2019 Scottish legal award winner blog Lawyer of the year shares story of her success

Jill Sinclair, who recently won the Lawyer of the year award for 2019 gives an insight in to the factors which led to the award win.

Since winning Lawyer of the Year at the recent Scottish Legal Awards 2019, it is fair to say I have been overwhelmed by the amount of people who have taken the time to get in touch and pass on their congratulations. It has been quite a humbling experience and despite having to be persuaded by colleagues (and family!) to submit the entry, it was a great opportunity to pause and reflect on my time at DWF since joining in 2016 and recognise what the team has achieved.  

In just under three years we have trebled in size, are continuing to grow and have an extensive client portfolio. Strong relationships have been forged by assessing client's individual needs, what fraud exposure they have and developing strategies to reduce indemnity spend and increase repudiation rates.

One of the most satisfying parts of my job has been the success of our collaboration across industry sectors, bringing people together to share information and shine a light on the presence of fraud in Scotland.   Our quarterly exclusive Disrupt to Progress roundtable has been crucial to our success and involves key figures from Police Scotland, IFB, IFED, ABI, Forum of Scottish Claims Managers, the Law Society of Scotland, HMRC, Trading Standards, ICO, FCA & the MOJ. This event focusses on identifying the action we need to take to disrupt key enablers and their practices across Scotland.

I am proud to head up such a progressive, innovative team who are keen not only to lead the way in this area of law but are also passionate about inspiring the next generation of women who are considering entering the profession.   On International Women's Day we hosted an event in our Glasgow office and invited girls from Govan High School, who we mentor as part of our CSR project, to attend. The theme was "What would I tell my younger self?" I spoke about the importance of challenging yourself and not being afraid to fail. My advice is to push the boundaries, challenge the critics and be brave - you never know you might one day be Lawyer of the Year!