Emma leads relationships with Hugh James’ clients in social housing and third sectors, representing a dedicated team consisting of over 150 lawyers, paralegals and support staff. In this role she uses her extensive commercial knowledge of the legal issues faced by organisations in these sectors, and takes account of the unique culture, values and political landscape that drive their development.
Emma is a qualified lawyer with significant experience as well as a skilled communicator and qualified TAP accredited trainer. Her unique combination of legal expertise and strong interpersonal skills enable clients to discuss the detail of their needs and ensures Emma can respond through developing innovative initiatives for working in partnership. Her familiarity with these sectors’ work, both as a lawyer and as a valued partner, have allowed her to identify trends in the market and facilitated collaborative working between clients leading to cost efficiencies and better results. Her involvement with sector specific events and conferences ensures that her teams anticipate changes that are likely to impact the work of their clients and can drive thought leadership events on key issues.
Always keen to explore fresh ideas, Emma encourages innovation in the teams she leads, having recently hosted events on mindfulness and well-being, gender diversity and leadership forums as well as promoting campaigns that are important to our client base and CSR/fundraising initiatives.
Work history
Emma joined Hugh James in 2006 and qualified as a solicitor in our Employment team in 2008. She has advised large public and private sector organisations on major restructures, and worked with clients of all sizes who value her technical skill and practical approach.
Emma continued to work as a consultant for the Hugh James Employment Team following the birth of her son and attained TAP accreditation for her outstanding training delivery. This enabled her to provide valuable training on legal issues as part of an award-winning team to delegates from the firm’s wide variety of client organisations across the sectors. Having worked closely with delegates at all levels within housing associations and charities within their premises, she has developed a unique understanding of the potential challenges they face and their aspirations for the communities within which they work.