Our clinical negligence team deals with a variety of cases, including those involving women who have suffered traumatic childbirth or other gynaecological health traumas. To mark International Women’s Day, Kat May and Tasmin White talk about their own career journeys, the balance of work and family life and the importance of showing compassion as a clinical negligence lawyer.

Kat is a salaried partner within the clinical negligence department, and one of four team supervisors. She has been with Taylor Emmet for almost three years and is the only senior member of the team who works part-time, spending her days off looking after her young family. She has been a qualified solicitor for 17 years.

Kat said: “I am very passionate about using my current position to drive change around flexible working and normalising senior members of the team working part-time. For too long, and particularly in the legal sector, women have been forced to choose between progressing their careers or starting a family, and while progress has been made in recent years, there is still a long way to go.

“When I returned to work from maternity leave, at a different firm at which I was an Equity Partner, I had to negotiate part-time terms and whilst the Partners were supportive, it represented real change for them. This issue is something that disproportionately affects women and many of the clinical negligence solicitors I supervise are young women who may be thinking about starting a family soon. I want to be a role model to them and show that you can still fulfil a senior position without being at work full-time.”

Tasmin joined Taylor Emmet in December 2020 and has almost 20 years of experience in the legal industry with over 15 of those years qualified as a solicitor. She is a Senior Associate and one of our four supervisors within the team, giving her time to advance the learning and development of those she mentors.

Tasmin initially qualified as a Family Law Solicitor helping clients resolve disputes with finances and children following divorce. However, Tasmin faced challenges in her career having been made redundant whilst pregnant with her first child and then losing her job whilst pregnant with her second child following a decision by the firm she worked for to close the Family Law department.

Tasmin fought to hold on to her legal career, changing her specialist area of law to clinical negligence and pursued her career aspirations to help others, all whilst navigating her life as a new mum.

Tasmin said: “I have worked full-time since my children were very young and I think rather than assuming that you have to work part-time when you have children, it’s about giving women the choice to do what works for them.”

Showing compassion

Kat has developed a reputation for her work on obstetric and gynaecology cases and is now the ‘go to’ practitioner within the team for clients who have suffered an obstetric or gynaecological injury. She is working on a growing number of cases involving negligent treatment of endometriosis, something which she feels strongly about as it is so often mis- or un-diagnosed.

Kat said: “Having the expertise is one thing and is obviously very important in practice, but I think compassion is the most important trait of any clinical negligence practitioner. Many of the women I deal with are vulnerable and it takes time for them to open up about what they have been through. Sometimes people put on a brave face and portray themselves as coping when in reality, they are struggling. Having the patience and sensitivity to listen to clients and being that trusted person they can turn to is crucial as it allows the practitioner to develop a positive relationship with them. That in turn allows them to gather the evidence needed to get the client the results they deserve.”

Tasmin is passionate about providing excellent client care which is reflected in her handling of very tragic cases where babies have died before or after birth. She recently supported a family through a five-day inquest into the death of their baby daughter only hours after her birth.

Tasmin said: “Life as a clinical negligence solicitor can be heart-breaking and rewarding in equal measures and it’s our own stories and experience as women that allow us to feel empathy and show compassion for the people we represent in what can be the worst moments of their lives.”

 

“I think the legal industry is perceived as being quite stern-faced and emotionally detached when the reality is very different. When you work in law, and clinical negligence specifically, you soon realise that you have to be sensitive to the feelings and emotions of your clients, to do your best for them, as well as creating a supportive environment for colleagues who dedicate their careers to making things better for others in a very challenging area of law.”

Changing perceptions

Kat is one of three partners within the clinical negligence team, but she is the only female partner. She has made it her mission to change perceptions of management style during her time at Taylor Emmet.

Kat said: “During my career, I have seen women get into a management positions and then alter the way they approach their role, perhaps compromising some of their inherently female qualities and adopting a manner that lacks compassion and empathy because they feel this is the only way they will be taken seriously in the role.

 

“During my time at Taylor Emmet, I have always endeavoured to use my influence as a partner to make things better for other women at the firm. I like to think I’ve adopted a management style that empowers the women in my team and I want to act as both role model and advocate for them. I want to show that a good manager can be approachable, professional and a fierce defender of women in the workplace. And that these things can be achieved whilst working part-time.”