Anna Tipping is one lawyer who knows how to spot a niche practice area and turn it into her dream job. Her career progression is also a prime example of how lawyers who are willing to create their own opportunities and move into new markets can become leaders in their field. She has moved from New Zealand to London then to Singapore as a dedicated corporate insurance specialist to bring together the six other insurance practitioners Norton Rose has dotted around Asia.

Having started her legal career in insurance litigation in New Zealand in 1994, Anna learnt the basics and also discovered she was somewhat disillusioned with the contentious aspect of deals. She considered herself more of a facilitator than an archaeologist after the event.  Following this desire to be more involved in the ‘front end’ where insurance products are created and deals made, Anna relocated to London, the world centre for this type of work, in 1998.

She initially found herself living in London without a job but her litigation experience secured her an in-house role with global insurance broker Willis. This gave her the grounding she needed to move into private practice, where she was head hunted by Linklaters 18 months later. Over the next 10 years she became familiar with the Norton Rose team . “I was looking for a way to use my insurance expertise and broaden my skills; Norton Rose had already identified Asia as a region where insurance was growing and had existing insurance expertise in the region but [they had] no-one who was a dedicated insurance specialist,” she said.

There were no traditional openings so she got together and brainstormed with the Norton Rose team about what they could do together to establish themselves in areas where the market for insurance products was growing. It was soon decided that she would move to Singapore to establish the practice group and manage Norton Rose’s position in the market.

Since her arrival in Singapore a few weeks ago, Anna has been busy with lots of non-legal work, setting up meetings with clients, marketing and promotional duties and generally letting people know that her team is there and what they have to offer. She is also conducting surveys and contributing to a new textbook on UK insurance law. Her advice to anyone who feels they could contribute more is to find an area you like and stick with it. “Be passionate about what you do and don't be afraid to change firms to pursue what you enjoy,” she said.

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