My name’s Hannah Clipston and I’m the director of strategic growth for our corporates and institutions audience.
Moving into this role has been a new challenge for me. It’s a big change from being a lawyer, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed learning different skills, from business development and marketing perspectives, to developing leadership skills and the ability to influence and communicate in different ways.
Growing through change
I'm very resilient and I’ve always thrived on challenge and ambition. The role as director of strategic growth, has given me the opportunity to challenge myself further, and be part of a big team, building on our ambitious growth plans.
In our Commercial Growth Team, our strategic growth directors align to our three audiences: seriously injured and vulnerable, corporates and institutions, and business owners and affluent. While we focus on growing our audiences, working together to align our strategies is equally important so we can meet our clients’ wider needs.
Day-to-day my role is really varied and involves identifying how we build relationships with clients and communities. Sustainable and long-term relationships are key, so I look at who we want to partner with and the products or services we want to invest in to help our clients achieve their strategic ambitions as their businesses change and develop.
Delivering for our clients
Our clients are at the heart of everything we do. Our shared values are central to our relationship development, and it’s important that we stay close to our clients’ needs and adapt as their needs change.
We’ve got a great team working for our clients, with wide ranging expertise across our legal and non-legal services. By understanding what they want and helping them navigate challenges and opportunities, we can really deliver for them.
The support we offer our clients goes beyond the law and they enjoy working with us because we think outside the box, and we’re dedicated to finding creative solutions for them and their business.
Being one step ahead
It is important to us to stay ahead of the curve and identify what's on the horizon, from legal developments to economic, political, and social trends.
We know our corporate clients value our legal expertise and credibility, but it’s this knowledge combined with our deep understanding of their business and what they’re trying to achieve, alongside an understanding of the sector they operate in which sets us apart. For us, it's a great combination of strong legal expertise and a commercial approach that really works and I love being a central part of this process.
Building knowledge and expertise in our industry sectors is something I am proud of. But we still have more to do. We’ve focused on a few key industries based on our client base and where there is anticipated growth and change. That is where we can add value to our clients; helping them stay competitive and ahead of the game. Our sector teams have strong connections and industry knowledge but we’re always on the lookout for experts to join our excellent sector teams and make us even better.
A sustainable approach
Becoming a leading responsible business is important to us, our clients, our colleagues, and our communities. We strive to develop inclusive and sustainable relationships, recognising that working together, we’re better placed to make a difference across all key areas of ESG.
I’m proud to contribute to this responsible growth of our firm. In 2023, we launched our environmental, social and governance (ESG) advisory service for our corporate clients, which brings together 80 different service lines. This proposition is built on our own strong responsible business foundations and is designed to inspire our clients to make a difference to all their stakeholders and contribute to their own growth and the growth of their people.
It’s important to highlight that encouraging diversity drives positive change, and we help our clients to minimise their environmental impact by doing business more responsibly.
Leading by example
A large element of my role is being in the market, talking to clients, gaining insight, and making introductions to the right people in the business. It's all about leading by example and taking others with me, which is extremely rewarding.
Career progression has always been important to me. It’s about bringing valuable talent to the table with different perspectives, so we can work together to achieve our ambitions. I’m a collaborative person, and really enjoy having conversations and learning from people - I’m constantly learning on the job.
Cherishing family time
I’m not sure I always manage to balance my work and home life, but what’s really important is the network I’ve built outside of work to help support my three children. My two sons love football and rugby, so I spend most of my time talking about Manchester City. I love it when they’ve performed well on the football field.
When they score a goal, seeing the smiles on their faces is massively rewarding. My daughter loves drama too, so my part time job is being a taxi driver.
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