THE BRIEF A DAY IN THE LIFE OF... Sara de Tute – Legal & compliance director at Lowell Group...
Morning
I wake at 5.30 to the music of my alarm and immediately press snooze – I am not naturally a morning person, but hate traffic more, so the early start wins each time. Leaving the house at just after 6.30, I am armed with a cup of coffee (decaf) and breakfast for later.
The radio entertains me on the 40 minute drive along the M62 and by the time I park at the office I am ready for another great day. I catch up with my other co- directors before anyone else needs our time.
After checking my diary, I plan what I must do that day, whilst eating porridge from a flask. I sit on a number of internal boards such as Compliance, Audit and Risk, Health and Safety and Change Control and I also operate an open door policy, so ad hoc meetings are also the norm.
As I started my legal career as a commercial litigation lawyer, disputes are my forte but fortunately for the company these are few and far between. Variety is what I love about the role – the changing regulatory landscape and the fast moving business means boredom is not an option. I try and deal with emails in blocks of time and much prefer to pick up the phone rather than have a long email exchange.
Lunch:
Lunch is usually at my desk, catching up on emails or other reading. I am responsible for three areas, including contacts and compliance, and so I regularly meet up with my teams. As I am also president of the Credit Services Association, our trade body, I have to ensure I am up to date with regulation and consultations but as a result enjoy regular trips to meet regulators and attend far too many conferences. They do, however, offer the excuse to deviate from the healthy diet.
Afternoon:
The day in the office ends much the way it started – leaving late so I have time to plan and avoid the traffic (unless I am meeting friends for a sociable bottle of wine), catching up on calls in the car or listening to the radio. I am greeted by my two lively Labradors and take time to catch up with my husband, before opening the laptop…again.
