What are the key projects you have been involved in over the past twelve months?

I am a commercially‑minded in‑house lawyer operating at senior‑leadership level in a complex environment. As head of legal and business assurance for Kier Construction, I advise on day‑to‑day matters and lead the development and delivery of a legal strategy designed to reduce risk, add certainty and strengthen business resilience. I partner with senior leadership, influencing operational decision‑making and strategic priorities.

What makes me stand out as a rising star is the combination of strong legal delivery in high‑risk, high‑value construction and infrastructure contexts, the ability to lead business transformation requiring cultural and behavioural change and leadership in emerging governance areas shaping the future of in‑house practice, most notably AI.

I have been a Pride of Kier finalist twice, reflecting sustained impact beyond my immediate role. In 2024, I was recognised for leading the DocuSign project team and in 2025, for leading the Kier Construction multi-disciplinary response to the Building Safety Act (BSA), demonstrating leadership on a major regulatory and delivery challenge.

I developed a legal function within Kier Construction, growing from one lawyer in 2021 to a team of six. I’m always pushing for improvement and since taking on the role of Head of Legal, I have sought to embed a legal team that is operationally focused within each of the division’s business units. My team has played a key part in Kier’s turnaround, getting ahead of risks in the early stages of a project, through to mitigating the impact of legacy issues facing the business. I previously pioneered the introduction of the OneNDA into the business and in the last twelve months I have championed and built a flagship Legal AI NDA use case, from self build, to hackathon development and enterprise planning. I previously established a digital legal hub providing resources, training and playbooks for the business and in the last twelve months, my team has delivered a new programme of legal podcasts.

Over the last twelve months, I have demonstrated a capability beyond the traditional legal sphere, leading Kier Construction’s business assurance function. I have introduced rigour and dynamism into the bi-annual assurance statement, driving compliance and introducing best practice measures, which are now being rolled out more widely in the Group. I have created an environment where the business assurance community is connected across construction and is driving key strategic projects, looking at project delivery through the revamp of Kier’s project lifecycle approach and disaster recovery and business continuity framework.

Most recently, (January 2026), I have taken up a role co-chairing Kier’s AI Working Group, established to drive and enable safe innovation. I have led the team converting AI ambition into workable governance, a cultural change programme and an evolving AI strategy. In July 2026, the team rolled out its first enterprise-wide AI agent, which will make a difference to colleagues across the business enabling them to access information more quickly driving up compliance and freeing up our colleagues to focus on the work that has to be led by human judgement and experience.

What are the most important attributes of the modern in-house counsel and what advice would you give to those aspiring to be an in-house lawyer?

The modern in-house counsel’s biggest differentiator is the ability to think beyond being “the lawyer in the room”. Technical excellence is essential, but it is no longer enough on its own. The best in-house lawyers understand how the business really works, how decisions are made and how legal, commercial and reputational risks interact in practice.

My advice to aspiring in-house lawyers would be to get as close to the business as you can. Take on legal-adjacent responsibilities, spend time with operational teams, visit sites and build relationships outside the legal function. In my own role, taking on business assurance and spending more time on site gave me a much deeper understanding of how projects are actually managed, and helped me become a more effective legal and strategic adviser.

AI will increasingly change how legal work is delivered, so technical legal ability will become even more of a baseline expectation. What will make in-house counsel stand out is judgement: the ability to apply legal expertise in context, balance competing risks and help the business move forward with confidence.

How is AI used within your legal team to improve efficiency while maintaining quality, governance and integrity?

AI is not something we are adopting for its own sake; at Kier, it is being used to solve real business problems while strengthening quality, governance and integrity. As co-chair of Kier’s AI Working Group, I help lead a multidisciplinary approach that enables safe innovation: setting clear principles, maintaining accountability for quality, and adapting governance quickly as use cases evolve.

Within the legal function, we already use LexisNexis AI and are developing further opportunities with our preferred legal suppliers, including practical use cases that improve efficiency without removing human judgement. The focus is not simply on automation, but on changing how lawyers think — encouraging experimentation, iteration and learning quickly where traditional legal culture can often be risk-averse.

For me, responsible AI means moving fast, but learning faster: creating guardrails that protect the business without strangling innovation and ensuring AI supports better decisions rather than replacing professional judgement.

Beyond your legal role, is there a cause or initiative you are especially passionate about?

As a mother of two young children and a woman in a leadership role working a flexible working pattern, I am passionate about showcasing my leadership journey and trying to act as a role model for the next generation. From using my LinkedIn profile to share my experiences to acting as a sponsor for our internal Inspire management development programme, I want to help the next generation of women and mothers to see construction as a viable career path. Being able to work flexibly as a senior leader is something I continue to be incredibly grateful for, and I remain an advocate of being able to assume leadership roles and balance outside caring responsibilities with many of my team working a flexible working pattern.