The Policyholder Podcast: Presented by Fenchurch Law
The Policyholder Podcast, presented by Fenchurch Law, the podcast that aims to bring insights from a variety of guests with different perspectives on the insurance market, in a way that’s relevant to policyholders, and the brokers who represent them.
The Policyholder Podcast: Presented by Fenchurch Law
S1E4 - Meet The Team: Joanna Grant
Meet Joanna Grant, Fenchurch Law UK's Managing Partner and head of the Construction and Property Risks team.
In this episode Joanna shares highlights from her career, her path to becoming one of the UK’s top policyholder lawyers, and her passion for leadership, collaboration, and championing women in the insurance industry.
She also reflects on the firm’s culture, her unique ‘Grant Goblet’ tradition, and the exciting future ahead for Fenchurch Law.
Hello and welcome to a new podcast series hosted by Fenchurch Law. The series aims to introduce every member of our four offices in a short informal podcast. Today I'm delighted to be joined by managing partner Joanna Grant, who joined the London office as a partner in 2016. A very warm welcome, Jo.
Speaker 2:Thanks, Drew.
Speaker 1:Well, I'll try and be on my best behaviour, as you obviously are the youthful matriarch of the firm. But before we dive into the pod, let's start with some quickfire questions. If you could have dinner with one historical figure, who would it be?
Speaker 2:Nelson Mandela.
Speaker 1:I mean hard to argue with that one. Would you rather live by the ocean or in a forest?
Speaker 2:Forest please. I don't like water. Oh the more you know um do you believe in ghosts?
Speaker 1:yes, okay, and what's one thing on your bucket list that you've completed?
Speaker 2:I've been to the great wall of china, oh, cool.
Speaker 1:Actually, I probably could have guessed that, given what we're going to talk about in a sec. So, joe, you've been at fenchurch law since 2016. Could you tell us a little bit about your professional career before joining fenchurch?
Speaker 2:yes, I had spent 18 years at a magic circle firm alan and ovary in the litigation department and for the benefit of the tape, can we hear about your phd please? Oh, do I have to?
Speaker 1:yes, yes because, yes, because it's relevant to the Great Wall of China, kind of.
Speaker 2:My PhD was on the history of Chinese medicine, by reference to a specific Dr Wang Ji, who was practicing in China in the Ming Dynasty.
Speaker 1:So, jo, recently you've stepped into the role of managing partner of the firm, whilst maintaining your role as the leader of the construction and property risks team. How have you found the transition to your new role?
Speaker 2:oh, it's been exciting. I've really enjoyed it. Um, I just uh love working with everyone and having greater oversight and input into the firm's strategic direction as we head on ever upwards and onwards.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly Explosive.
Speaker 2:Right, it's an exciting time to be part of Fenchurch Laws.
Speaker 1:Retweet. Definitely true. And what have been some of your most rewarding moments as managing partner in your short stint thus far?
Speaker 2:Oh gosh, well, in my role as managing partner.
Speaker 1:so not related to the cases, but but for me it's all about our people and their growth and development and building a leading team, and it's just been uh wonderful to see team members flourish over the course of the year and you are often described as being the goat of the firm or of, indeed, the industry, and that is an acronym that usually crops up in sports figures and hip hop artists, but in our opinion, it's equally applicable to coverage solicitors, and it stands for the greatest of all time. And the reason you're the goat is that in 2023, business Today released a list of top 10 policyholder lawyers in the UK and you came first. How did that feel?
Speaker 2:10 policyholder lawyers in the UK and you came first. How did that feel? Oh, it was great. What a moment.
Speaker 1:I can't deny it, jude. Absolutely. I was absolutely stoked. Yeah, we were all buzzing. So naysayers might say that to be the GOAT, you have to do it over a period of time and not just a one-off. And to them we would say that in 2024, you were included in the business insurance women to watch and in 2025, you were listed in the Lawyer Hot 100 in the UK. So insofar as the naysayers exist, they can get in the bin. Really, could you tell us a little bit more about those two awards?
Speaker 2:What I liked about them those specific last two awards being part of insurance business Women to was very exciting for a number of reasons. Firstly, because it's from the insurance industry and I think we've always said that we are part of the market and that's where we see ourselves as being part of the solution to coverage issues that benefit both policyholders but also the insurers, who find it easier, I think, to deal with a counterpart that is talking their language. So to be included in those awards was a great recognition of that and also, of course, the fact that it was focusing on women in insurance, and I think that's so very important. I've had a long journey to get here that included 10 years working as part of a job share and I think making sure that women succeed in business and in insurance is just so very important yeah, no, I couldn't agree more.
