FOUNDER & CHAIR

Justin founded GROW in March 2020 and works as a lawyer at Allen & Overy in London. Justin is from a non-law background, studied at the University of Warwick and is an advocate for diversity, inclusion and social mobility. He was appointed as a Social Mobility Ambassador for The Law Society in October 2020 for a two year term and is part of Allen & Overy's LGBTQ+ committee, A&Out.

COO & TRUSTEE

Lucy is a trainee solicitor at Clifford Chance, having achieved a First Class LLB Law degree from the University of Exeter. Lucy is passionate about diversity and inclusion, and has been featured in the Financial Times and the Times for her platform @ByLucyCole, reaching an Instagram audience of over 11,900 followers. Lucy was listed as one of the 21 ‘Women Who Will’ in the legal industry for 2021.

FINANCE DIRECTOR

Alex is a trainee solicitor at Allen & Overy who studied Archaeology at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) at BPP University. Alex is a GROW mentor with paralegal and business teams experience. He is passionate about increasing access to and awareness of legal careers, believing that the best individuals to drive the industry forward can come from anywhere - regardless of background.

ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR

Meg is a future trainee solicitor at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and a final-year LLB International Law and Globalisation student at the University of Birmingham. She is the Deputy Chair of her university’s Pro Bono Group and enjoys using the legal skills she has acquired in her degree to support others. As a first-generation student with a hidden disability, Meg is passionate about amplifying diverse and underrepresented voices in the legal industry, and hopes to use her story and experience to show others that anything is possible.

HEAD OF STRATEGIC PROJECTS & EVENTS

Faeqa is a future trainee solicitor at DLA Piper and has a background in technology. As a Law LLB graduate from Warwick University, she recently worked for Google's EMEA Legal Team. Faeqa has also worked in artificial intelligence; she configured machine learning AI on ThoughtRiver's legal contract acceleration platform. Her hobbies include creating digital illustrations for various web3 projects. As a marginalised, ethnic minority female, Faeqa is passionate to heighten diversity, inclusion and social mobility in the legal profession.

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Derya is a future trainee solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills, having received a First Class LLB Law degree from the University of Bristol. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion and was a recipient of the ‘Clyde & Co Embracing Progress Award’ in recognition of her work for social mobility and EAL students. As the Operations Manager at GROW, Derya hopes to make a positive difference in the legal sector.

PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER

Trina is currently a second year law student at King’s College, London. As an international student, she feels strongly about promoting accessibility to the legal profession among diverse groups. In her free time, she enjoys reading non-fiction books & watching documentaries based on financial scandals.

OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

Nicole is a trainee solicitor at Katten Muchin Rosenman UK LLP and is part of the pairings team at GROW. She studied LLB Law at a non-Russell group university before working in administrative and compliance positions which landed her a role as a paralegal. As a member of several underrepresented groups, Nicole is passionate about supporting those from similar backgrounds and increasing diversity within the legal profession.

OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

Ryan is a future trainee solicitor at Trowers & Hamlins and currently works as an in-house paralegal at Sage Housing, a Registered Provider for affordable housing across England. He also has paralegal experience in private practice and was a GROW mentor before joining the team. He studied at the University of Brighton and is keen to use his experiences to prove that background, class, colour, orientation, university etc, is no barrier.

OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

Hope is a future trainee solicitor at Hogan Lovells, having achieved a First Class French with English degree from King’s College London. She has been an active pro bono volunteer during her law conversion, driven by her passion to increase accessibility to legal services. As part of the pairings team at GROW, Hope is committed to supporting aspiring lawyers broaden their professional network, and champions greater diversity and community within the legal profession.

