Name: Amie Norris
Position: Senior associate
Firm: Pinsent Masons
Trained at: Pinsent Masons
In Hot 100 for: Being a rising star in the corporate world. Read her full Hot 100 profile.
What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee?
My first all night completion. I always knew I would love or hate corporate law (although deep down I knew it was for me as I had performed well in business studies at school and enjoyed all the business focused electives at university) but I didn’t get to experience it until my last seat as a trainee.
On 19/20 October 2007 (yes, I still remember the date – I had to date all the documents for the bible!), I stayed up all night to help with a completion. I had no idea what I was doing as I had only been in the department for four weeks and had been pulled in to help at the last minute but I loved every minute (apart from the 3-4am energy dip) so I knew corporate law was for me from that point. The champagne at 9am was a nice bonus.
Who has been the most influential person in your career? Why, and how have they helped you?
I have been incredibly fortunate to work with many outstanding lawyers during my career and they have all shaped me into the lawyer I am today. I can’t single any one person out but the partners I have worked with for the longest are Helen Ridge and Gregg Davison who have both been incredibly supportive of me and have given me the opportunity to observe and learn from their individual styles and meet and develop relationships with their clients. More recently, I have been working closely with our Head of Private Equity, Ed Stead, who has also been mentoring me which has been invaluable as it helps me to take a step back and see the bigger picture.
What was the best career decision you ever made, and why?
To stay at Pinsent Masons. There is a myth that you have to move law firms periodically to progress quickly and, while that may be true for some people, I don’t think I would be at the same point in my career today if I had left PM.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to get to where you are/do the job you do?
I mentor quite a few people within PM and I always tell them the same two things. First, always look at the job description for the level above you and try to work at that level/develop your skills so that when your promotion is considered, you can demonstrate that you are already doing that job.
Secondly, I did well at school and university but I wasn’t the top performer; I wasn’t the loudest or the most confident but I have always worked hard and I have always set myself ambitious goals. The world is more interesting for the fact that we are not all the same and it is the same in law. Work hard, be yourself, be confident in your own abilities and you can’t go wrong.
What work or career-related project or activity would you really like to do, but don’t have time for?
I would love to do an MBA one day.
