Grace Baldwin

I speak to so many aspiring lawyers who haven’t landed their first legal role yet. That’s one of the reasons I’m so excited to feature Grace in this week’s newsletter. She’s an Australian qualified Litigation and Disputes Associate and speaks so thoughtfully about how the experiences she had before qualifying, both inside and outside the legal world, helped shape the lawyer she is today.

Q: Thank you so much for chatting to us, Grace! First, I’d love to hear more about your journey to Norton Rose Fulbright - I know it wasn’t exactly a straight path! What did that journey look like, and what were some of the key moments along the way?

As an Australian from a regional town, I moved to the UK in 2017 for an 8-week internship at a family law charity, as my post-graduate specialised in domestic and family violence practice. This experience was followed by temporary paralegal and legal secretary roles at family law firms, followed by an insurance law firm.

During this time, I qualified as a lawyer back in Australia. Like many, my next step was impacted by COVID-19, which changed my original plan to qualify as an NQ here in the UK.

When the pandemic shifted the landscape, I was grateful to have had the opportunity to broaden my experience and build on my interest in insurance. I moved into the insurance market, taking on claims handling and underwriting roles. This period was incredibly valuable, giving me hands-on insight into the industry and allowing me to develop a deeper understanding of the insurance process with a commercial perspective.

After three years in the market, working with a range of organisations, I returned to the legal side as an NQ at an insurance law firm, which included a really valuable secondment. A couple of years later, I joined Norton Rose Fulbright in January 2026.

Q: Before joining NRF, you had experience outside of the legal world. Looking back, what skills or perspectives from those roles have helped you most in your career as a lawyer?

All of my experiences to date have given me a deeper and nuanced perspective on the insurance process and introduced me to fantastic people, many of whom I still work with today. This experience made my transition back into law feel more grounded and purposeful, and it gave me great understanding of the commercial realities our clients face.

Stepping outside the legal world, even briefly, can open up new opportunities and strengthen your overall skillset. It also highlighted the diverse range of roles within insurance and the importance of understanding the wider ecosystem in which legal advice operates.

Q: You work in insurance/disputes now. What do you enjoy most about that area of law and what do you find challenging?

One of the most enjoyable aspects of my role is helping people understand just how central insurance is to major disputes. While it often works behind the scenes, insurance underpins key decisions and outcomes in ways that aren’t always immediately visible.

The insurance ecosystem brings together lawyers, brokers, underwriters, and clients, so I’m constantly engaging with different stakeholders, all representing different but often aligned interests in a collaborative environment.

In terms of challenges, the work is varied and constantly evolving. Each matter brings its own complexities, requiring a mix of legal analysis, commercial thinking, and strategy. No two cases are the same, which means there’s always something new to learn - and that’s part of what makes it so engaging.

Q: And finally, if you could give one piece of advice to aspiring lawyers, what would it be?

Trust the process and stay open to opportunities, even if they don’t look like part of the “plan.” The relationships and experience I gained from taking a non-traditional route gave me a different perspective and made my move back into the legal world much easier. 

A robust network, with peers, mentors and those you aspire to be, can help nurture your career in ways you may not see at the time. Invest in attending mentoring programs and seek guidance from colleagues, peers and senior management. The time, kindness, generosity and investment from various peers, clients, colleagues and senior management has provided immense comfort and support throughout my journey so far - the value of my network is immeasurable.

Most importantly, enjoy the journey!

Thank you so much, Grace. You can find out more about opportunities at Norton Rose Fulbright, in their London and Newcastle offices, on their website.

They also run RISE, a work experience programme aimed at Year 12 students, for which applications will open in August. We’ll let you know when applications open!