EVENTS COORDINATOR

Arina is a solicitor apprentice at Allen & Overy, alongside studying for her LLB (Hons) in Law and Legal Practice at BPP University. Coming from a socially mobile background, Arina entered commercial law through PRIME work experience schemes and virtual internships. Arina is an active member of A&O’s Social Mobility Network and their LGBTQ+ network, A&Out. She is passionate about embracing individuality as a lawyer, to ensure the legal industry is more diverse and inclusive.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Maria is a third-year LLB Law and European Legal Studies student at King's College London, currently on a year abroad in Barcelona. She is interested in promoting accessibility and diversity and hopes that by the time she enters the legal profession these values will stay at the forefront of the industry. As such, she's more excited than ever to be promoting GROW's initiatives and events as Social Media Manager!

VIDEO EDITOR

Sevara is Herbert Smith Freehills’s Campus Ambassador and second-year LLB Law and Management student at the University of Kent. She is a student activist and aspiring solicitor with experience in social media marketing and a passion for photography. As an ELSA UK Vice President for Social Responsibility, Sevara aims to help young lawyers from different states and legal systems, as well as promote equality and diversity.

Meta, Policy Head of Human Rights, Africa, Middle East & Turkey

Mazuba leads the work on human rights, public policy for Africa, Middle East & Turkey at Meta. She has long-standing experience as a feminist activist working across Africa with and for women’s & LGBTI movements. She believes firmly in the power of the collective imagination in forging paths of liberation.

TapIn, Founder and CEO

Milimo Banji is an award winning entrepreneur, leader and advisor. He’s the founder and CEO of the Gen Z talent agency TapIn, an agency that supports some of the biggest employers in the U.K. attract, engage and hire diverse youth talent. He serves as board member and advisor to FTSE 100 companies, is a prominent public speaker and has depth of knowledge/insight into the minds of Gen Z. Milimo brings with him a wealth of expertise on social media, engaging diverse audiences, leadership and building inclusive teams.

Clifford Chance, Head of Graduate Talent

Laura Yeates is Head of Graduate Talent at the global law firm, Clifford Chance. In her most recent role she oversees the graduate recruitment and development teams, both of which have won awards for ground-breaking initiatives focused on improving access to the legal profession, innovation in the sector, tackling the stigma of mental health and sexual harassment in the workplace. She is also Co-Chair of the London Inclusion Committee.

She joined Clifford Chance in 2006, having previously worked at J.P. Morgan in both the graduate recruitment team and also in a generalist HR role.

With over fifteen years graduate recruitment experience and five years HR experience, she is a Fellow of the CIPD, a Trustee of the Bridge Group, an Opinion Leader for People in Law and a member of the National Student Pride Advisory Board. In 2020 she founded the Sustainable Recruitment Alliance and is currently Chair of the Alliance steering group.

She is also a former Board Director of the Institute of Student Employers and member of the Advisory Board of The Apples & Pears Foundation, a London based charity enabling inner city families to take weekend school trips with their children and volunteers.

BP, Senior Vice President, Legal

Michael is currently the Senior Vice President of Legal for Gas & Low Carbon Energy, Production & Operations, and Regions, Cities & Solutions at bp. He leads a global team of over 100 lawyers responsible for executing the legal strategy across a number of bp’s core businesses including all of its global oil and gas operations and projects as well as leading the legal strategy for bp’s transition to net zero including all its low carbon businesses (e.g., Wind, Solar, Hydrogen, CCUS). He has significant experience managing transactional and operational legal risk, building and leading teams, and advising on regulatory/compliance matters. Mike joined the Houston office of BP in June 2011 from the Washington, DC office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom where he practiced in the firm’s Antitrust and Competition law group.

In 2013, he was a finalist for Global Competition Review’s Corporate Counsel of the Year award and in 2014 was honoured by being selected for Legal 500’s inaugural list of top 100 Corporate Counsel in the United States. The Financial Times, Yahoo Finance and INvolve have named him one of the top 100 LGBT Executives in the world. He is a frequent speaker on legal, ethics and compliance, and diversity and inclusion topics. Michael received a BS in Economics and a BA in Political Science from Arizona State University and his law degree with honours from Georgetown University Law Center.