If You Ask Me

Hannah Bradshaw & Sarah Lyons
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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. 

Episodes

  1. Leadership, motherhood and building a career that lasts in law with Alison Eddy

    4D AGO

    Leadership, motherhood and building a career that lasts in law with Alison Eddy

    In this episode of If You Ask Me, we speak with Alison Eddy, Partner and Ambassador for Inclusion at Irwin Mitchell and former London Managing Partner, a position she held for over a decade. Alison’s career has been shaped by her work as a medical negligence lawyer and her role in growing Irwin Mitchell’s London office from its early beginnings into a large, full-service practice. She joined the firm in the mid-1990s at a time when she was raising five young children and managing considerable personal and financial pressure as her family circumstances changed. Alongside a long-standing commitment to client work, Alison went on to lead one of the firm’s largest offices. Her experience brings a grounded perspective on senior leadership, motherhood and how progression unfolds over the course of a long career in law. During the conversation, Alison looks back on the moments that influenced her path, the demands of sustaining leadership over many years, and what it means to be a visible leader during periods of disruption, including the pandemic. She also discusses the impact of flexible working, how Irwin Mitchell came to have more than 50% female partners, and her experience of maternity leave across different generations. Alison reflects on supporting women returning to work, questioning assumptions about age and ambition, and the importance of flexibility and imagination when thinking about career progression. Host: Hannah Bradshaw, Founding Director of BlueSky Host: Sarah Lyons, Founding Director of BlueSky Guest: Alison Eddy, Partner Ambassador for Inclusion at Irwin Mitchell

    30 min
  2. The moment we realised women in law deserved more with Hannah & Sarah

    JAN 19

    The moment we realised women in law deserved more with Hannah & Sarah

    In this very first episode of If You Ask Me, we wanted to share our story. Why we left law, what it was really like to come back from maternity leave, and why we decided to build BlueSky. We talk about the moments that stayed with us. Being told we “wouldn’t be hungry enough” for a partnership. Watching colleagues praise fathers for doing a single nursery pick-up while mothers were questioned on their commitment. Realising that traditional coaching was not shifting the dial for women in law. These experiences shaped the way we designed BlueSky. We wanted something honest and real. Coaching that focuses on connection helps women feel less alone and gives them a strategy for their careers at a time when it can feel like everything is slipping away. In this episode, we reflect on: What returning to law after maternity leave felt like for usHow the motherhood penalty and fatherhood bonus still show up in firmsWhy are women so often judged on performance today, while men are measured on potentialThe power of connection and group coaching in showing you are not aloneWhat we wish we had known at the start of our journeysThis conversation is personal, a little raw, and hopefully reassuring. It is about law, about life, and about possibility. Host: Sarah Lyons, Founding Director of BlueSky Host: Hannah Bradshaw, Founding Director of BlueSky

    32 min
  • 2 Episodes

About

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. 

Information

  • Creator
    Hannah Bradshaw & Sarah Lyons
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 If You Ask Me
  • Show Website
    If You Ask Me

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