Margaret Tofalides is recognised as one of the UK’s leading intellectual property and data protection specialists. Her career in litigation spans over 25 years, during which she’s advised clients on issues from retail and pharmaceutical to financial and cyber law. Now Partner at Clyde & Co (the global five times winner of ‘Law Firm Of The Year’), we caught up with Margaret to discover her top career tips for everywomanNetwork members growing their careers.
I’ve moved between various roles at a few law firms over my career
Knowing when it’s time to move on isn’t always easy. I’ve never had a fixed time plan and have stayed with two firms for a relatively long time. But I’ve always had goals and have taken care to review them regularly. Having made Partner early in my career, it has been about helping clients protect and grow their businesses. In recent years it has been about advising them to grow globally. This has meant having to be in the right firm and environment at the right time. It’s wise to think carefully about what you can learn from each new opportunity before you decide on your next move.
As a lawyer, resolving disputes and enabling effective arbitration is an essential skill
For me it’s all about creating a win/win situation. It’s not a successful negotiation if the other person is left feeling they’ve lost out; that way you're unlikely to achieve the maximum result. You have to be clear about what you want and what your expectations are, and take the time to explain to the other party why what you’re asking for is fair. People often respond well to that.
Your influence grows throughout your career, but it’s possible to make an impact as a junior
My way of doing this was to be curious and offer views or solutions. Speaking up is important. I asked questions and demonstrated that I wanted to learn. When I see juniors doing that, I know they’re the ones to watch. Do your research, but don’t be afraid to say you don’t know the answer and always be keen to contribute.
Becoming a publisher within your specialism is a great way to elevate your profile
Throughout my career I’ve looked for opportunities to write articles and blogs for relevant industry publications. If you look, there are always magazines, journals or trade papers that are willing to publish your opinions, experiences and stories. Discover opportunities and volunteer your services.
Internet and data privacy is especially important for your career
Think twice before you publish a less than professional photograph of yourself on Facebook or Twitter. Having advised in this area of law, I know that clients do check up on potential candidates and current employees!
I still get nervous before a big presentation, especially if there’s a camera involved
Thorough practice and really knowing your content are the antidotes to most cases of nerves. Then try and give a natural delivery – you need to keep the audience with you. Try not to bore them even if it's a dry subject.
Networking sometimes comes with a bad connotation, but it’s really just about creating relationships
Networking has been very important to my career, though I never set out to create one as such. Throughout early roles I just naturally found the likeminded people who I came to rely on for advice and support. If there are senior people you admire and respect, they are very often willing to help.
The law profession offers an incredibly rewarding career and needs more female role models
There is an academic side to the law, which requires a lot of research and keeping on top of new developments. But there’s also an entrepreneurial aspect. Over my career I’ve been able to get involved in and make a difference to businesses of all sizes. Young women should see law as a really varied and interesting career, but like a lot of industries, we still have some way to go in terms of offering the flexibility and benefits that will attract and retain women starting and raising families, and support and encourage promotion to senior and board management. But we are trying!
My career highlight was literally life changing…
So far, my career highlight has to be running a large team of over 30 lawyers on an international arbitration dispute involving five different nationalities. We won a multi-million dollar award and the client went on to develop a great drug with the funding. Great teamwork led to an outstanding result, producing real commercial and human benefit.
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