Harriet Blackburn. How taking the safe option turned into a love of law.
Hi, I’m Harriet Blackburn and my job is General Counsel at Vector. I love my work as a lawyer but it’s fair to say, it hasn’t been a lifelong love, it’s grown over time.
I studied law at university because I enjoyed arts subjects at school, particularly English, and doing a law degree seemed like a safe option. I also studied for a BA in English literature at the same time – which was my “fun” degree.
At university, being an idealistic young thing, I thought I’d save the world and be an environmental lawyer. However, when I started my first job in a Wellington law firm I got put in the corporate team and really enjoyed it, so that was the end of environmental law!
The first few years in a large law firm were hard work. There is great support for the young lawyers but you don’t know a lot and there can be pressure to get a lot of work done in tight timeframes.
My love of corporate law (and particularly M&A) really took off during my time in London, working for a boutique corporate law firm. You’re doing deals so you work hard but you’re working together, with a group of really smart people, all contributing your areas of speciality into the mix to get a great outcome for the client which is super satisfying. Then I came back to NZ and into an Auckland law firm just as overseas private equity was coming into the country which was lucky timing.
Working in private practice is great for the variety of clients that you work for. However, after years of doing that, I decided I’d like to try working in-house. I was ready to feel part of the business and understand it in much more depth, not just be an advisor to it. That’s how I ended up at Vector.
I love my job now. I love the variety that I get every day, working across Vector’s different businesses, including fibre, solar, and metering, as well as the Auckland electricity and gas networks. Who knew that I would walk around Auckland spotting smart meters!?
I love that Vector is filled with smart, diverse people, a bit like working with people on a deal. I love working with my team and seeing them develop. I really like that clean electricity is an important part of New Zealand’s decarbonisation plans so it's a great time to be in the energy industry. Perhaps I’m being that environmental lawyer after all!
Harriet’s advice to her younger self
If I was giving advice to my 18 year old self, I’d tell her not to worry that you don’t know exactly what you want to do. Some people say “I always knew I wanted to be a [insert job title here]’ but I didn’t ever think that and it has in no way stopped me from having a fulfilling and successful career.
The other piece of advice I’d give is to back yourself. Over the course of my working life I’ve suffered a bit from imposter syndrome. And if my 18 year old self had taken the advice to back herself, I don’t think it would have changed much of what I’ve done, I’d have just had less stress along the way! Self confidence is important and it’s ok to be quietly confident.
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