Gold standard: finishing a law degree while training for the Olympics

I never imagined I’d compete in the Olympics. I loved all sports growing up, and I only started to take hockey seriously as a teenager whilst a pupil at Repton School. I loved playing for my school team and also played for a club at weekends. I competed for England’s under 16, under 18 and under 21 teams but the prospect of playing for the England senior team and Team GB was always a pipedream.

I’m from a very competitive and sporty family: board games at Christmas get feisty. My mum and dad always supported me by driving me to training sessions and matches. They were always cheering me on from the sidelines, but they also kept me grounded. Back then, you couldn’t make a career out of sport, so they ensured I kept up my schoolwork.

It might sound weird, but A-level Latin inspired my legal career. We studied Cicero and the legal nature of his writing motivated me to pursue work experience at a law firm. After chatting to a barrister and solicitor at a school careers day, I knew I wanted to pursue law. I was lucky to then get a place studying law at Bristol University.

During my second year, I got an unexpected call from the GB women’s head coach asking me to come and trial with the senior team. It was 2010 and the team was training for London 2012. I was only 19, so it was surreal, nerve-wracking and exciting to be asked to try out for the squad. Funding from the National Lottery meant the team was training full-time at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre – one hundred miles from Bristol.

I was asked to train full time with the squad, but with a year left of my undergraduate studies I had a dilemma. I didn’t want to waste my degree, but this opportunity was too big to turn down. The university suggested I spread my final year across two years. It filmed my lectures and tutorials so I could watch them remotely between training sessions – this was unheard of back then. Training days would vary but on most days we’d have at least two sessions a day of hockey and/or gym. There were also sessions with nutritionists, psychologists, video analysis and team meetings. The days could be quite jam-packed and I would just have to fit my studies in around my training schedule. I was grateful Bristol University were so accommodating.

Some people said I was mad trying to finish a law degree while training for the Olympics. It was intense, but my degree was a welcome escape from training and vice versa. If I’d been writing an essay, going out to play hockey was a nice break. If I had two hours to get something done, I had to get it done. I couldn’t mess around or leave things until the last minute: I had to be very organised and manage my time well.

I graduated and competed in my first Olympics in the same summer. Being part of the London 2012 games was unbelievable. I was the youngest player on the squad and there was such an amazing buzz. To come away with a bronze medal was an incredible experience and made us hungry to achieve more. Playing at home and having so many family and friends there made it extra special. My parents had a spreadsheet setting out who was coming to each match as they’d managed to get so many tickets.

After winning Olympic bronze I wasn’t ready to give up hockey, but I was due to start my training contract at Bird & Bird. Fortunately, they were happy for me to delay the start of my training contract until after the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Athletes spend a lot of time thinking about life after sport, so it was amazing to have that in place because it really took the pressure off.

Winning gold at Rio is the proudest moment of my life. We won all seven games to reach the final where we faced the Netherlands, who were the reigning champions and the favourites. It all boiled down to a tense penalty shoot-out which 10 million people watched on the BBC.

I started my training contract a week after returning from Rio, which was certainly a bit of a shock to the system. I was conscious of being pigeonholed into sports law because of my background, so was open-minded in my training contract and the different departments that I sat in. I really enjoyed my sports seat though – which included a three-month secondment at the FA (Football Association) – and knew that was where I wanted to qualify. I was so lucky to be offered a newly qualified spot on the sports team at the end of my training contract.

I feel very lucky to work in such a fantastic sports team with great clients. I predominantly work on sports-related commercial matters, and we generally act for governing bodies, event organisers, clubs and commercial sponsors across a broad range of sports. It’s great to work in a sector where you’re genuinely interested in the subject matter and the clients.

My colleague and I set up the women’s sport practice at Bird & Bird. As an area I’m hugely passionate about and one that is growing, it’s been great to set up a working group with like-minded individuals. We’ve already been supporting clients in this area: we recently advised the British and Irish Lions on the launch of the women’s team ahead of their first tour in 2027. We hope to continue to support our existing and new clients as women’s sport grows and becomes more commercialised.

Post-international retirement, I continued to play hockey in the premier league for Surbiton throughout my legal career. It was great I was still able to play club hockey alongside work and enjoy the sport more socially. It’s always a nice escape to run around the hockey pitch with your teammates after a day in the office. I’m also still a member of the Athletes’ Commission for the British Olympic Association and was previously on the Athletes’ Commission for the European Hockey Federation.

I developed lots of transferable skills on the hockey pitch that serve me well in law. In competitive elite sport, you learn to work in a team, develop leadership skills, manage conflict and know how to take criticism. Having an athlete’s perspective is sometimes helpful with my legal practice as well, given the sector that I specialise in.

It’s surreal to think how much has happened during my legal career to date. I feel lucky to have experienced so much and I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished in both sport and law.