Aiming high – Zara Everitt

Q&A with trainee solicitor and England netball player Zara Everitt

Elite sport and the legal profession are both demanding environments in their own right. Very few individuals manage to excel in both arenas simultaneously. However, Zara Everitt is seamlessly balancing her international netball career with a Trainee Solicitor role at Ashurst. In this interview, she reflects on how she achieves her goals, on and off the court.

As a child, Zara Everitt rarely sat still outside the classroom. All her evenings and weekends were filled with running, catching, hitting and jumping in various sporting pursuits. From basketball to tennis to athletics, Zara was a keen and talented team player whose skills (and height) made her a formidable opponent. But over time, one sport increasingly began to capture her attention, above all others: netball.

Explosive take-off

By the age of 11, Zara’s sporting prowess had caught the eye of a netball coach who helped hone her talents in that sporting code. By 14, Zara was signed by the Saracens Mavericks netball club. And by 15, Zara had secured her first under-17 cap for England’s national team, playing in a European competition in Gibraltar.

That international debut remains etched in Zara’s memory, as she explains, “There’s nothing quite like singing the national anthem with your teammates and receiving your first England dress with your family in the crowd.” Having secured her place in the England setup, Zara’s meteoric rise continued when she earned a spot in the Mavericks’ senior Super League team.

In the years that followed, Zara built a reputation as one England’s most formidable defenders, and switched clubs to Loughborough Lightning, and then London Pulse. While this alone is impressive, she achieved all this while also forging a nascent career in law as well.

Striking a balance to achieve two goals

Away from the netball court, Zara had never lost sight of her academic priorities. She studied an undergraduate degree in Law at the University of Oxford, where she honed her technical knowledge and analytical skills. And that helped her secure a Trainee Contract with Ashurst in March 2023, where she completed her Legal Practice Course (LPC).

Looking back on the past few years Zara admits, “It was a whirlwind of change, both academically and athletically.” But she wouldn’t change a thing about her choice to pursue both sport and law. “The combination of these experiences has helped me to develop attributes that I use at work every day,” she says.

While some employers might baulk at accommodating the training and playing regime of an elite athlete, Ashurst has been unwavering in its support according to Zara. She says open communication with her supervisor about her commitments and work flexibility have allowed her to excel at achieving sporting and legal goals together.

Zara adds that balancing her two passions is also helped by careful prioritisation, being proactive about mental wellbeing during stressful times, and paying no heed to naysayers.

Turn and look

Around the Ashurst office, Zara has not yet been spotted playing shoulder passes to colleagues or shooting hoops into waste paper baskets. But she has taken some of what she’s learned from netball and applied it to her legal career. “Goal setting and reflection are effective for both netball and work,” she explains. “It’s a constant cycle of improvement.”

For Zara, that means taking a meticulous and disciplined approach to setting objectives that are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely). It also means doing what netballers call “turn and look”; that is: reflecting on progress and making adjustments along the way.

Anyone who has played or worked in a team alongside Zara will already know how determined, optimistic and adaptable she is. These qualities, forged in the crucible of international sport and refined in her legal career, have created a well-rounded professional with a tenacious spirit to succeed.

Reaching new heights

From an impressive array of sporting accomplishments, Zara says her proudest moment came when she received her first England senior cap in a test series against Uganda in 2022. The three-match series saw Zara’s gradual progression, from reaching the 12-man squad to earning a starting position.

As for what’s next? It appears that the sky is the limit for Zara. Buoyed by the support of fellow players and her colleagues at Ashurst, Zara stands ready to dazzle on the netball court and thrive in the legal arena for many years to come.