Kate Sherburn on the importance of authenticity in the workplace

Kate Sherburn is Legal Beagle (Chief Legal Officer) at the profit-for-purpose toilet paper company, Who Gives a Crap. Kate was named General Counsel of the Year in 2024 by the Association of Corporate Counsel. She is an outspoken advocate for improving diversity and inclusion within the legal profession, and a champion for workplace cultures that support their people in having an authentic experience of work. In this episode of Legal human, Kate challenges the common belief that forming close relationships with stakeholders can undermine your independence as a lawyer. As she tells Anthony Kearns, it is her investment in these relationships that enables her to exercise her independence by deliberately moving between different roles and being open with her stakeholders about the role she is in. In this way, Kate sees the relational aspects of her role as core to her effectiveness.