Carly Mather, partner at Lewis Silkin, discusses her work, life at the firm and its rapid expansion across the North of England
“For me, it’s the people aspect,” says Carly Mather, employment partner at Lewis Silkin, when I ask what draws her to employment law. “The subject matter relates to people; you’re not just advising on the law, you must consider the psychology of employment: How are people going to react? What’s the demographic like? This is fascinating to me because you’re advising people about people,” she explains. “Secondly, it’s the pace. There are many updates to employment law throughout the year, so it’s imperative to stay sharp and keep moving as an employment lawyer.”
A self-professed employment “generalist”, Mather not only enjoys pace and perspective as an employment partner at Lewis Silkin, but also a huge breadth and variety. “My work spans restructuring projects and managing key litigation accounts, undertaking case work on complex discrimination matters as well as dealing with redundancy exercises and board room disputes. So, I work on both contentious and non-contentious areas, and I like the different perspectives,” she explains. Mather also emphasises that after dealing with complex, long-running cases that are contentious, acrimonious, and at times combative, it’s a relief to occasionally switch to less emotive commercial/ transactional work.
With this breadth of practice knowledge across employment law, I was keen to dig into the key commercial awareness topics affecting her practice area. I ask Mather about the pandemic-era effects on employment work, and whether there is an overhang that can still be felt today.
“I would say that the people aspect of employment law has become even more prominent since the pandemic,” she says. “This is because there are real hangover ‘issues’ which relate fundamentally to changes in society such as hybrid working, people leaving London, remote working or maintaining culture and even real estate issues.”
However, she’s keen to point out that these are not ‘problems’ but rather opportunities for clients to evolve with societal changes. “At the time, clients were saying: ‘How do we get people back to the office? How should we change our policies?’” But rather, employment lawyers need to shift focus from seeing these as problems with a “quick fix” solution, to exploring them in the context of evolution,” she explains. “Becoming comfortable with change and evolution speaks to the long-term strategy of a client firm, its resilience and its adaptability.” So, one of the key takeaways for employment lawyers post-pandemic has been to think more creatively and “holistically” about how they advise their clients. “Lawyers need to focus on clients’ business priorities and align their advice with these goals, rather than just seeking to provide quick solutions to perceived problems,” she says.
Having been part of a team of only four lawyers spearheading the launch of Lewis Silkin’s new Manchester office in 2022, the conversation shifts to the firm’s long-term strategy. Is the firm’s rapid expansion into the North of England over the past few years part of a plan to ‘capture the North’? “Not quite,” she laughs. “The expansion of the firm into the North, by opening its offices in Leeds and Manchester in 2022 and 2023 respectively, was a ‘people-led decision’,” she explains. “It’s essentially a plan for growth that comes from an acknowledgement that there are hugely talented lawyers outside of London, and we want to attract these lawyers across the country.” She reveals that Lewis Silkin’s plan for the North specifically is in recognition of the fact that Manchester and Leeds are huge legal markets, but they are different in their identities, client bases and in firm demographics.
“It has been hugely exciting and incredibly busy!” Mather continues. “I had always worked in big teams, and suddenly there were only four of us! That’s ultimately why I joined; I thought, ‘I am going to have the most intense fear of missing out if I don’t become part of this exciting growth!’” Regarding the culture in the Manchester office, she says, “Everyone here is very close and collaborative. I have never worked anywhere with a culture as strong and genuine as this.”
With the firm launching a brand-new Manchester-based training contract in 2025, Mather goes on to explain why the city is such a hotspot for budding lawyers. “I’m biased of course, but Manchester is a very special place because it’s very diverse, it has a great economy, a big banking industry, and it has huge tech and media influence through the media city. It’s a strong, contained market, and an interesting place to be in terms of the universities and culture,” she says. “But it’s also easily connected to London, meaning that it pivots well as a strong independent market whilst also retaining strong links with the Capital.”
Mather also stresses that being a Manchester-based lawyer doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re limited to local clients. She tells me that the common perception of London being the sole legal hub when it comes to juicy deals is not the case for Lewis Silkin’s lawyers. “There are huge transactions done here, in the Manchester office. At Lewis Silkin, it’s not the case that if you’re working in Manchester, you service only Manchester based clients. Our clients are national, and many are headquartered in the Capital. So, the work we do in Manchester isn’t any different from the work done in London, it just so happens that we’re based here!”
Along with being a part of a vibey legal culture in Manchester with national work, Mather also emphasises that trainees will be joining the firm’s Manchester office at a very exciting moment in time for the firm. “The most exciting opportunity with the Manchester training contract is the point at which recruits would be joining,” she says. With “rapid growth” firmly on the radar for this national giant, Mather is keen to emphasise the opportunities that this brings to its juniors. “Trainees will be playing a key part in Lewis Silkin’s journey: the plan is to continue investing heavily in both the Leeds and Manchester locations. We started the office as a team of four people less than two years ago, and we’re now at a headcount of 11 lawyers in Manchester and 9 in Leeds! This is a huge opportunity for trainees to gain incredible exposure and experience the expansion of a law firm first-hand.”
Bringing the interview to a close, I ask Mather for her advice for budding lawyers embarking on their legal careers. “Be patient!” she says. “There is a propensity with a career in law to want to achieve everything quickly. But, if you work hard enough, you’ll be able to achieve anything that you want to, even if getting there isn’t exactly linear.”
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