Grace Harvey
"Far more people can make this work than they realise – and the benefits can be huge."
I joined what is now A&O Shearman as a trainee in London in 2013, and very quickly realised that I wanted to be a corporate lawyer. After a secondment to the Dubai office and a six-month placement with a UK private equity firm, my practice developed into a combination of public and private M&A and infrastructure. In 2018, as a senior associate, I moved to the Sydney office and spent a wonderful two and a half years doing a wide range of corporate, commercial and capital markets work.
I relocated back to the London private equity practice in 2020, during Covid, which was a really busy time. By then I was ready to explore new opportunities, though I wasn't sure at that stage what my next role should look like. I went in-house for 18 months, working as M&A/development counsel for a luxury hospitality business, and then I had my first conversations with Peerpoint.
My attraction to legal consulting was twofold. First, after nearly 10 years of corporate dealmaking, I was keen to try a different area of law. Secondly, I wanted more flexibility – I love to travel and it was important to me to start having more than 25 days off a year.
My first placement was a commercial contracts role which started in March 2024 and was originally a six-month contract, later extended to nine months. The role is pretty unique. I'm working in a large tech company, in a team that sits outside legal and is almost entirely staffed by contractors. The role is 100 per cent remote and the days are busy, but my hours are consistent.
The work is interesting, challenging and different to anything that I have done before, but it suits my skillset as an M&A lawyer and I really enjoy being part of the team.
At the end of my first nine months, I was invited to stay, but I decided to take a break. I'm a wannabe surfer, so I went to Central America and lived on a beach for a while, surfing as many hours a day as my shoulders would allow. When I came back after three months, Peerpoint was able to help me secure another placement with the same client, so I have picked up where I left off. The Peerpoint team has been great at understanding my needs and regularly checking in.
Being fully remote suits me well. I bought a campervan during Covid and love to go and base myself near the coast for weeks. My hours are fixed, so I know I'll be able to surf before and after work; at this point in my life, I'm really grateful for that balance.
My advice to anyone considering legal consulting is to lean into it. Go and have that conversation. It can feel scary but if you have even an inkling that it might be for you, explore it. Far more people can make this work than they realise – and the benefits can be huge.
