On International Women’s Day, we’re sharing the women who inspire us across investigations, cybersecurity and law, from 1880 to the present day.
We celebrate Schillings’ women for more than just their job title. Because Schillings’ women are not only lawyers, investigators, and cyber experts – but also mothers, trustees, volunteers, CEOs, mentors, chairwomen, authors, and more.
Victoria Anderson, an Associate in our legal team, is also the CEO of Big Voice London, and Phoebe Waters, Associate and investigator, is Chair of the Female Fraud Forum. Solicitor Caroline Marshall is a mentor with the Law Society Diversity Access Scheme, while Jenny Afia, Partner, is on the UK advisory board for Common Sense Media. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
It’s often the case that behind every great woman is another great woman, and so in light of International Women’s Day, Phoebe Waters, Constance Armand, and Hind Habib are showcasing the pioneering women in Investigations, Law and Cyber that inspire them in their careers.
Maud West – The fearless sleuth in disguise
West was an enigma, says Phoebe Waters. An inspiration for Phoebe’s career in Intelligence and Investigations, West was a fearless and progressive international queen of crime.
Often in disguise, West was able to drop effortlessly into the lives of the indisputably dubious characters that were both her clients and targets. West’s expertise was wide-ranging: she unmasked jewel-thieves, tracked down gang members, and caught adulterers and spies alike. Forming her own detective agency in 1905 – at a time when the investigations scene was supposedly a man’s world – she made herself indispensable in the art of uncovering the truth.
Parisa Tabriz – Google’s Secret Weapon
Cyber expert Constance Armand sees Google’s Director of Engineering, Parisa Tabriz, as pioneering in the world of technology.
Although she wasn’t surrounded by technology growing up, Tabriz became interested in web security in college when one of the websites she created was hacked. She then joined an information and security club to better understand how it happened and it can be solved. At Google, Tabriz not only ensures the safety and security of Chrome web browser, but also manages a team of elite hackers that are looking into Google tech’s zero-day vulnerabilities.
Discover more about Parisa Tabriz.
The Rt Hon. The Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE – The ‘Beyoncé’ of the legal world
Hind Habib, Senior Associate in Legal, chooses the Rt Hon. The Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE as a woman who inspires her.Blazing an impressive trail of firsts throughout her legal career, Brenda Marjorie Hale is known as the ‘Beyoncé’ of the legal world (so dubbed by Legal Cheek) for her role in empowering women.
She was the first woman to be appointed to the Law Commission in 1984, the first woman to serve on the UK’s Supreme Court in 2009, as well as female Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from June 2013. She later became the first female President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2017 to January 2020 (having reached the mandatory age of retirement).