Be bold enough to ask: Gigi Lockhart on shaping your career

Gigi Lockhart, Senior Associate, Litigation and Arbitration: Being open and ready for progression at DLA Piper is quite easy, because there are opportunities flying past you, and they’re there for your taking. 

I think it's just about saying yes, being open to new opportunities and being willing to ask questions and clarifying questions about what those opportunities could look like for you.

Sometimes you might think that particular opportunities, say a secondment, might not be appropriate for your level of seniority, but it's just about asking the question. 

It might help you expand your skillset, develop relationships with the people that you’re working with. 

In the legal industry, you need to be incredibly proactive to shape your own career. When you’re uncertain about a potential outcome, it’s about being bold and taking the risk.

That really worked for me when I saw an opportunity for a secondment in Paris last year. I now have relationships with both partners and colleagues in the Paris office and all over Europe. 

I think DLA Piper is perfect for facilitating those kinds of people who are bold enough to ask.