A profile of a trailblazer: Mandeep Kaur Virdee

Mandeep Kaur Virdee, founder and CEO of KaurMaxwell, tells Suzanna Hayek how she set about building a law firm that would be a better experience for staff than those she’s worked at before

Six years ago, Mandeep Kaur Virdee founded KaurMaxwell, an independent law firm that provides disputes and litigation, insolvency and restructuring, digital currencies and fintech and other services. Her journey to this point was fraught with challenges — specifically difficult work conditions, she says, being a woman, mother and belonging to a minority group.

In 2011, Virdee qualified and specialised in insolvency and restructuring, “a field not typically associated with female, let alone Asian female lawyers”, she says. Her rebellious spirit not only led her to the legal sector, but fuelled a desire to break the mould in an industry that was often steeped in traditions.

A not-so-ideal work culture

After qualifying, Virdee worked for a number of firms. She candidly discusses the “ugly legal culture” she encountered, a world before the Solicitors Regulatory Authority put emphasis on wellbeing and diversity. “It was just a very unhealthy place to be as an industry. I had worked at different law firms at this point, and I was shocked by how toxic it was.” Although there have been strides made toward improving the work environment for lawyers, there’s still a long way to go. LawCare’s 2021 Life in the Law report underscored the need for the sector’s organisational structure to deal with persistent mental health and bullying and harassment problems. According to the Law Society, solicitors also report higher levels of anxiety and lower wellbeing scores compared to the UK average.

Virdee thought about leaving the profession altogether, but as a last attempt to believe there had to be lawyers who think like her she started working at a firm as the head of department for insolvency and restructuring — the only woman to lead a department at the firm. She was given autonomy and says she felt the role suited her personality type — ambitious and hungry to learn. “I was offered a platform where I was able to grow and I could finally spread my wings and fly.”

But five years later, that firm went into administration. Virdee’s client base followed her to another firm. She was also around three months pregnant at the time. A few months later, due to difficulties, this second firm was also shut down due to operations.

The common denominator

“I went for interviews, but nobody could see past a very large pregnant woman,” she says. Virdee got the impression she was first offered the opportunity to move her files and clients, then asked to “go off and have a baby and come back”.

She felt let down by the industry: “I was really annoyed because I’d given a lot and thought that I would receive better treatment.”There was a common denominator among all the firms she’d worked for — and those to which she was now applying. They were run by “people of certain wealth” and mostly men.

In 2017, the UK legal profession saw a shift to being majority female throughout the ranks. Despite this, the most senior positions remain heavily male-dominated. The Law Society’s latest figures reveal that women accounted for 53% of practising solicitors in 2021, but only 18% of those in private practice held partner positions, compared to 39% of men. These figures have remained largely unchanged for the past 15 years.

Solicitors from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (BAME) backgrounds made up 18% of the profession, according to SRA figures in 2023. BAME partners made up 7% of firms with 50+ partners and 36% of one-partner firms.

At the end of her tether, and seven months pregnant, Virdee decided to start her own practice. “I thought to myself, I’ve just had enough. I’m just going to do it by myself.” Her husband encouraged her. “At this point, we’d been married for just about a year, so it was insanely high levels of pressure and change.”

The SRA appointed Virdee a case worker to help her set up KaurMaxwell. “So many people encouraged me when I didn’t have the strength — nor at times the confidence,” she explains Her daughter was born in February 2018 —and KaurMaxwell started operating a few short weeks after. “My first year was phenomenal. I needed to create a firm that was going to work for me as a mum for the first time, including working hybrid. I would have my bouncer with my baby, and I’d be doing video calls.”

A different measure of success

Virdee redefined success for herself. She says it’s not about growth — the number of people or offices, — but providing exceptional client service and a workplace that’s healthier for employees as well. “There is a lot of science behind it, and some industries that can teach us a lot more than lawyers think they know. Other people are well ahead of us.”

Virdee had offers to sell her firm but wasn’t interested. “It suddenly became about creating genuine change,” she says. She is committed to providing a nurturing, positive work environment that’s compassionate and purpose-driven. Obtaining B Corp certification was also crucial to highlighting how the firm acts in line with values effectively focusing not just on profit but also people, planet and purpose.

And her innovative edge extends beyond reshaping the contours of legal practice. She’s a tech champion champion  — alive to the opportunities of working differently for more efficiency or a better business experience. “I grew up watching my dad learn how to code and I was very interested in logic. I know the power of what you can do with tech to solve a problem.”

She believes AI is a technology that will be revolutionary for firms, but it needs to be used responsibly. At the time of the interview, she was assessing a secure tech that could take notes during client meetings and retrieve specific topics mentioned during the conversation when prompted. She also has an interest in blockchain’s potential to improve data management and security in law.

Virdee’s story is one of resilience and vision — and her new reality is arguably a blueprint for the future of legal practice, where diversity, technology and purpose-driven leadership converge to redefine success.