We chose to feature Katie McCann because her journey - founding a purpose-led law firm after personal loss - captures the resilience, clarity, and vision we so often see in the entrepreneurs we are proud to support at Cavendish.

Lawyer. Founder. Rule-breaker. Katie McCann, Managing Partner and Founder of Lowry Legal, is a Spears 500-recommended family barrister who has never been one to follow a conventional path, or stay quiet when something needs to change. After building her career in two of the most male-dominated industries around, she now runs a law firm on her own terms: flexible, transparent, and built with wellbeing at its core. In this Q&A, Katie reflects on early influences, the impact of grief, and why she believes the future of law belongs to those bold enough to break with tradition.

You’ve built your career in two male-dominated fields - law and entrepreneurship. Was that a deliberate choice, or did it happen naturally?

I would say a bit of both really! I was the only daughter in our family, sandwiched between an older and younger brother; both rugby playing boisterous lads. My mother had always worked her socks off and had had a long career as a civilian worker in Merseyside Police, so you can imagine she could go toe to toe with the best of them and then Dad, my hero, who I lost in June 2021, always worked for himself in the construction industry. His “never surrender” attitude is intertwined in my DNA.  I went to an amazing school in Liverpool called St Edwards. It is the cathedral school for Liverpool and just the most uniquely wondrous school a young lass could hope for. But…..it was a boys school and I was in the first year of girls being allowed to attend.  30-something girls and a whole school of boys up until age 18!  

My life has been testosterone-fuelled to say the least! So naturally I have been more attracted to more male-dominated areas, because of my grounding as a child and then a teenager. But I do still have that feminine touch and believe wholeheartedly that balance is key. Even in the most testosterone-fuelled environments the opposing traits of the feminine are not only necessary; but completely desirable.  We can’t exist without the yin to our yang, can we?  

Creating a positive workplace was clearly a priority when starting your own business – how does that look in practice, and how does it affect financial performance?

I started the early concept for my business in April 2021, getting off the ground more firmly in February 2022, after the untimely loss of Dad.  Over the years I had worked in a number of different corporate environments. Quite frankly, I just didn’t fit into any of them that well. My “toxic trait” was that I could always see what was wrong (or so I thought) and what could be improved, but was never in a position to change anything. Long hours and brutal commutes really did take it out of me - I didn’t realise quite how much until the pandemic came and smacked us squarely between the eyes. I wanted to create a business with an environment that cared about the well-being of the people who were in it, growing it. So that they could flourish into the lawyers they always wanted to be, without the constraints that we had all experienced before Covid effectively liberated us as a profession of long, arduous hours in an office chained to a desk.

Remote working is a key part of that. We operate a hybrid model where we meet in person about once a week, and the office is available whenever people want or need it. That flexibility has had a real impact not just on productivity, but on people’s lives. One team member was able to relocate with almost no disruption to their work. That kind of freedom simply wouldn’t have been possible in a traditional setup.

What’s more, turns out that treating people with respect and offering autonomy and flexibility gets the best from them, both in terms of productivity, engagement and loyalty. Who’d have thought?!

The legal world is known for its traditions and rigid structures. Have you ever had to push back against outdated ways of working?

Many times. One of the most rigid was the complete opposition to working outside of the office before the pandemic. That really was short-sighted wasn’t it now, looking back. Also, the way that the legal industry bills its clients. Of course, we are a “time spent” industry, but there has always been a distinct lack of transparency in my view. When I set up the business, I wanted clients to have full visibility on what they were being charged. If I were a client, that is what I would demand. We are “rigid” in the way we implement this with our clients, with weekly work in progress updates and composite cost estimates that are constantly reviewed and discussed with clients. Litigation should never be a blank cheque. We find being so focused on the customer in this way has paid us back 100-fold.

What do you think the future of law firms and legal services looks like? Do you see the industry changing significantly in the next 10 years?

Definitely! I think the advent of artificial intelligence is going to revolutionise what we do.  It is going to allow us to systemise tasks easily and efficiently, reducing costs and time issues for clients.

As clients will be able to access a lot of information through AI before instructing lawyers, the human lawyers’ job is going to be focusing on the high value tasks and adding that icing on a cake that has been layered to a certain level already by Chat GPT and the likes!

I think in transactional areas of the law, like corporate and commercial, AI is potentially going to have more of an impact earlier, but in litigation it will take longer to catch up as currently there are no robots that can argue quite as effectively and with as much gusto as humans…they probably don’t see the logic in it!

I always look at it like this…I’m in the business of solving problems for my clients that stem from their divorce or separation. I’m not wedded to the old traditional way it has always been done. I think if we are clear on our purpose the “how” will present itself, no matter how the changing world challenges us.

What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve ever received about navigating the legal industry?

I genuinely can’t put my finger on anything……and I have mulled this over for a while. I think it is because I have never really taken on board much “advice”; I have always been someone who has ploughed her own furrow and made her own mistakes. The best way to navigate anything in my view.

And finally, if you could go back and give your younger self one piece of career advice, what would it be?

Put that “people pleaser” in a box as soon as you can and learn how to create and maintain boundaries from the off. But I guess neither of these come easily and can probably only be implemented well with the benefit of hindsight!

Conclusion

As can be gathered from our discussion, Katie’s journey from barrister to business owner is a testament to what’s possible when tradition is challenged with purpose. Her approach reflects a wider shift in the legal profession towards purpose-led leadership, transparency, and genuine care for both clients and colleagues. As specialist family and divorce lawyers, her firm is part of a growing movement reshaping what clients can and should expect from their legal advisors. If you’re navigating change and want a team that puts people first, we encourage you to get in touch.

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