Egbe qualified into our Financial Services team before leaving to join bp where she is now Counsel - Financial Services Regulation, Trading & Shipping. Egbe is an enthusiastic and vocal advocate in the legal profession, challenging convention, encouraging inclusion, and championing social change.

Can you tell us about your decision to become a lawyer and how you came to join the firm.

I trained at RWK Goodman in Oxford and qualified into Norton Rose Fulbright in 2015 joining the Financial Services Regulatory team under the guidance of Hannah Meakin and Jonathan Herbst.

I knew I wanted to become a lawyer as a young girl after the death of Stephen Lawrence in 1992. It was the realisation that the law is not always perfect and that the guilty can escape justice that made me angry and fuelled a fire in me.

Hence, I spent the start of my career pre-qualification in criminal law but, as I am an empathetic and emotional person, I would often bring those criminal cases home with me, and they would really affect me. I soon realised that if I continued in criminal law, its emotional toll was not conducive to a lengthy career. I needed to do something completely different and, as soon as I went into the world of business, I loved it and knew it was perfect for me.

Tell us a little about your time with us

I really enjoyed my time with Norton Rose Fulbright. The Financial Services Regulatory team was amazing. There were so many different characters, but they were all technically brilliant. Their doors were always open, and I felt lucky that such senior people were always available to me. The team is just phenomenal, which is the reason I work with them today. I call the team the “Marvel” of financial regulation.

In my first year, there were quite a few late nights and cancellations of evening plans. Initially, I did struggle with this: the unpredictability of the work and my lack of control over last-minute deadlines. However, I was well supported by the team and I soon got used to it. In fact, I believe it has made me a stronger, more disciplined, and resilient lawyer. For me, attention to detail is so important and, if you can still exercise this skill at the end of a long day, you’re improving your technical skill set. So, although it was a challenging at the time, I would go through it again. 

What was your next career move and what do you enjoy about your current role? 

I left Norton Rose Fulbright to work in-house and eventually joined bp. I made the move in-house as I had a family and wanted a more senior role. In-house you are dealing with a wide variety of matters with the business looking to you as the legal expert and it was that element of responsibility that I wanted.

I enjoy balancing both the legal and the commercial aspect of matters. It is not just thinking about what the law says but also how it applies to our business. Working in a global business like bp, I have to take a multi-faceted approach to issues. Something that might be good for one area of our business, could be detrimental to another. Therefore, you must be highly adaptable in the legal advice and practical solutions you provide.

Outside of your day job, you are continually active in inspiring people and encouraging social mobility and you have won a Legal Rising Star Award, can you tell us about that.

This is something I am really passionate about. This is because, without some lucky breaks and the support at Norton Rose Fulbright and my previous law firm, I might not have the legal career I do. I want there to be more opportunities for individuals who are talented but who get overlooked because they are not polished, or they communicate slightly differently. For me it is about substance rather than what someone might be outwardly portraying. I work with such individuals, and I get to see how amazing that they are, but they just need to be given a chance. It is great to have social mobility schemes, but they can have limitations, so I’m also interested in promoting initiatives that will have a greater impact and make real change to the legal field. I felt very honoured and surprised to receive the WeAreTheCity Legal Rising Star Award for my work in this area. It certainly meant a lot to me.

I’m also involved in an organisation which tackles the under representation of female business founders. I was also part of the Legal, Tax and Regulatory Committee of the UK Business Angels Association which was a rewarding experience and allowed me to support macro initiatives to highlight the lack of funding into female-owned businesses. I loved being part of that industry group because it gave me the platform to shine a light on important issues such as gender underrepresentation.

What do you do to relax when you are not working? 

I love to play the piano and I also love to swim. Swimming just allows you to shut everything out for that brief period and has such benefits for your mental health.