Motivational Monday – Divorce Lawyer

For the latest in our Motivational Monday series, we spoke to Divorce Lawyer Davina Katz, who left South Hampstead in 1998.

Davina always knew she was interested in law.  She did multiple work experience placements during her summer school holidays and went on to gain a post graduate diploma in law after her undergraduate degree in Latin at Manchester University.  After completing the Legal Practice Course, she secured a training contract at Michcon de Reya, where she qualified in 2005. She spent 8 years there in their divorce and family department before joining law firm Schillings, where she established their divorce law department from scratch. A decade later, Davina left Schillings with her entire team to establish her own law firm, Katz Partners, which specialises in divorce law.

Davina explains that the reason she was drawn to family law was because of its real-life human underpinnings: “You can make such material differences to someone’s life in a time of crisis.” Working in an industry with such high stakes is certainly a challenge, and Davina often draws on the resilience that was instilled in her during her time at South Hampstead. In particular, recalls the “sheer gravitas and presence of Miss Burgess”, her Headmistress, and how being surrounded by such strong women fuelled her determination.

“The resilience South Hampstead inculcated in all of us – that whole belief system – really stayed with me and I often draw on it now. When I’m having to persuade an adjudicator, or when a method I’m using isn’t working, I try another way. I really do credit my time at South Hampstead for helping cultivate that; my ethos really was born at school – in anything from debating society to a netball match. I’m so grateful.”

Today, Davina will often spend time interviewing graduates. “I’m always looking for something that distinguishes someone. What drives you? What gets you going? Do you think you are going to make a difference? I want to know how much it matters to you. I really did believe Miss Burgess when she implored us that there was no glass ceiling on what we could achieve. I still do.”