Justine Markovitz has been the chairperson at U.K. Top 50 law firm Withers since last July. In this article, originally published on the Withers website, she speaks about her experiences as a gay woman working in the legal industry, and being ‘out’ in the workplace.

I joined Withers on February 1, 1999 as a junior associate. At that time I wasn’t out in my workplace because a typical London City law firm was not the most liberal or open of environments.