What does it take to survive, and thrive, in the unpredictable world of criminal defence?
In this episode of Life in Law, host Charles Peter sits down with Nama Zarroug, criminal defence solicitor and founder of Astraea Linskills.
Nama’s career in crime began after an internship in New Orleans working on death penalty appeals, an experience that completely changed the direction of her career and convinced her that criminal defence was where she could make the greatest difference.
She discusses:
→ Winning a criminal trial on her very first day as a qualified solicitor
→ How working on death penalty appeals led her into criminal defence
→ The chaos and unpredictability of day-to-day criminal practice
→ Why legal aid makes training and retaining criminal lawyers increasingly difficult
→ Managing difficult clients, ethical pressures and high-stakes cases
→ Burnout, resilience and developing the emotional “armour” needed for serious criminal work
→ Why criminal lawyers can become an important constant in vulnerable clients’ lives
→ Starting her own firm while on maternity leave
→ Acquiring and modernising the long-established Linskills practice
→ Taking Astraea Linskills into Dubai and developing an international client base
Nama also reflects on the reality of criminal defence away from television dramas: constantly changing hearings, police stations, prison calls, last-minute cases and the expectation that lawyers remain calm even when everything around them is going wrong.
The conversation moves beyond criminal practice into entrepreneurship. In 2016, while on maternity leave, Nama made the decision to start her own business, initially as a legal consultancy before developing it into a regulated law firm. She later acquired the established Liverpool criminal practice Linskills and brought together its longstanding reputation with a modern, digital way of working.
More recently, that willingness to adapt has taken the business internationally, with Astraea Linskills developing a presence in Dubai and supporting British expatriates across the UAE and wider Middle East with English and Welsh legal matters.
This is a fascinating conversation about criminal defence, resilience, entrepreneurship, calculated risk and building a legal career that refuses to stand still.
Death Row Appeals, Criminal Defence and Building a Global Law Firm | Nama Zarro
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