This week, Adrian is joined by Juliet Schalker, litigation partner at Debenham Ottaway in St Albans. After nearly a decade in the City, Juliet made the bold decision to move to a regional firm, not as a career retreat, but a values-driven recalibration. What followed was a journey to redefine success, build a collegiate team culture and prove that first-class litigation work doesn’t require a London postcode.

This conversation follows Juliet’s professional and personal evolution and explores some big career and culture themes along the way:

• How growing up in South Africa and being the first in her family to go to university shaped Juliet’s perspective on work, confidence and purpose;
• Why she left a thriving City career for a more balanced role and how she has reclaimed time, team spirit and quality work without sacrificing ambition;
• The reality of making partner, leading a team and building culture, and why Juliet now puts emotional intelligence and curiosity above exam results;
• Her candid thoughts on why the traditional law firm model needs modernising: from presenteeism and burnout, to the scarcity of training contracts; and
• Why Juliet believes regional firms are more than a “lifestyle” move: they are a strategic career choice that better reflects where law is going, not where it’s been.

Stay tuned to hear Juliet reflect on her proudest case: a £20m Commercial Court win that protected an innocent family’s livelihood and why helping people, not chasing prestige, has become her greatest marker of success.