Joanne Wescott | Managing Partner at Osbournes Law

Joanne is Managing Partner in the Family Department at Osbournes Law, specialising in divorce and financial matters and is recognised in the Legal 500 as a leading partner. We spoke with her about her legal career journey, what being a Managing Partner involves and how she champions women in the legal world.

My early career ambition was to set up my own firm or a firm with another partner. At the outset of my career I was afraid I wasn’t good enough to practice in London having come from small provincial firms. Applying to Osbornes Law was a leap of faith, which also involved a move into London aged 30.

I found the opening for a family solicitor at Osbornes Law advertised on their website and, even though the deadline had passed, I applied and was interviewed by three of the founding family partners back in 2013. They offered me the job and the rest is history.

After joining Osbornes my ambition changed; I wanted to join that partnership. I was very driven and ambitious. I worked hard and accelerated through the ranks to Partner in 2017 and Equity Partner in 2020 before becoming managing partner in 2024. I respected and admired the partners and wanted to be in business with them. The same is still true now I’m a Managing Partner.

I think there are several essential skills I need for my role as a Managing Partner. These include:

• Strategic leadership
• Commercial acumen
• Active listening
• Patience
• People management and persuasion/influence
• Good communication skills.

I’m still learning now as I go on. I’m in the ultimate leadership position, with full strategic oversight, where I shape the future strategy and direction of the firm and enthuse my fellow equity partners and Heads of Department to lead, manage and inspire their teams. This involves chairing monthly Equity Partners, Partners and senior management team meetings, reporting back to the wider partnership and connecting all parts of the firms running. I also promote Osbournes by being visible both in and outside of the firm and raising the firm profile.

There are two moments that stand out as the proudest of my career so far. The first was representing Mrs Mills in the UK Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land and to have appeared in that court in a finance case was a career defining moment and an experience I will never forget.

The second was being asked by my predecessor to take over the reins as Managing Partner of Osbornes Law with the support of the other 12 Equity Partners at that time. Most of whom had been at the firm a lot longer than me and are at least ten years more senior. 

I learnt about the law conversion course whilst I was at the University of Reading studying my undergraduate degree in geography. I hadn’t even realised a conversion course was an option until then, but as soon as I learnt about it, I decided it was for me.  I made the move to Surrey to attend The University of Law (Known as the College of Law at the time) in Guildford where I undertook the GDL and the LPC.

I remember the lecturers all had real experience in firms and were not just academics and this gave them the edge, especially when studying the elective modules during the LPC. The core skills I learnt from the University that I’ve applied in my career include interviewing, advocacy, preparation and analysis. The beauty of the University was that we all were different ages, at different stages of life and had different experiences behind us.

Work/life balance is something I speak openly about at Osbornes because we have it. We offer a hybrid working place, with a minimum number of days in the office. This suits many of our working parents to strike the balance between school drop-off/pick-up and work.

When it comes to recruitment, we look for talented and ambitious team players, who would thrive in the Osbornes culture and ethos. We also look for commerciality, not just strong academics. People who are commercially aware and have good business development skills.

All applications usually start with a CV and possibly a covering letter or email, then a telephone or Teams interview before a face-to-face meeting. It differs slightly depending on the role and department. I especially enjoy recruitment so try and get involved as much as my schedule allows.

When it comes to improving opportunities for women working in law our statistics at Osbornes speak for themselves. The firm is nearly three quarters women, our Partnership is 61% women and our Equity Partners are 54% women. This is not accidental and it’s not purely about policy or initiative; it’s about creating an environment that supports them. This is evident in our maternity leave structure, our health benefits and in our flexible working, as well as so many other elements.

I recently did an interview for International Women’s Day relating to women in law, Catherine Baksi wrote a piece on me for The Times and the Law Society Gazette also wrote an article about me and Osbornes. All of these have the same theme; I fly the flag for women in law and women in leadership positions in law.

My top three networking tips for students looking to break into the legal industry are:

1. Don’t be afraid to reach out to anybody in your network who has an association with law to gain insight and experience.
2. Try and immerse yourself in the law as much as you can – I acknowledge that even obtaining work experience is extremely competitive now, but you can attend criminal and other courts and observe. No experience is too small.
3. Be brave, most people want to help – send that email asking for a ten-minute chat, a meet over coffee, ask to shadow Counsel, ask for work experience, if not for a full week a few days. Anything to experience practice in real life.

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Edited by Grant Longstaff. Published 27 August 2026.