Speaker 1:And it's especially insurance which was, I mean, my old man was underwriting, my mum was a broker and her stories about broking and Lloyd's in the 90s is it's a genuinely unbelievable, it's shocking. So it's nice that I completely understand. It's nice to be recognized by I don't describe the market as our enemy, but by who we're sort of off and up against. That's a sort of respect thing, I think. But also to try to push women forward is in an industry which is, I think, come on leaps and bounds in that regard absolutely.
Speaker 2:And then for the lawyer, hot 100 mean what can I say in terms of? You know, that's the sort of recognition on the legal side. But having now been qualified for a full quarter of a century, it was just incredible personally to be recognised for what I've achieved across those years and obviously in recent years it's been. We've had a lot of great work on, particularly relation myself to the COVID-19 business interruption claims, and to be recognized for our contribution to getting cover for policyholders for their business interruption claims resulting out of COVID was a high point of my career.
Speaker 1:Well, very well deserved. And now moving, talking more about your sort of you know, your nascent well, not that nascent, actually, it's been a hot minute since you became managing partner. But in terms of your approach to leadership, do you have a sort of approach to leadership and like a sort of identifiable one, and, if so, how did that evolve?
Speaker 2:I would say it's evolved through working with large, large teams on cases. So, right from the get, go back in my A&O days on my, my very first case as an NQ I was running a team of a dozen or so paralegals.
Speaker 1:As an NQ. Oh, the paralegals. Okay, I thought you were that good that you're telling senior associates what to do.
Speaker 2:And then also working as part of a job show. It's always been about collaboration and teamwork and I would say that categorizes my leadership style. I like to bring people with me. I like us to achieve things together. I like us to be motivated and energized by the goal that we're all aspiring to, and here at Fenchurch, it's all about high performance and building that elite team.
Speaker 1:Quite right. And what part of the firm's culture it's actually. I think you might have even answered this question. But what part of the firm's culture are you most proud of today?
Speaker 2:Well, I actually I think you might have even answered this question but what part of the firm's culture are you most proud of today? Well, I mean, I would say I really love from the day I walked in the doors here and saw our values, which I can look at in front of me innovation, freedom, responsibility, aspiration and excellence, and for me that sums up everything that we're about, and it's wonderful to me that that actually hasn't changed and and won't change yeah well, and so I was also going to shout out the um, the jollies and the goblet.
Speaker 1:Are they part of the firm's? I think they are part of the firm's culture. Can we, can we, hear about joe's jollies and the grant goblets?
Speaker 2:certainly can drew the grant. Goblet is awarded every week, uh to the highest performer, uh as nominated by, by people nominated by their colleagues, but of course I get the final say and present a goblet to the worthy winner each week and we have a presentation. A ceremony A ceremony and a photo is taken. Everyone always looks terrified yeah but I think it's a wonderful. What I like most about that is having people shout out their colleagues spotting high performance in action and then letting me know so that I can share that with everybody.
Speaker 1:And some people have been really. I mean I know I won't name names, even though it's something lovely but I know a colleague who was nominated by another colleague in a very candid and really lovely way and I think, colleague, the colleague who received the nomination was almost moved to tears, it was so lovely. So we're obviously, you know, we're obviously made of, you know, stern stuff here, but we've also got that lovely human side and, yeah, I thought that was a really really lovely thing. As you say, the nominated by your peers is, I think, something really special, it matters.
Speaker 1:And jollies.
Speaker 2:Jollies. Each week I take a different member of of staff out for coffee. Although I'm changing that up, I think we're going to turn it into a beer or a glass of wine to aid the conversation, uh, but that's just a way for me to keep in touch with everyone, make sure I know what they're up to and hear about any concerns they might have, or any really, how they're, how they're finding, uh, their role, and what we can do to help them with their career progression.
Speaker 1:Nice, yes, a safe space to have those kinds of honest conversations. And now a sage question in the sense that you're an experienced and sagacious lawyer, not sage the hub how do you see the insurance disputes landscape changing over the next five to 10 years?
Speaker 2:Well, I think it will continue to be fertile ground for disputes, but very much see ourselves as being at the forefront of navigating whatever challenges lie ahead for for policyholders.
Speaker 1:Um, I know there are potentially difficult and destabilizing economic and political times on the horizon and I certainly don't envisage that the future will be that we won't, that there won't be a need for us no, no, no, well they will always, always coverage as long as insurers don't pay claims when they should, we'll, we'll be around, I'm sure, and joe final question, which has obviously been a shame because this has been lots of fun, but and this is a bit, this is a bit american, um, so don't, oh, but also shout out to the our new friends uh, what legacy do you hope to leave with Infantur's Law?
Speaker 2:I really want to be recognised for being part of the world's leading law firm for policyholder coverage disputes as we head into a new era of global expansion, and I couldn't be more excited to be part of that.
Speaker 1:I mean me too Glad to be along for the ride. Joe, thank you so much for coming in. It's been it's been wonderful to talk to you and I've I've hoped you'd enjoyed it great talking to you too, drew thanks bye.
