A close colleague and a wonderful friend for almost 30 years, powerful and talented in her professional life where she rose to the very top, Maria was also one of the kindest people you could ever meet, and enormously loyal to her friends. Life was never dull when Maria was around. I have so many memories, so many stories, often from the many trips abroad that we took together on behalf of the firm. Some of them are repeatable. I’ll never forget her first partners’ meeting. In those days junior partners like us were there to be seen, but not heard too much. Not so Maria. The meeting began to discuss HR. “So what is our maternity policy for partners?” asks Maria. Well, we didn’t have one. We’d never needed one. It had never occurred to us. We all started looking at the ceiling, fiddling with our pens. “This is what it should be”, said Maria. And so it came to pass. By the time we left the room we had a fully developed maternity policy for partners, exactly on the terms decided by the most junior among us. Maria always made her mark, she was an amazing person and she leaves a gap in our lives that can never be filled. I count myself privileged to have known her so well. She is much loved, and my deepest sympathy and condolences to Takis, the three boys and to her family.