What can you do with a law degree? An interview with managing director of Thrive Law, Jodie Hill

“I wanted to be a doctor originally. I always wanted to help people.”

My plan to be a doctor failed when I didn’t get 3 As at A-level, but it turned out to be a blessing. I decided I could help people by working as a barrister instead and was admitted to the Law LLB course at Leeds Beckett through Clearing.

I was called to the Bar in 2010, but with almost a decade’s worth of industry experience, I cross qualified from barrister to solicitor in 2013. I just preferred specialising in employment law and went with the flow. Change is good! I wouldn’t have opened my own firm if I’d continued as a barrister.

“I wanted to be a partner, but I didn’t think I’d make it.”

I was only five years qualified when I opened Thrive. I’d never been a partner, manager or leader, but I just thought: what is there to lose? I was unwell and needed a purpose that was more than just being a lawyer, and I didn’t want to earn money for someone else.

I already had a client base as I’d been working as a consultant, but there was still a lot of risk starting up my own company without that leadership experience. I was stressed taking the leap, but I knew I could stand out.

“I’m not your typical law firm MD. I have tattoos, I wear bright clothes, I have ADHD.”

I’d try and hide my tattoos before. I thought that to be taken seriously in law, I had to be more conservative. Now I embrace my points of difference - I want to throw the traditional, stuffy image of law up in the air and bring it right up to date. I faced discrimination early on in my career as a blonde junior barrister. It was intimidating, but it’s made me more resilient. There are not many women at the top in law and definitely not enough female founders, so I wanted to change that. 

“At university, I was never afraid of putting myself out there.”

I always worked at uni, seeking proper legal experience wherever I could. I wasn’t afraid to apply for jobs and secured my first role in a Bradford law practice. I had the confidence I could do it.

I’ve got most of the jobs through LinkedIn, messaging managing partners of law firms. I’ve always been in sports teams and put myself forward for committees, and I think that’s all helped with my people skills which are ultimately what’s made me stand out in my career and helped me build a successful law firm of my own.

“Being visible on social media is absolutely key in this new world.”

I was an early adopter of social media. I could quickly see that it could connect me to my audiences in the most authentic way and help with my visibility, and I found my niche. I still run my own social media channels rather than a marketing team, because I don’t want it to ever be too corporate, I want to be relatable.

Being active on Twitter helped me get noticed by media and journalists. I’m now often the go-to for radio, TV and newspaper stories when they need expert comment on employment law issues. Building your personal brand on social media is key to developing your career.

“I work smart.”

An average day usually involves getting up at 5 and going to the gym. I then walk my dogs for an hour and do a bit of work before people log in, while it’s quiet.

As the managing director of Thrive, I’m less involved in day-to-day legal activity and more focused on driving the firm forward, working on strategy, marketing, PR, compliance, and supporting my brilliant team. We work smart and use Asana and Slack to communicate workload. 

One day I could be fronting an event, doing a speech or talking live on TV or radio, and then the next preparing a pitch or travelling to London to meet 10 clients in one day. I do a lot of networking.

With ADHD, I’ve had to work out how I work best. I need a few days meeting-free, or I can feel overwhelmed. At the end of the day, I go for a walk or do yoga to switch off. 

“In law, everyone will have legal skills. To stand out, you need people skills.”

Make sure you’re always available, responsible, what you say makes sense, and that you’re just nice to be around. Lawyers can be seen as difficult, so I think you need a solution-driven mindset to win clients.

The social media and marketing side is key if you want to run your own firm, as well as being good at sales - to be a partner you have to be able to sell, but not overtly. Instead, be their friends, get referrals, and just keep producing top quality work with amazing people. Grab every opportunity, network, and try to get on a committee to gain some management experience.

If you’re good at the technical side of law, find a firm that wants that detail. Let your strength help their weakness. Show what your value is, not just what you bill.

“Get ahead on legal tech to help you stand out in interviews.”

Just ask yourself, how can tech help you do your job better? At Thrive, we have team innovation days where we make space to come up with these ideas and focus on how to make law more accessible to the general public. If you have some ideas on the use of tech in legal services, it’ll really impress at interviews.

The legal sector is streets behind fintech, but we are slowly creeping up. I’m working on an exciting project in Dubai at the moment, building an employment law tech platform that will ultimately make boring stuff more fun. 

I set out to disrupt the legal sector with Thrive Law, and build a law firm different to any other, effecting meaningful change in the legal sector. It’s working out pretty well.

Thanks to Jodie for taking part in our ‘What can you do with a law degree?’ series.

For more information on Jodie and her firm Thrive Law, visit www.thrivelaw.co.uk