Gillian Goodger

Title: Senior librarian
Department: Legal knowledge
Location: London

I have a BA in Psychology from Victoria University in Wellington (NZ), and a postgraduate Diploma in Library and Information Studies from University College London. I was a Graduate Trainee at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies library, then joined Norton Rose as an assistant librarian. After a career break to bring up a family I started at Herbert Smith in 1995.

I was looking for a part-time role at a similar level to my previous post at Norton Rose - being able to work at a professional level was key, which is why I chose Herbert Smith. I now hold a senior librarian role and relish the responsibility it brings.

The library provides an information service and purchases hard copy and online resources for all our international offices. I liaise regularly with the library staff in Hong Kong, Paris and Shanghai and have visited Paris twice to train fee earners and library staff on our own and external databases.

Herbert Smith has a reputation for professional excellence and is a trailblazer in community involvement and corporate responsibility. All staff are encouraged to play a part in the community and I have become a reading partner at Thomas Buxton school. The internal training has been of huge benefit and has enhanced my life in the workplace and beyond. I enjoyed the "learning at work week" initiatives and picked up useful parenting tips.

When I was promoted I was nominated for the excellent "developing high performers" course, which not only developed my management skills but also provided the support and encouragement I needed to meet my new challenges.