face, I thought: this might actually be a career.

Twenty-plus years later, here I am. Still making arguments. Still winning some of them. And somewhere at home, there is a father with a filing cabinet containing Exhibit A.

How do you balance long hours with your personal life successfully? 

In all honesty, I am not sure "work-life balance" actually exists, at least not in the neat, social media-worthy way we are sold it. What I believe in instead is something far more dynamic, and frankly far more honest: the constant, daily recalibration of priorities.

Some days, work takes the front seat. Other days, life does. I once had to work through my honeymoon (which tells you everything you need to know about the glamour of the legal profession) and I have equally had moments where a family member's health meant everything else simply had to wait, and I trusted my team to hold the fort while I stepped away. Neither of those choices made me a better or worse professional. They made me a human one.

What I have learned over the years is that the secret, if there is one, lies in how you approach each morning. Take stock, plan your day, build in room for the inevitable surprises, and be willing to continuously reassess what deserves your attention most in any given moment. Rigidity is the enemy of resilience. 

How important is it to have other women visible at management level? 

Critically important, professionally, culturally and commercially, and not just for the reasons people typically expect.

Beyond the well-documented value of diversity in leadership, there is a very practical business development dimension that does not get spoken about enough. So much of the real work in this industry happens informally, over coffee, over lunch, in the margins of a conference. The deals that get done, the relationships that get built, the opportunities that emerge: they are rarely born exclusively in formal meeting rooms. They grow in those casual, unguarded moments of genuine connection.

Having women in senior and management positions makes that kind of connection significantly more accessible to me. There is a natural ease and familiarity that comes with shared experience, you find common ground more quickly, conversations flow more naturally, and the relationship-building that underpins good business development happens more organically. The female equivalent of the "golf course deal" is very real, and it is far easier to play that game when there are other women at the table to play it with.

Visibility at management level also sends a powerful signal to clients, counterparts, and the next generation of talent alike: that leadership here is not a monolith, and that the full range of perspectives is not just welcomed, but valued.

You have worked in The Netherlands, Dubai and KSA; did you notice any differences in terms of culture and how did it affect your management style? 

Enormously so, and each experience left a distinct mark on how I lead today.

Dubai was a masterclass in what I did not want to replicate. The culture I encountered there, fast-paced, at times quite brash, and not always the most considerate of the people behind the job titles, actually pushed me toward becoming a more empathetic and compassionate manager. Watching how certain environments could diminish rather than develop people made me deeply conscious of how I wanted my own team members to feel. Sometimes the most formative lessons come from the experiences you would rather not repeat.

The Netherlands offered something quite different: a highly competitive, performance-driven culture that taught me the value of being fair but firm. There is an art to holding people to a high standard while still respecting them, and that is something I genuinely honed there.

Saudi Arabia has brought perhaps the most nuanced dimension of all. It has reinforced for me how essential it is to understand the cultural fabric of the environment you are operating in, and to lead in a way that motivates and drives your team without ever making them feel diminished in the process. The line between being a manager and being a trusted confidant is a fine one, and navigating it thoughtfully makes all the difference.

Across all three, what has shaped me most is having observed, up close and at various stages of my career, a wide range of management styles, both inspiring and cautionary. I took careful notes on both. The managers I admired most taught me who I wanted to become. The ones I admired least taught me, perhaps even more usefully, who I was determined not to be.

What advice do you have for young women looking to make a career in your industry now? 

I will not sugarcoat it: it is a tough journey. And if you are picturing something along the lines of Suits or Boston Legal, the sharp blazers, the beautiful shoe collections, the witty one-liners, the glamorous courtroom victories, I would gently encourage you to also picture the long nights, the self-doubt, and yes, the occasional (perfectly justified) tears. That is part of it too. But here is what I know for certain: every one of those moments builds something in you that no shortcut ever could.

Hold your head up. Make your presence felt. Establish yourself not by being the loudest in the room, but by being the most prepared, the most curious, the most willing to learn. In the early stages of your career especially, listen more than you speak. You will be surprised how much you absorb when you are not busy trying to fill the silence.

Work with as many different people as you can - different partners, different styles, different approaches. Take what resonates, leave what does not, and use all of it to carve out a path that is distinctly, authentically yours. Nobody else's career will look quite like it, and that is entirely the point.

And on the days when it feels too hard - and there will be those days- remember this: there are very few things in professional life quite as satisfying as introducing yourself as a Partner at a law firm, knowing exactly what it took to get there.

Trust me. It is worth the journey.