“It is perfectly acceptable not to have everything figured out at the beginning.” – Lamiaa Azim
Lamiaa Azim is a Moroccan legal professional and doctoral researcher whose journey reflects a constant desire to learn, explore, and turn legal knowledge into meaningful impact. With a background in Law and a strong interest in the evolving relationship between law and society, she is currently pursuing a PhD in Private Law.
Her journey has been shaped by a diverse range of experiences, from legal practice to academic research and associative engagement. She currently works as a Legal Counsel at Attijariwafa bank, where she is involved in a variety of legal matters, including legal consultations, regulatory issues, litigation, contractual matters, and legal risk assessment. This experience has given her the opportunity to discover law from a highly practical perspective, where legal reasoning must ultimately translate into clear, relevant, and actionable solutions.
At the same time, Lamiaa has chosen to pursue an academic path alongside her professional career. Her research in health law reflects her particular interest in areas where law meets real human experiences.
1. What ignited Lamiaa’s passion for the legal profession, and what continues to make the practice of law a deeply fulfilling pursuit for her?
Law first attracted Lamiaa because it sits at the intersection of principle and reality. From the beginning, she was fascinated by the fact that behind every legal rule, there is a human situation, a conflict, a decision, or sometimes simply someone trying to understand and protect their rights.
One of the experiences that made this particularly tangible for her was her involvement with the Casablanca Legal Clinic at her university in Morocco, where she had the opportunity to contribute as a volunteer legal counsel. That experience stayed and strengthened her conviction that law should not be perceived solely as a technical discipline, but also as an instrument of access to justice and protection.
As her career developed, her perspective on law continued to evolve. Her background in business law and her current experience as a Legal Counsel in the banking sector have given her a very practical understanding of the profession. Her doctoral research in health law has added yet another dimension. Her work on the legal protection of patients in Morocco’s private healthcare sector has brought her back to one of the questions that first drew her to law: what happens when legal rights meet real human lives?
For Lamiaa, this connection between knowledge and impact is what makes the profession so fulfilling. Law gives her the possibility to move between different worlds, from banking and business to academic research and social engagement, while remaining guided by the same belief: that legal expertise should ultimately serve a purpose beyond itself.
2. In Lamiaa’s opinion, what qualities define a truly exceptional lawyer in today’s world?
Legal knowledge is the foundation, but it is only one part of what makes a truly exceptional lawyer.
For Lamiaa, one of the most important qualities is the ability to remain deeply human in a profession that can sometimes become highly technical. A lawyer may spend hours analysing legislation, contracts, or cases, but behind every legal question, there is usually a person, a business, a family, or a decision that matters. Never losing sight of that reality is, in her view, essential. Empathy therefore has a very important place in her understanding of the profession. Her experience as a volunteer legal counsel at the Casablanca Legal Clinic particularly taught her the importance of listening.
Lamiaa also believes that an exceptional lawyer must possess intellectual curiosity because the world in which law operates is changing rapidly, with artificial intelligence, digitalisation, new business models, evolving regulations, and increasingly complex social and ethical questions.
Additionally, she believes that an exceptional lawyer must have the ability to connect different perspectives. A good lawyer understands the law; a great lawyer understands the person, the institution, the economic context, and the wider social consequences surrounding it.
Finally, the best lawyers are therefore not necessarily those who speak the most or know the most provisions by heart. They are those who can think rigorously, listen genuinely, communicate clearly, act ethically, and remain human because at the end of the day, the law may be written in rules and principles, but it is lived by people.
3. What is the next groundbreaking project or initiative that Lamiaa is or would be working on and what impact is she hoping it would make?
One of the projects that currently occupies a significant place in Lamiaa’s journey is her doctoral research on the legal protection of patients in Morocco’s healthcare sector.
What makes this research particularly important to her is the question of effectiveness. Modern legal systems may recognise numerous rights, but the existence of a right in a legal text does not automatically guarantee its effective protection. Her research therefore seeks to examine what happens between the legal principle and its practical implementation.
Beyond her doctoral research, Lamiaa would like to contribute to initiatives that bring academic research closer to professional practice. She believes that research should not remain confined to university libraries or academic discussions. It should be able to reach practitioners, institutions, policymakers, and ultimately the people whose lives are affected by the law.
4. Which legal minds and books have shaped or are shaping Lamiaa’s thoughts and perspectives?
Lamiaa’s intellectual development has never been shaped by a single school of thought. It has been built gradually through academic mentors, professional experience, and the constant habit of questioning what she reads.
Her interest in health law has also led her toward legal and philosophical reflections on autonomy, dignity, ethics, and the relationship between medicine and law. These perspectives have reinforced one of her strongest convictions: that many of the most important legal questions cannot be answered by looking at legislation alone.
Her academic mentors have had an equally significant influence. They have taught her that research is not simply about finding answers. It is about learning to formulate the right question, challenging assumptions, accepting complexity, and gradually developing an independent intellectual position.
For Lamiaa, the most valuable books are ultimately those that leave her with more questions than she had before opening them.
5. What advice or guiding principles would Lamiaa offer young legal professionals and advocates trying to find their place and purpose in the legal terrain?
The legal profession can sometimes create the impression that everyone has already figured out where they are going. Lamiaa believes the opposite. It is perfectly acceptable not to have everything figured out at the beginning.
Her own journey has developed across several dimensions of law, business law, banking, academic research, and health law. What may appear to be different paths are, in her experience, often connected by the same desire to understand how law works and how it can respond to real-world challenges.
Her first advice to young professionals is therefore to remain curious and to give themselves permission to explore. The first job, the first internship, or even the first area of specialisation does not have to define an entire career.
She also encourages young lawyers to build substance before seeking recognition. Visibility can come quickly, especially in a highly connected professional world, but credibility takes time. It is built quietly through reading, writing, reliability, and the quality of one’s work.
Another principle she considers essential is to never stop learning. A legal career is not something one completes; it is something one continuously develops. Laws change, industries evolve, and entirely new legal questions emerge. The lawyer who remains intellectually curious will always have room to grow.
Finally, she would encourage young professionals to find a purpose beyond titles. Success should not be measured only by the position one eventually holds, but by the quality of the work one does and the people or institutions one is able to positively influence.
Her own guiding principle is simple: do not try to build a career that merely looks successful; build one that feels meaningful.
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