CHAIR

Justin is a senior manager at A&O Shearman working at the intersection of responsible business, business development and client strategy. He trained and qualified as a lawyer at the firm six years ago, including a client secondment in the Investigations team at Meta (Facebook). In 2025, he spent six months in Dubai leading the firm’s responsible business client agenda across the Middle East alongside the partnership. Justin was recently named Emerging Leader of the Year, EMEA by the Legal Benchmarking Group.

Justin is the Founder and CEO of GROW Mentoring and the current Chair of the Trustee Board. He launched the charity at the start of his training contract to widen access to the profession and build community for people from all backgrounds. Under his leadership and thanks to an incredibly driven team, GROW has ‘grown’ from an idea on LinkedIn into a thriving, mission‑driven organisation, securing official partnerships with some of the most influential national and global companies.

Alex is Assistant General Counsel and Vice President (Legal) in the Global Markets (Fixed Income) team at Bank of America. Alex trained and qualified at A&O Shearman, during which time he was also seconded to the Private Credit team at Goldman Sachs. Alex studied Archaeology at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, and both the PGDL and LLM Commercial Legal Practice at BPP University.

Outside of GROW, Alex is Trustee of a Model United Nations charity and an Officer in the Royal Naval Reserves.

Alex is a GROW mentor who also has 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.

Meg is a trainee solicitor at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. She studied International Law and Globalisation at the University of Birmingham. As a first-generation student with a hidden disability, Meg is passionate about amplifying diverse and underrepresented voices in the legal industry and using her experience to show others that anything is possible. In 2023, she was awarded the CEPLER Award for Outstanding Achievement in Extracurricular Endeavour for her dedication to community access to justice through her university's Free Legal Advice Group.

Maria is an LLB Law and European Legal Studies graduate from King's College London. 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.

Ailsa is a trainee solicitor at Linklaters, having obtained a Scots Law LLB degree from the University of Glasgow. She is a huge advocate for the value of mentorship, having previously been a GROW mentor worked with her university to support new law students. She is particularly passionate about helping socially mobile students break into law, having previously been awarded the Making Links Scholarship and volunteered with the Street Law initiative to help state educated students learn about the legal profession.

Hope is a Corporate M&A Associate at Hogan Lovells International LLP, having achieved a First Class French with English degree from King’s College London. Driven by her passion to increase accessibility to the legal industry, Hope was an active pro bono volunteer and mentor during her law conversion and currently sits on the committee of Hogan Lovells’ Social Mobility Network. As part of the Pairings team at GROW, Hope is committed to championing greater diversity within the legal profession by supporting aspiring lawyers broaden their professional network.

Ryan is an Associate in the Energy & Sustainability department at Trowers & Hamlins. He plays an active role in his firm’s social impact and sustainability committees and has also previously been a GROW Mentor. Ryan studied at the University of Brighton and is keen to use his experiences to improve social mobility, accessibility and increase representation within the profession.

Lucy is an Associate in Tech & Digital at Clifford Chance. She advices global companies on strategic technology projects including complex commercial contracting and outsourcing, AI, cyber and data compliance. She has spent 6 months working in the USA and 6 months working in-house at a 'big five' global technology company.

Lucy has been recognised as a 'Rising Star' in the legal profession, one of the 21 'Women Who Will' in law and won the award for ‘Most Promising First Year Female of Potential’ at the University of Exeter. Lucy is passionate about DE&I in the legal profession and her work in this space has been highlighted in the Financial Times and the Times.

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 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.

Latham & Watkins, Senior Manager, Global Professional Staff Diversity & Inclusion

Laura is Senior Manager, Global Professional Staff Diversity & Inclusion, at the global law firm, Latham & Watkins.

Laura previously worked at both Clifford Chance as Head of Graduate Talent and Co-Chair of the UK Inclusion Committee, and 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, Executive Vice President, Legal

Michael is currently the Executive Vice President of Legal at bp. He leads a a global team responsible for executing the legal strategy across bp. He has significant experience managing transactional and operational legal risk, building and leading teams, and advising on regulatory/compliance matters. Michael 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. Michael was previously Senior Vice President of Legal for Gas & Low Carbon Energy, Production & Operations, and Regions Cities & Solutions at bp.

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.