Our culture is your story - Zoe Bell

I studied law and initially worked for a Newcastle-based firm until 2006, when life and career opportunities took me in a different direction. I joined AG in 2025, my first role at a law firm since switching career paths nearly twenty years ago.

Compared to my previous experience, AG is a completely different environment.

Before joining AG, I worked at a firm that signed the Menopause Workplace Pledge, where I became a menopause mentor. There’s still a lot of stigma around talking about menopause, but we were able to create a safe space for people to share their experiences and how it was affecting their confidence at work and relationships at home. We also made sure to have a little fun along the way.

It affected my own confidence too. I remember working hard for a promotion, getting it and instead of feeling excited, I felt numb. It was unlike me to be so uninterested in a career milestone. I spoke to my mum and close friends and slowly realised this was my first sign of menopause.

As you learn more, and experience it, you begin to understand why so many talented people leave their careers feeling unsupported or unable to manage during perimenopause or menopause. AG has a great menopause policy and I want to help build that same culture of openness and understanding here at AG so that people going through menopause do not have to silently struggle or suffer in their place of work.