“I realised in that moment that I’ve been telling myself that I wasn’t giving my employer the best version of myself perhaps or not giving them the best worker I could be where in fact that wasn’t true at all,” Ms Bray said. “I think breaking the biases is identifying those little beliefs that we have and challenging them.”

For fellow Hicksons partner Naomi Tancred, the need to break down biases within law was clear when the profession transitioned between working from home and in the office during the COVID-19 pandemic. She explained that the biased thinking that working from home meant little to no effort “is clearly not the case”.

“I said the other day that now that we’re not wearing suits in the office and we’re basically sitting in t-shirts and shorts and doing meetings – that doesn’t matter because we’re still giving advice,” Ms Tancred added. “You shouldn’t have to dress up or down because, no matter what we’re wearing, we shouldn’t have that bias.”

At Hicksons Lawyers, a lot of its supportive culture – particularly around flexibility and work/life balance for staff – can be chalked up to the standard set by leadership. Ms Bray said the firm has a lot of great male and female role models and all tend to be very family orientated, which has been “one of the most influential things” they do.

In her own practice group, Ms Bray – who is Newcastle-based – said nearly all the partners have young children that they make the time for, including the managing partner who will often have family commitments that he prioritises over work.  

This means that Ms Bray has the flexibility and the freedom to adjust her start and finish times around her young family. Although sometimes this may mean working later in the night once her daughter has gone to sleep, this has never been an undesirable part of work and has, in fact, given Ms Bray “peace of mind”.

“That coming down from the top and always having that family priority has influenced the policies and the flexible work arrangements and all the other things that have been introduced while I’ve been at Hicksons,” Ms Bray explained. “That’s what they want for themselves, and so they have projected that onto us.”

Similarly, Ms Tancred said the “huge flexibility” at Hicksons around family has been extremely important to the staff and has played a major role in its positive culture. Ms Tancred herself will often let clients and colleagues know that she splits her time between work and her family – and it has never left her at a disadvantage.

“You realise people do have lives outside of work and it’s extremely important to have that balance, it makes you a better lawyer to have that ability to spend time with your family,” Ms Tancred said. “If things need to be done, I’ll log on – but that’s not pressure at work, it’s the fact that’s just what we can do with all this flexibility.”

A year back at Hicksons, following her 10-month maternity leave – and working three days a week at the time – Ms Bray was promoted to partner. Taking time to be with her family has never interfered with her career progression, which is a message that is shared with all the young female lawyers who join the firm.

The partners explained that when a new lawyer joins the firm, they are given a “buddy” who is often a more senior lawyer at the firm, “but not too much higher so it’s not intimidating”. This person provides guidance to the new lawyer and encourages them, alongside the rest of the firm, “to be the best that they can be”. This will involve sharing their goals and, in return, being given advice on how to achieve them.

On the advice she would give young, female lawyers, Ms Bray said she always asks them to “think about what you want your life to look like” and find suitable role models to suit that image. For Ms Bray, that meant doing interesting and rewarding work while also finding the time for herself and for her family.

Ms Tancred added that she asks what they want to achieve and encourages them to pursue personal interests outside of work and prioritise them.

“I have purely females in my team, and one of them came up to me the other day and said, ‘you’re a really good role model’. To me, that meant I had achieved everything. You can always be a good lawyer, but I think it’s more important to be a good role model and to [set] that example of having both a family and work,” Ms Tancred said.

In addition to setting flexible policies around working that encourages work/life balance, Hicksons has set policies in place for sexual harassment and bullying. Given that this is such a prevalent issue in the profession, Ms Bray and Ms Tancred told Lawyers Weekly that there is an “absolutely zero tolerance” approach at the firm.

“It’s not a part of the culture we’re trying to create and we are very protective of that culture,” Ms Bray said, adding a note to the leaders in other firms who allow it to take place without safeguards: “If that’s the kind of culture that you are going to facilitate in your workplace, the trajectory will be down for your life, your career and your business. It is not tolerated and it’s going to come unstuck in this day and age.”

Ms Tancred said the firm has a number of policies and programs in place to prevent any misconduct. The culture itself is improved by the bullying and harassment policies, human rights policies, workplace behaviour policies and codes of conduct.

“There is no tolerance anymore. We’re in a new era and stage where there is no excuse,” Ms Tancred said. “If more senior people and people in power are tolerating it, it will filter down to staff. You can’t’ surround yourself with people like that.”

To finish up the interview, Ms Bray said that recognising women in leadership and promoting female lawyers is “up to men as well”. She said that she is particularly inspired by a number of her male colleagues who have put their family first and her husband who has started working part-time to be with their daughter.

“It’s so inspiring that not only are we being inclusive and allowing women to do that, but we’re encouraging men to do that too and they’re interested in doing it.

“What really challenges the bias is men stepping up and enjoying their families too because they want to spend time with them and prioritise them as part of their life too, and not experience any prejudice for wanting to do that. I find that really inspiring, and it’s a really important aspect of breaking the bias,” Ms Bray said.