Clare Bouwmeester
Lawyer
Qualification: LLB Law. LLM Master of Laws (Public International Law)
Chartered Governance Institute, UK. Chartered Company Secretary (in process)
Year of qualification: 2012
Current role: TBD
First job in Law: County Court Advocate for the South-East of England circuit. I presented applications in Chambers (being non-qualified it’s the only way a judge will hear you) for all sorts of hearings including small claims, asset recovery, applications to suspend warrants of execution, third party debt orders and charging orders to name a few.
Interesting fact most people don’t know: I started my law career in criminal law on the defence team for Corporal Donald Payne, who was the first British soldier to be charged with war crimes (inhumane treatment) under the provisions of the International Criminal Court 2001. He was also charged with perverting the course of justice and manslaughter. It was fascinating to sit in a Court Marshall, a Military Tribunal that was purpose built to accomodate the trial (7 defendants, 7 QC Barristers, 7 Junior Barristers plus the lawyers).
Other notable cases: The high profile case of Gay v Gay (retrial) [2007] defence team. Ian and Angela Gay had been previously convicted of manslaughter by feeding their adopted son an overdose of salt when he was 3 years old. 15 months later there was a retrial in which they were both acquitted.
Most embarrassing moment in my legal career: Receiving a phone call from Senior Circuit Judge Fysh at the Patents Country Court in an open plan office as a paralegal explaining he had been sitting in his court room for an hour waiting for me and where was I? Luckily it wasn’t my mix up and he soon calmed down after realising I was a distant relative of Michael Ventris.
Second most embarrassing moment in my legal career: As a trainee getting lost on a weekly basis in the Royal Courts of Justice. Always forgetting to go to the fee office before filing court papers, that place is huge!
As a child what career aspirations did I have: become a ‘Freedom Fighter’ like that was a defined career option; I had a very keen interest in Nelson Mandela growing up stemmed from my parents living in South Africa during apartheid.
Favourite quote: “There is no passion to be found playing small — in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” – Nelson Mandela
Highest career moment: Qualifying as a solicitor in 2012. It was a long journey and so competitive but I truly love my career.
Lowest career moment: Subjected to several sexual harassment incidents in the workplace.
Proudest moment in life: Being Mum to Annabel, Benjamin & Felix
Interests: Travelling, Triathlons, Cooking, Wine education and networking with other like-minded women.
Currently Reading: Corporate Governance study text , desperately trying to memorise the Companies Act 06 but my Mum brain doesn’t love holding all the information
Best advice received: You have nothing to lose. Don’t overthink things. Don’t hold yourself back. Front row is the best. Have an imposter moment (I have lots of these) but don’t have an imposter life.
Professional resume and qualifications only get you so far as an in-house Counsel, so much is dependent on ‘fit’, your ability to form strong networks around you and to leverage soft skills to take on a leadership role in the business.
Working as an in-house Counsel you can fully immerse yourself in the business whether it’s helping to improve operational efficiencies, strengthen compliance and governance or participating in management discussions to help shape the culture of the business.
I have a breadth of experience within the FMCG sector ranging from corporate transactions, product development and manufacture to soft skills such as leading on high value tender processes, inclusive project management and then there’s always some crisis management now and then which makes things really interesting. I also often get involved in pieces of work just because the business wants my opinion and I love those moments too; it means I am trusted and having the package provides real value to the business. There are rarely two days the same so it requires being agile and flexible on top of the business landscape always moving and I see these are my strengths.
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