[8][9] In 1984 she qualified as a solicitor[3] and subsequently worked on legal issues for local government in London.

She set up her own law firm, Townsend Vaz Solicitors,[3] and has sat as a Deputy District Judge in the County Court on the Midland and Oxford Circuit.

[10] In 2001, she joined the Government Legal Service, and worked at the Treasury Solicitors Department and the Ministry of Justice.

[17] In October 2018, it was revealed that two former members of Vaz's parliamentary staff had alleged that they were bullied by her, but the complaints were not followed up by the party.

[18] On 8 October 2019, Vaz was appointed as a member of the Privy Council, giving her the style of The Right Honourable for life.

On 24 May 2021, Vaz was criticised after she suggested that the condition of Boris Johnson was exaggerated when he was in intensive care with COVID-19.

[3] Her younger brother Keith Vaz was the Labour MP for Leicester East from 1987 to 2019, while her sister Penny is a lawyer.