Name: Chhavie Kapoor
Job title: Partner at Mishcon de Reya LLP and chair of the Property Litigation Association’s EDI committee
What I do: I’m a partner in Mishcon de Reya’s property litigation team, meaning I advise clients on all aspects of real estate disputes. I also recently became chair of the Property Litigation Association’s new Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) committee, where I’ll be working to improve issues like ethnic representation, gender equality and social mobility across the industry.
Why I got into the property industry: I always knew I wanted to be a solicitor and real estate is a vast and hugely varied industry that goes right to the heart of society.
How I did it: Lots of hard work, study and a genuine interest in people and places.
My first proper job: My first proper legal job was with a small London firm. After three months of conveyancing, I discovered property litigation and knew from then on that I wanted to be a litigator.
My first big break: I landed a job with Nabarro’s leading property litigation team and that really changed the course of my career.
My inspiration(s): My parents – who uprooted their life, came to a foreign country and worked incredibly hard to give me and my sister every opportunity to succeed in life.
The biggest challenge I’ve encountered to date: My biggest challenge was getting a training contract, despite having received a distinction at law school – which I think had a lot to do with being an ethnic minority woman in the 90’s. Thankfully, the industry has come a long way since then and once I got my training contract, I never looked back.
My greatest achievement/proudest moment to date: Becoming partner at Mishcon de Reya. Every day I work alongside some of the brightest minds in the industry on fascinating, challenging cases.
The biggest misconception people have about the property industry: That you have to come from a certain type of background in order to succeed.
My biggest bugbear about the industry/the one thing I would change about the industry: I would change the lack of diversity in the industry – particularly at the top. I’m keen to understand the barriers to inclusion so we can work on breaking them down – which is what I hope to achieve in my new role at the PLA.
Why I’m so passionate about EDI: As an Asian woman working in property law I’ve had a number of obstacles to overcome. I believe that no one should have doors closed to them based on their gender, ethnicity, social background, age, sexual orientation or other protected characteristics – and I look forward to reaching out to other organisations working in this space because these are industry-wide issues we need to work together to address.
Where I’d like to be in five years’ time career-wise: After a few years in post as EDI committee chair, I hope to have worked collaboratively with others and made real in-roads in improving the diversity of our industry, particularly around race and ethnicity.
Who I’d invite, living or dead, to a dinner party: Eric Cantona. I’m a huge Manchester United fan and Eric is my hero or ‘God’ as we like to call him. I would love to spend time talking with Eric about his football career and the things did afterwards, including acting and singing.
What I do in my downtime: I recently joined a gym and am really enjoying the early morning HIIT classes. I find they are very energising and help clear the mind – the perfect way to prepare for a busy day’s property litigation work!
The job I’d be doing if I wasn’t doing this: I think I’d be a history teacher. I loved history at school and if I hadn’t read law at university, I would have done a history degree and probably ended up as a teacher… although I’m not sure I’d have made a very good one!
My advice for someone just starting out: Don’t give up! Especially if you’re a minority. The industry needs people from all walks of life and there a huge variety of roles to choose from and organisations to work for. If you work hard, develop strong networks and believe in yourself there’s nothing you can’t achieve.
