Chair
Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority
A qualified lawyer, Julia began her career at Shearman & Sterling in New York and at Herbert Smith, before joining Andersen Legal where she became the first woman managing partner of a top 100 law firm. Subsequently, Julia joined the board of T-Mobile U.K (now EE) as General Counsel, thereafter founding a legal change management consultancy which was acquired by Huron Consulting Inc. Moving to a business role, Julia’s most recent executive role, was UK Managing Director and International VP of Advanced Discovery Inc, a global corporate specialising in E-Discovery and Risk Management.
Following over 30 years’ experience in legal and management roles in both private practice and industry, Julia was appointed chair of the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority in 2021. In her three-year term, Julia will oversee the post-Covid work of the fertility sector for clinics and patients; highlight where inequalities exist in access to treatment and outcomes; and focus on where the law needs to be updated.
In addition to her role at the HFEA, Julia recently stepped down after more then 8 years as Deputy Chair of Norwood, a leading learning disability and children’s charity, and she is currently Chair of Sadeh, an environmental educational charity and also Chair of the Human Dignity Trust. Her previous roles include Deputy Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality and non-executive director of Frontier Economics Ltd. Julia has also held a number of positions as school governor and Trustee of Academy Trust