 She studied law at Somerville College, Oxford, graduating in 1982, and did her Bar finals at the Inns of Court School of Law, being called to the Bar in 1983 (Gray's Inn).She worked for 20 years with the law firm Dentons, where she was made a Partner, becoming the first black woman to hold such a position in a City firm.She specialised in planning matters, and in 1995 wrote a book, "Practical Planning