What does it take to forge a career shaping the places where people live, work and build their futures? For Julia Jolley, it means years of determination, hard work and a willingness to see opportunity in change. Today, as Development Subsector Lead within Osborne Clarke's international Built Environment sector, she helps clients navigate an evolving real estate landscape.

Interviewed by Nini Gordadze

Having spent almost two decades specialising in real estate, you have recently been appointed Subsector Lead for Development within Osborne Clarke's international Built Environment sector. What drew you to development, and what does this new role involve?

Like many people, my route into development has been anything but linear — but honestly, that's what makes it interesting, and I genuinely believe it's what has made me a better development lawyer today.

I began my career in private practice before moving into local government around the time of the 2008 financial crisis, working on real estate transactions and planning matters. That experience taught me how the pieces of a development actually fit together — the land, the planning permissions, the politics, the people. When I returned to private practice, I specialised in distressed property work, advising banks and receivers on developments that had gone wrong: projects that had stalled, borrowers who had become insolvent, buildings left half-finished. Seeing what happens when developments fail taught me how to spot problems before they arise and understand the real-world consequences when things don't go to plan.

The moment I knew development was where I wanted to be came in 2011, when I worked on a luxury mixed-use scheme in Devon. I was still relatively junior, but I led on resolving complex title and access issues that had threatened to derail the entire project. Years later, after it had been completed, I was invited to stay at the hotel that had been built on the site. Walking through a place I had helped bring to life was a genuinely special moment and it captured exactly why I love this work. Development isn't abstract. You can drive past the homes, visit the hotels, walk through the communities you've helped create.

Looking back, having worked across planning, public sector transactions, distressed assets, funding and complex developments means I've seen this industry from almost every angle. That breadth gives me a perspective that clients genuinely value - I understand not just the legal technicalities, but the commercial pressures, the political sensitivities and the practical realities of getting a project from concept to completion.

That breadth is also what led to my current role as Subsector Lead for Development. Built Environment is a core part of Osborne Clarke's international business, and my role sits at the heart of it - connecting colleagues across our offices, sharing best practice, anticipating regulatory change and ensuring we deliver a seamless experience for clients wherever they operate. But it's bigger than coordination. It's about shaping our long-term strategy, reading where the market is heading and making sure we're ahead of the curve rather than simply reacting to it.

Your work spans some of the UK's largest and most complex development projects. How important are adaptability and collaboration when managing multiple high-profile transactions simultaneously?

They're absolutely fundamental. The single biggest factor behind delivering complex projects successfully is the people you work with. One of the reasons I joined Osborne Clarke was the calibre of its development team. Every partner is a genuine specialist, and when you're juggling multiple major projects at once, which is the daily reality, you need complete trust in the people around you.

Development never stands still. New legislation lands, regulations shift, market conditions change and you have to move with them. We often joke that "every day is a school day," but it's genuinely true. What has impressed me most since joining OC is how naturally people share and collaborate. Our clients aren't relying on one individual - they're benefiting from the collective experience of an entire team, and I think they feel that difference.

Strong client relationships are equally important and by that I mean really understanding what keeps them up at night. When you know a client's business inside out, you can flag risks before they materialise and spot opportunities they might not have considered. That's become increasingly valuable because the market is moving so fast. Think about how much has changed in just the last few years: the push for affordable housing and urban regeneration, the explosion of data centres and digital infrastructure, the race to meet net zero targets, the growth of sectors like life sciences and logistics. Each of those trends creates entirely new types of projects, and our clients need advisers who can keep pace.

For lawyers working in development, standing still simply isn't an option. The projects are bigger, the regulations are more complex and client expectations are higher than ever. But that's also what makes it exciting. The most successful teams are those willing to evolve alongside the market - and ultimately, the work we do shapes the places where people actually live, work and spend their time. That's a privilege you never lose sight of.

As Osborne Clarke's Real Estate lead on building safety, you've been at the forefront of advising clients through the most significant regulatory reforms the UK property sector has seen in decades. How has the Building Safety Act changed the type of advice your clients need, and how has it reshaped your practice?

For me, this work is a perfect example of the breadth of our development practice - our expert team brings together real estate, construction and disputes specialists, all working collaboratively to advise our clients. The Building Safety Act hasn't simply introduced another layer of regulation; it has fundamentally changed how buildings are designed, constructed, managed and remediated. For developers, it represents a wholesale shift in both legal obligations and commercial risk.

One of the most interesting aspects of this work is that the legislation is still relatively new. Many of the legal issues we're dealing with haven't yet been tested before the courts, so there are very few precedents to rely on. We're often helping clients navigate completely new territory, developing practical solutions where no established market position yet exists. That makes the work both challenging and incredibly rewarding.

Technology has also become an important part of our work. Building safety projects involve huge volumes of information, so we've developed digital solutions that help our clients manage their documentation, monitor progress and keep complex and urgent projects moving efficiently. Ultimately, our role isn't simply to identify legal risks, it's to help clients navigate them in a practical, organised and commercially effective way.

Alongside your technical expertise, you're also Client Partner for several of Osborne Clarke's largest development clients. What do you believe distinguishes exceptional client service, particularly when managing long-term relationships built on trust?

For me, exceptional client service begins with genuinely caring about your client's business as much as they do. I never want to be the lawyer clients call only when something has gone wrong or a transaction needs completing. The strongest relationships are built when clients pick up the phone because they're thinking through an idea, weighing up options or looking for a trusted sounding board before a legal issue has even arisen.

