From leaving school at 16 to leading a 100-year-old law firm through its most transformative chapter, Alison Broadberry’s path to the top of Edwin Coe is anything but conventional. In this episode of Spotlight, Alison shares how she’s driven a wave of modernisation that’s seen lateral hires knocking on the door, a B Corp accreditation among the first in the top 200, and a culture so clearly defined it’s become a recruitment tool in itself.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Why Alison’s non-traditional background, barrister, commercial roles, no predetermined plan, has been a strength rather than a limitation in the managing partner role
- How the firm arrived at its values (the SPHERE framework: Supportive, Professional, Honest, Encouraging, Respectful, Empowering) by asking its people, not hiring consultants
- The surprise of positive momentum, expecting to push for change, but finding it created its own magnetic pull
- What leadership has taught her about delegation, loneliness at the top (and why it turned out to be the opposite), and the growing need for emotional intelligence in law firm leadership
- Edwin Coe’s strategic clarity: sustainable profitable growth focused on UK and international private capital and dispute resolution, while remaining London independent
- Why becoming one of the first top 200 firms to achieve B Corp accreditation reflects the firm’s commitment to balancing people, profit and purpose
- Female representation in legal leadership and why focusing on skills and abilities rather than gender is Alison’s approach
- Her advice to her younger self: trust your own voice, even when you’re the only one in the room with that view
