Spotlighting Rajah Abusrewil

In honour of International Women's Day, Oak Group has invited women from its network to share their inspiring stories throughout the month of March.

Rajah Abusrewil shares her story below.

Can you tell us about yourself and your career journey so far?

I grew up in Wales, and I'm half Libyan and Welsh. I went to university in Leeds, where I initially studied Classical Civilisations and then later studied law. I started my career working at a firm in central London and I was there for almost six years, working with traditional UK private clients with a little bit of insolvency work as well. I then moved to Bermuda (I'm qualified as a barrister and attorney there) and was there for six years, before moving to Cayman where I was in-house counsel for a multi-jurisdictional trust company for a couple of years and instructed Walkers funnily enough. In 2015, I started work at a local firm in Guernsey before joining Walkers in 2019. Last year I moved to Jersey permanently to head up the Private Capital & Trusts team there.

What has been your proudest achievement so far since joining Walkers?

Joining Walkers has been a big highlight in my career, and by extension moving to Jersey to build out the team there.

I'm really proud that I can say over the last 5 years we've established a true pan-island practice group where we practice Cayman, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Jersey and Guernsey law. Important to me as well is that we've built a wonderful team with talented, driven and genuinely great people.

What is the greatest advice you have been given?

I remember when I got sent down to the High Court in London for the first time just after I'd qualified, I was quite nervous and one of the partners simply said 'don't worry, there's nothing we can't overturn on appeal'. It made me laugh, relax at the time, and thankfully I never needed an appeal.

However, I think this statement can also apply to work more generally – that there's no mistake that can't be fixed or remedied in some way, and mistakes that feel like the end of the world aren't. There's a lot of pressure on women in the workforce, and I think taking the pressure off of ourselves is one of the hardest things to do.

Which women inspire you the most and why?

There have been many women who have inspired me throughout my career but I wouldn't be where I am without my mum. Growing up, she really instilled the belief that there wasn't anything you couldn't do or achieve, and how education is the tool that would get you to wherever you wanted to go.

I'm also inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of the women I work with. An example of which one of our partners, Alison Ozanne with Louise Hall (now retired) set up their own firm at a time when this was extremely uncommon, in fact it still is! When I joined the Guernsey office, shortly after the merger with Walkers, the majority of partners were women (another rarity in law firms), and together with having a Global Managing Partner Ingrid Pierce , this was honestly one of the reasons I chose to work there.

What ways are you committed to inspire inclusion?

I believe inclusion is a constant choice to be made and I choose to be committed to inclusion and inclusivity in every aspect of life, personal and professional,

On a practical level, I'm involved with the International Ladies in Trusts Association (ILITA) which is a networking organisation focussed on women working in the trust industry. ILITA is designed for women at all stages of their career – whether they be trainees, managers, associates, partners, or directors – to create and build connections in industry that will expand their networks and support their progression. Whilst this is focussed on women it is not exclusive and welcomes allies at all levels.

I'm also proud of some of the events I have organised here at Walkers, such as the Guernsey office golf day where we had women in every team – relatively unusual in a golf day – and we'll be holding a similar event in Jersey, where I hope we'll have the same level of female participation.

Do you have any advice you would give to other women starting out in the industry?

Speak up and don't feel like you have to self-censor your skills or achievements. Speaking up in meetings, in the office or amongst your peers confirms your position in the room, running a team or project. This in turn gives you greater confidence (crushing your inner critic) but to the others around you normalises their hearing and acknowledging of your contributions and value. Don't be ashamed to take ownership of your achievements and take credit where it is due.

Read more about Oak's campaign here.