I knew from the first day that I met Maria that she was a real ‘one-off’ and she remains one of the most impressive individuals that I have had the pleasure to work with. If there is a text book on how to succeed as a young lawyer (or indeed in any profession) then a chapter should be devoted to Maria. Maria was fantastic at what she did. She was intelligent, commercial, incredibly hard working, passionate, utterly committed to her clients and deeply charismatic. Maria lit up a room and always left a big impression. I found her energy to be astonishing and despite always being on the go and managing a very busy work load, Maria was always very social and good fun to be with. No surprise at all then that Maria was such a big success professionally and so popular with her many clients and colleagues. My deepest condolences and best wishes go to Maria’s family and all who knew her. Alex