Employee Spotlight: Emma Avent

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?

I think I’m a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. When I play tennis I get horribly competitive, but I’m really patient and easy going with my kids. I love getting to know people and what makes them ‘tick’. I have a pet German Shepherd dog who follows me around the house with immense dedication and loyalty, and seemingly loves to snore loudly through most of my work meetings!????

What inspired you to pursue your career in Law??

I actually feel really lucky to have found law. When I graduated, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and found myself working for a large US company where I was taken under the wing of the UK sales director. We worked on a ￡7m deal with the Mirror Group newspapers. To win the contract we agreed a prebate which I had to get approved by the legal team. I was fascinated by the work they had to do to make the deal compliant and quickly decided that I wanted to go into law.

What’s your favorite part of your job??

Helping people! I love that I get to work with people from all corners of the company. Generally, people come to me with problems or for advice, and I get a real buzz out of being able to find solutions that help people achieve their goals.?

What’s a piece of advice you’ve received that has stuck with you??

You can’t always be the best… but you can always try to be the best. There’s no excuse for not trying your best.?

Do you have any advice for someone just starting out in your field??

There’s a phrase: ‘you have to know so much to say so little’ which is very true for lawyers. Whenever I work up a legal solution, there’s a lot going on in my head testing various angles and considering ramifications. So, I think I’d encourage a junior lawyer to practice this as much as possible. Take any complex topic and try to summarize the key point in 2 sentences.??

Are there any goals or projects you’re particularly passionate about right now??

CloudCall! (Any and all of it!)

If you could trade jobs with anyone in the company for a day, who would it be and why??

I don’t think I’d ‘trade’ because that would mean some poor person would have to do my job, but if I could, I’d find out who had worked the hardest or had the toughest time recently, and do their job for them for a day. Hopefully, they’d get a day off and the chance to recoup a bit.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work??

I think most people know I’m obsessed with tennis. I compete in local leagues for singles and doubles and play socially as much as I can. I also love skiing and riding motorbikes as fast as I can! I’ve been trying to learn Spanish for 2 years now and progress is slower than I would like, so if we have any Spanish speakers in the company, I may need to hold our meetings in Spanish so I can get more practice!