If You Ask Me
Welcome to the If You Ask Me podcast, hosted by Hannah Bradshaw and Sarah Lyons, two former employment lawyers turned coaches and the co founders of BlueSky.
This podcast is about the big conversations we wish were happening more often. We talk to women in leadership positions across law firms, both those who have been through it themselves and those who bring fresh insights into how the profession can evolve. Our aim is to create a space that is uplifting and practical, where law meets life and possibility opens up.
New episodes released weekly.
If You Ask Me
When redesigning work becomes the only way to stay in law with Carolyn Miller
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In this episode of If You Ask Me, we are joined by Carolyn Miller, a partner at Lewis Silkin and one of the lawyers responsible for opening the firm’s Glasgow office.
Before returning to private practice, Carolyn spent several years running her own consultancy, Fish to Water. During this time, she provided HR and employment law advice while creating greater flexibility to be present with her children. Her career reflects a non-linear path shaped by senior leadership responsibility, family life and deliberate professional choices.
Earlier in her career, Carolyn reached a senior role in a large firm and began to question the personal cost of the traditional model. She decided to step away from firm life, not from the law itself, and continued practising independently. Throughout this period, she maintained her practicing certificate, built a client portfolio on her own terms, and developed a working style that better aligned with her family commitments.
In the conversation, Carolyn speaks openly about the emotional and financial trade-offs involved in stepping away from private practice, the realities of the motherhood penalty and fatherhood bonus, and what it was like to return to partnership after a long break. She also reflects on the importance of firm culture, flexible working and the conditions that made her return to private practice possible.
Carolyn’s experience offers a grounded perspective on career breaks, senior leadership and what it takes for legal careers to remain sustainable over the long term.
Host: Hannah Bradshaw, Founding Director of BlueSky
Host: Sarah Lyons, Founding Director of BlueSky
Guest: Carolyn Miller, Partner in the Employment Team at Lewis Silkin