Mandy Rees
Speaker & Thought Leader in Women’s Leadership, Culture Change & Psychological Safety
Creating cultures where women stay, lead and thrive, in law and professional services.
Mandy Rees is a former commercial real estate lawyer and leadership coach who works with law firms and professional services organisations on women’s leadership, psychological safety and culture change.
This page outlines Mandy’s speaking and thought leadership work, the conversations she leads, and the signature talks organisations book her for.
Speaking Focus
Mandy is known for addressing the less visible dynamics that shape women’s experience at work, particularly in high-pressure, male-dominated environments such as law.
Her work is grounded in over a decade of supporting busy professional women through pregnancy, early motherhood and the long-term impact these transitions have on confidence, boundaries, identity and career sustainability.
This depth of experience gives Mandy a rare and practical understanding of:
Why many women struggle or disengage after becoming mothers
Why confidence, capacity and ambition often shift post-maternity
How burnout and over-functioning are frequently driven by unspoken pressure to “prove commitment”
Why retention efforts fail when motherhood is treated as a short-term absence rather than a lasting career transition
Mandy now brings this insight into leadership coaching, facilitated conversations and speaking for law firms and professional services organisations, helping them address the cultural patterns that quietly push women out mid-career.
Her speaking focuses on:
Women’s leadership confidence and decision-making
Psychological safety in professional environments
Female retention and progression in law
Feminine leadership traits and sustainable performance
Culture change created through honest, well-held conversations
Her work resonates with lawyers, HR teams, Knowledge & ED&I leads and senior leaders who want to move beyond surface-level inclusion and tackle the real drivers of disengagement and attrition.
‘Culture change starts with the conversations people are finally safe enough to have.’
SIGNATURE TALKS & WORKSHOPS
All sessions can be delivered as keynotes, interactive workshops, leadership sessions or carefully facilitated conversations and are tailored to the needs of law firms and professional services organisations.
Behind Her Back
How Women Hurt and Heal Each Other at Work
While retention strategies often focus on workload and flexibility, far fewer address the relational dynamics between women that quietly shape confidence, belonging and career sustainability.
This session explores one of the least-spoken barriers to women’s progression in law and professional services: the ways women compete with, criticise and undermine one another – often unintentionally.
The session examines:
Why so many women can identify “that one woman” who made work feel unsafe
How scarcity, comparison and inherited professional wounds shape behaviour
The impact on psychological safety, collaboration and leadership pipelines
The organisational cost of gossip, exclusion and quiet undermining
It then focuses on repair:
Moving from competition to sponsorship
Rebuilding trust between women
What HR, ED&I teams and leaders can do to interrupt these patterns systemically
This is a grounded, commercially relevant session that helps organisations name a problem they often sense but rarely know how to address.
The Good Girl at Work
Why Brilliant Women Burn Out and How to Stop It
Many of the most capable women in law burn out not because they lack resilience, but because they have been rewarded for over-functioning.
This session explores the Good Girl pattern, the drive to be helpful, capable, accommodating and endlessly reliable.
It looks at:
• How early conditioning shapes behaviour in legal careers
• Why high-performing women are often at the greatest risk
• The psychology of people-pleasing, over-responsibility and boundary collapse
• How workplace reward systems unintentionally reinforce burnout
This pattern becomes particularly pronounced for women returning from maternity leave or navigating early motherhood, where internal pressure to prove commitment collides with reduced capacity, increased caregiving responsibility and invisible emotional load.
For individuals, the session supports healthier ambition and boundary-setting.
For organisations, it provides a psychologically informed lens on burnout prevention and female retention.
Redefining Strength
From Aggressive to Effective Through a Feminine Leadership Lens
Law has traditionally rewarded a narrow definition of strength: dominance, aggression and emotional detachment.
Many women succeed only by performing this model of strength, often at significant personal cost.
This session introduces an alternative model of leadership grounded in feminine traits that enhance both performance and wellbeing.
The session explores:
How masculine-coded leadership became the default in professional services
The relational and cultural cost of ego-driven performance
Why women often suppress their natural leadership instincts to be taken seriously
Strength is reframed through qualities such as emotional intelligence, discernment, collaboration and boundary-led decision-making, and defined as: the ability to progress matters clearly, consciously and sustainably, without burning people out or eroding trust.
Circles in the City
Inside-Out Culture Change for Professional Services
Policies do not change culture on their own. Surveys rarely capture the full truth.
Real change happens when women feel safe enough to speak honestly within the organisation.
This session introduces structured, facilitated women’s forums as a practical, low cost culture change intervention.
The session explores:
• Why one-off initiatives rarely shift entrenched dynamics
• How to create psychologically safe spaces that go beyond venting
• What women share when reputational risk is removed
• How lived experience can inform leadership and HR strategy
This approach gives HR and ED&I teams a live insight mechanism that supports trust, engagement and retention.
Beyond Inclusion
Building a Culture of Support & Success
Developed from Mandy’s International Women’s Day keynote talk, this session explores why inclusion efforts fail when psychological safety is missing.
The session examines:
The stress and burnout landscape for working women
The impact of caregiving responsibilities on careers
Why women experience lower psychological safety at work
How imbalance between masculine and feminine leadership traits fuels disengagement
It offers practical solutions, including:
Gender-balanced mentorship
Skills-based feedback
Visible female role models and active allyship
Communication styles that prioritise connection and collaboration
This session is ideal for organisations seeking to align wellbeing, performance and gender equity.
Why Organisations Work With Mandy
Organisations value Mandy’s work because she brings:
Professional credibility as a former lawyer
Deep experience supporting women through pregnancy, motherhood and career transitions
Specialist insight into how motherhood impacts confidence, capacity and retention
Expertise in psychological safety and relational dynamics
A commercially intelligent approach to culture change
Clear, compassionate facilitation that supports honest conversation
Her style is warm, direct and grounded, balancing challenge with care.
Audiences
Mandy works with:
Law firms and chambers
Professional services organisations
HR and People teams
Knowledge & ED&I leaders
Women’s and leadership networks
Universities and law schools
Sessions can be tailored for partners, associates, trainees, working parents and senior leadership teams.
Booking Enquiries
Mandy is available for keynotes, leadership programmes, facilitated conversations and conferences.
To enquire, please email mandy (mandy@mandyrees.com or contact@inkedpr.com).
Also, connect via LinkedIn or complete the Speaking Enquiry form below.