#5: Leadership, Diversity & Social Inclusion - with Raj Panasar

Raj Panasar is a lawyer who has recently left private practice from his previous position as a Corporate Finance partner at Hogan Lovells. Born and raised in Lancashire, Raj felt under immense pressure from his parents to pursue a ‘high-flying’ career, despite being at real socio-economic disadvantage and coming from, in his own words, deep deprivation. Nonetheless, he made it into private practice, training at Linklaters, and then making partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton before moving to Hogan Lovells. Raj has now stepped away from partnership to pursue his own legal tech venture which he’s keeping under wraps (for now)! In a conversation that could’ve continued into multiple podcast episodes, some of the key things Raj and I discuss are: Raj’s journey into law from a socio-economically disadvantaged background; Arrogance v confidence and imposter syndrome; Raj’s own experience of partnership, and his recognition of his unfair expectations of juniors earlier in his career; What led him to changing his attitude towards people management; Machismo in the culture of the legal industry; Work-life balance; and Management training and how to get managers to actually change their behaviour. You can find Raj on LinkedIn where you can keep up to date with his exciting new venture! The book that Raj mentioned is ‘The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts’ by Daniel Susskind and Richard Susskind

Om Podcasten

'Law Life Balance' is the industry-leading, change-seeking podcast in which Caitlin McFee chats with thought leaders in the legal and mental health spaces to help lawyers prioritise their mental health and wellbeing, and achieve long-term, sustainable success in the legal industry. Welcoming the story-tellers, the entrepreneurs, the advocates, and the allies, Caitlin seeks to bring diverse opinions around the table to raise awareness of, and empathy for, mental wellbeing issues in the law. The mission? To create space for mentally healthier lawyers through collaboration, not competition.