TGt Meets IWD Special... Penelope Munro of Thrings

Thrings' Penelope Munro has given us some insight into her life and career in celebration of International Women's Day, in this TGt Meets.

Tell us a bit about yourself …

I am a Partner in the Succession and Tax team at Thrings, based in our Bath office, with a focus on estate administration. I also prepare Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney and offer advice on lifetime tax planning to mitigate Inheritance Tax.

I have two children, one at University and one who has just embarked on his GCSEs. I am currently coming to terms with hitting the grand age of 50 next month but I’ve been told I exude the energy of a 30-year-old. I love skiing and water sports like mono-skiing and at the weekend, you’ll often find me on a beach walk.

Tell us about your business

Thrings is an award-winning law firm that has been advising private individuals, entrepreneurs, family businesses and large corporates in and around Bath for more than 300 years.

We are proud of our one-firm approach and I will often work with colleagues not just in our Bath office, but in our others across Bristol, London, Swindon, Hampshire and the Wye Valley to support clients.

What do you love most about your job?

I love the client focussed nature of what we do, keeping clients happy keeps me interested.

Whether my client is contemplating their own mortality or has just lost a loved one, I take great pride in being the ear that listens and the guiding hand for them as they navigate the various complicated legal processes.

One meets the most fascinating people in this role and just getting to know them on a more personal level is just awesome. A returning client is one which always puts a smile on my face!

What Is your proudest achievement?

Aside from seeing my children excel and thrive in their studies and activities (including a recent weekend watching my daughter compete in the Oxford/Cambridge Varsity Lacrosse match and my son playing for his school’s hockey team) my proudest achievement was definitely becoming a Partner at Thrings.

It was something I had wanted since I had had work experience at the age of 16 and when I was finally given the opportunity, it made the years at university, law school and training all worthwhile – definitely worth cracking open a bottle of champagne with my parents for!

This year’s IWD theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion’ – what does this mean to you?

Inclusion is a basic universal human right in my mind. The aim of inclusion is to embrace people and to give everyone equal access and opportunities, finally ridding society of discrimination and intolerance.

What are the biggest challenges you have faced in your career?

I was the wife of an Army Officer for many years and moving every year or two was definitely hard on my legal career. I was fortunate however to have a few fantastic supervisors in my time who I worked with very well and were happy to employ me again when I returned to the area.

How do you balance your business and personal life?

With my children older now, I try to balance working longer hours on some days to give me more time on others when I want to spend time with my family.

I take the view that one can always make time for what you want to do, and my weekends are sacred for being away from work and not looking at emails – although the temptation is always there…

Which women inspire you the most?

I think women who embark on studying later and/or qualifying in a career whether that be in law or in another field with a family life to juggle are just amazing.

I was fortunate enough to have been young free and single when I went to university and very newly married when I began my training contract to qualify as a solicitor which was enough of a challenge, so to see someone do all that later in life is astounding.

Find out more on Thrings here.