Trust is also built through consistency. Clients expect their advisers to be organised, responsive and honest. Sometimes the advice they receive isn't what they hoped to hear, but being a trusted adviser means having the confidence to provide clear, objective guidance even when it's difficult.

I also believe those relationships shouldn't depend on one individual. One of my priorities has always been ensuring that clients know the wider team around me. Every member understands not only the legal issues but also the client's business, creating continuity and allowing clients to benefit from a much broader range of expertise.

Development is a uniquely tangible area of law. You see projects evolve over many years and watch communities grow from the developments you've helped deliver. I genuinely love what I do, and I know clients recognise that enthusiasm. Combined with a fantastic team around me, it's what allows us to build relationships that last far beyond individual transactions.

"The strongest client relationships begin long before there's a legal problem to solve. They start with understanding a client's business, their ambitions and the challenges they face every day."

You play a visible leadership role in promoting gender equity both within your firm and across the wider business community, having been the co-chair of Osborne Clarke’s Gender Network for 4 years. What concrete steps have you and OC UK taken to advance equity - across gender and other protected characteristics - particularly at senior levels within the firm, and how does that commitment to diversity and inclusion shape the way you and your teams deliver services to your clients?

Gender equality is something that's deeply personal to me. I was fortunate to grow up in a family where there was never any distinction between what my brother and my sister and I could achieve. I always believed the same opportunities should be open to everyone, but as my career progressed, I realised that wasn't always reflected in professional life.

Earlier in my career, while I was pregnant with my eldest daughter, I experienced sexual harassment at a previous firm. It was an incredibly difficult experience, made even harder by how poorly it was handled. During the process, I discovered the behaviour had been known about for years and reflected a much wider cultural issue within the organisation.

Speaking up was one of the hardest things I've ever done. The conversations taking place during the MeToo movement gave me the courage to come forward because I realised these experiences weren't unique to me. Although it undoubtedly affected my career for a period of time, it also fundamentally shaped the leader I have become. Today, it drives the way I mentor women, champion their achievements and create opportunities for them to progress, because I know how important that support can be.

That's one of the reasons I was so passionate about co-chairing Osborne Clarke UK's Gender Network. What mattered most to me was ensuring it delivered meaningful structural change rather than simply raising awareness. We wanted it to become a genuine bridge between our people and the Executive Board, helping shape policies and ensuring concerns translated into action.

I'm particularly proud that today our UK Executive Board has achieved a 50:50 gender balance. That didn't happen by chance. It's the result of a deliberate Gender Action Plan that looks at recruitment, retention, promotion and pay. We monitor our data, review our progress regularly and hold ourselves accountable because without that level of rigour, diversity risks remaining an aspiration rather than becoming reality.

Beyond just gender, we've also worked to widen access to the legal profession through initiatives such as our apprenticeship programme and the 10,000 Black Interns programme, creating opportunities for talented people from a broader range of backgrounds. Having taken nearly ten years myself to qualify as a solicitor because I largely self-funded my professional education, I know there isn't one single route into this profession.

Ultimately, diversity isn't simply about representation. Diverse teams make better decisions because they bring different experiences and perspectives, and clients increasingly expect the same values from the organisations they work with. When people feel respected, supported and able to be themselves, they perform at their best and that leads to better outcomes for everyone.

"Speaking up was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but it shaped the leader I've become. Today, I want to create the kind of support and environment that I wish I'd had earlier in my own career."

You also host Building Women, a podcast celebrating senior women across the construction and built environment sector. What inspired you to launch it, and what has been the most rewarding part of the journey so far?

Building Women began quite unexpectedly. My father sent me an episode of the BBC programme Desert Island Discs featuring Amanda Blanc, CEO of Aviva, speaking about her upbringing in Wales. Listening to her story made me think about the remarkable women I knew, clients, colleagues and friends, whose equally inspiring journeys were rarely being told.

At the same time, I was very aware of the shortage of women across the construction and development sector: There are so many talented women doing extraordinary work, yet they're often invisible. I've always believed in the phrase, "If you can't see it, you can't be it."

“Representation matters because when people see someone with a similar background succeed, they believe those opportunities are possible for them too.”

That became the foundation for Building Women. I wanted to create a platform where senior women and the allies supporting them could speak honestly about their careers, the barriers they'd faced and the advice they'd give to the next generation. What makes the conversations special is that they're authentic. They're not polished corporate success stories; they're real reflections on careers that have often been far from straightforward.

Having two daughters has also shaped my perspective. I want them to grow up believing there are no such things as "boys' jobs" or "girls' jobs." Construction is far more diverse than many people realise, offering careers in law, engineering, planning, finance, technology and sustainability. The more visible those opportunities become, the more likely we are to attract diverse talent into the industry.

One of my proudest moments was hosting our first Building Women Celebration Dinner, bringing together all of our podcast guests from the previous year. Seeing so many accomplished women in one room, openly sharing their experiences and discussing what still needs to change, reinforced that the podcast had become much more than a series of interviews, it had become a genuine community.

The greatest reward, however, has been hearing from women who have listened to an episode and felt encouraged to apply for a promotion, speak up in a meeting or pursue a career they hadn't previously considered. Those messages remind me why the podcast exists. It's never been about personal recognition; it's about shining a light on remarkable women, building connections across the industry and helping make the path a little easier for those who come next.