IoD Wales Member Spotlight – Monthly Feature

Member Name: Victoria Hall

Job Title: Co-Founder

Company Name: Impact Lawyers Ltd

1. Tell us a bit about yourself — what do you do, and what’s your journey been like as a business leader?

I sometimes describe myself as an accidental lawyer. I joined the Royal Air Force after university because I wanted leadership, teamwork and purpose and I loved it. I led teams of more than 250 people in the UK and overseas. When I left, I trained as a solicitor almost as a practical next step, choosing employment law because it felt like the area of law closest to people and leadership.

Over time, I realised that the traditional legal model did not always fit the way I wanted to work. I missed collaboration, shared purpose and being valued for more than individual billings. Burnout in 2015 became a turning point. Rather than leave law, I decided to find a different way to practice it. I became a self-employed legal consultant, qualified in HR, expanded my work in training, coaching and leadership and wrote a short book!

That journey eventually led me to Kevin Withane and to co-founding Impact Lawyers. We shared a belief that growing businesses need legal and business support that is practical, joined-up and human. Today, I combine employment law, HR, workplace investigations, coaching and leadership work, while helping build a multidisciplinary business around values that are important to me. We have also acquired a separate business and have a developed a buy and build strategy which is being implemented as we speak. I could not have imagined this 2 years ago!

For me, leadership is still about the same things I valued in the RAF: people, trust, clarity, shared purpose, positive energy and creating an environment where everyone can do their best work.

2. What achievement or milestone are you most proud of in your career so far?

The milestone I am most proud of is building Impact from an idea into a real business with a growing team very quickly, whilst not doing too bad a job of looking after my family and myself along the way.

Winning IoD Wales Startup Director of the Year in 2026 was a very special moment because it recognised not just me, but what Kevin and I have been trying to create.

Impact started with two people who believed legal and business services could be delivered differently: more collaboratively, more commercially and with far greater attention to the human factors behind business decisions. The last year has involved more moving parts than any other period of my career: building the business, staying current as an employment lawyer, supporting clients, speaking, coaching, supporting my three girls through GCSEs alongside primary school commitments, keeping fit and constantly adapting to what is needed of me. And to top it all off getting a puppy just to fill up some of that spare time!

I am probably most proud of the fact that throughout this journey I have been able to maintain my own personal values and enjoy my work again. We are building a business that aims to be good for clients and good for the consultants who work with us. That matters to me more than growth for growth’s sake.

3. What advice would you give to other directors striving for excellence in leadership?

The most important skill to have is self-awareness.  None of us are perfect and none of us have all the answers.  The best leaders I have worked with are self-aware enough to know what they are good at, honest enough to recognise what they are not and confident enough to bring the right people around them.

I would also say know your red lines. Ambitious people are often very good at pushing through, taking on more and convincing themselves they can keep going. I know because I have done exactly that. Sustainable performance is not about avoiding pressure; it is about recognising when pressure is beginning to damage judgment, relationships, health or the quality of your decisions and doing something before the cost becomes too high. This is not failure, this is high performance.

Stay grounded in purpose. In business and life, there will always be another opportunity, another idea and another direction you could chase. Excellence sometimes means saying no, staying focused and remembering why you started.

Being an excellent leader is not my decision to judge, that is for those around me to decide. But I certainly think being the best person you can be helps.

Value people first above all else. Take the time to catch up with people. Take the time to care. Take the time to give your time and effort to others. Help others whenever you can.

4. How has your involvement with the IoD supported your professional journey?

The IoD has given me access to a community of directors who are willing to share experience, challenge thinking and make introductions. That has been particularly valuable as I have moved from being primarily a professional adviser into being a founder and business leader in my own right.

Winning the IoD Wales Startup Director of the Year award was an enormous honour, but the wider value has been the relationships. Through IoD Wales I have met people from very different sectors who are dealing with many of the same leadership questions: growth, people, governance, risk, resilience and how to make good decisions when there is no perfect answer.

I also really value the strength of the Welsh business community. There is a willingness here to connect, collaborate and support each other and the IoD is an important part of that ecosystem. For a business like Impact, which is built around collaboration and trusted relationships, that has been a natural fit.

I am new to IOD Wales but it does not feel like that from the support that I have had.