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Editor
Salome Coker
Editorial Board
Joel Leigh (Howard Kennedy LLP), Chair
Sophia Watson (Eversheds Sutherland LLP)
Colin Passmore (CLLS)
Patrick McCann (CLLS)
Philip Mole (Michelmores LLP)
Naureen Shariff (Blackfords LLP)
Elizabeth Thomas (CLLS)
Laura Uberoi (Addleshaw Goddard LLP)
Journalist
Maroulla Paul
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The City of London Solicitors’ Company
8 THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
TEMPORARILY CLOSED FOR BUSINESS.
A vital public service, the criminal justice system is on the brink of total collapse. We look into the crises of backlogs and delays, of appalling prison conditions and examine some of the proposals to remedy all this to see whether they are true fixes or merely sticking plasters.
16 THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO REACH THE ROOF. YOU CAN REACH IT BY STONE STAIRS OR BY WOODEN STAIRS OR BY BAMBOO STEPS OR BY A ROPE. YOU CAN ALSO CLIMB UP BY A BAMBOO POLE.
Entrance into law was once a closed door except for the privileged few. But times have changed. We talk to people who have accessed our profession in a myriad of different ways and from many backgrounds.
19 FROM MAGIC CIRCLE TO INCLUSIVE CIRCLE; TIME TO UPGRADE THE PROFESSION?
The legal profession was once described as pale, male and stale. In a world where equality, diversity and inclusion are buzz words, we examine whether we have moved on and what remains to be done.
22 THE PERFECT BLEND OF TRADITION AND THE FUTURE
We look at the journey that has brought Dame Susan Langley to her current role of Lady Mayor where she is expertly combining old and new to bring an added dimension to the office.
28 MBE FOR MODERN LAW: WHY JOANNA HUGHES’ APPRENTICESHIP WORK MATTERS NOW
Joanna Hughes, always one step ahead, has been working to make apprenticeship schemes a viable way into the legal profession long before this whole subject became the hot topic of the day. The New Years Honours List recognised her work and achievements by awarding her an MBE.
34 LESS FORMAL. LESS CLOSED. MORE INVITING
We attend the ceremony admitting new Freemen and Liverymen followed by the Court and Livery dinner, a less formal affair than most Livery functions - one that is filled with warmth, great conversations, some wonderful wine and a thoroughly inclusive and convivial atmosphere.
40 A HANDSHAKE. A FIG MARTINI. AND THE REST IS HISTORY
We visit the Number One ranked cocktail bar in the world in Mexico City to taste the odd martini or two and see whether the reality actually lives up to the hype and accolades.
35 WHY MINGLING MATTERS
We look at the first CoMingle Solicitors’ Social and find out why it is so much more than just social.
25 REPRESENTING OUR MEMBERSHIP - A NEVER-ENDING STORY?
Colin Passmore, Chair of the City of London Law Society, talks about recent Government proposals regarding NIC and limited partnerships and shows how the Society is constantly working to be at the forefront of representing its members and their needs.
26 MEETING THE MOMENT FOR CITY LAW
30 LIGHT TOUCH. HEAVY IMPACT
The City of London’s Solicitors Company launches a bespoke mentorship scheme for lawyers of all ages and at every stage of their career. We look at how this bespoke programme reflects the work of a modern Livery Company that understands the needs of its members and how to cater for them.
35 LET’S TALK ABOUT EVENTS
Steward, Lee McLernon, tells us what is coming up in the City of London Solicitor’s Company diary - and what he is particularly looking forward to attending.
43 FOR THE ROADAND THE CELLAR
Pour yourself a glass of wine and dip into these books that will make every sip more delicious. We travel through Beaujolais, the Rhone and Switzerland and learn a thing or two about sustainable wines too.
33 THE HISTORIC CLSC 2025 LIVERY DINNER
45 FOR PETROLHEADS
37 AN ADDICTION FOR MINUTIAE
A pop up restaurant in a suburban house is not where you would expect to find some of London’s finest food but a visit one cold winter’s night totally turned those expectations on their head. We let you into one
Cyber woes at Jaguar Land Rover
46 THE LAST WORD Did you know....?
Chief Executive of the City of London Law Society, Patrick McCann, reflects on his first 100 days in the role and why the time for change is right now.
This unique joint “Amity” dinner held in the magnificent Hall of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple.
Is our legal system closed for business, or simply running on delay?
Across England and Wales, twenty per cent of Crown Court rooms sit empty. In the summer months, that figure rises to thirty-five per cent. Not because there are no cases. Not because justice has paused. But because we lack judges, defence lawyers, prosecutors and probation officers. A system without people cannot function, however solid its buildings.
The recent Leveson proposals seek to address these backlogs and improve the experience of victims and witnesses, many of whom endure years of uncertainty before cases conclude. But some proposals raise deeper questions. The suggested removal of juries from certain categories of criminal cases may appear administrative, even efficient. Yet juries are more than procedural devices. They are a central expression of public participation in justice, a safeguard against state power exercised behind closed doors. They are, in many respects, the conscience of the community. To narrow their role, even for so-called minor offences, subtly alters the character of the system itself. For many, the right to be judged by one’s peers is an integral part of justice.
Beyond the courtroom, the picture inside prisons in England and Wales remains equally troubling. Chronic overcrowding has become normalised. Pressure is constant. Capacity is stretched.
And yet, in contrast to these closed spaces, the legal profession itself has never been more open.
WELCOME TO THE SPRING EDITION OF CITY SOLICITOR MAGAZINE: THE CLOSED EDITION.
Solicitors in particular are broadening how they recruit, train and support new entrants. Apprenticeships and the SQE have widened pathways into qualification. In this edition, we speak to four individuals who arrived in the profession through different journeys: a legal assistant taking the SQE route, an apprentice solicitor, a CILEX lawyer, and another who found their way by circumstance as much as design. Their stories reflect a profession evolving in real time.
Many organisations are working to ensure that talent, not background, determines opportunity. The CLLS has established a scholarship in memory of Stephen Denyer, supporting four future social welfare solicitors at the North East Law Centre with SQE1 and SQE2 fees. In addition, the Social Welfare Solicitors Qualification Fund will finance one candidate each year for the next four years.
The Law Society continues its work on equality, diversity and inclusion through initiatives such as the Diversity Access Scheme, Project Rise created by the Disabled Solicitors Network, and the Women in Law Pledge. This work continues despite the recent backlash against EDI seen elsewhere. Broadening access does not dilute excellence. It strengthens it.
We also speak to Dame Susan Langley, Lady Mayor of London and the first formally to adopt the title “Lady Mayor of London.” It is a symbolic shift that reflects her broader aim to modernise the role while preserving its traditions. Her focus is clear: to reshape how people perceive the City and to celebrate the legal sector as one of its greatest strengths. That vision aligns closely with the work of the CLLS.
Our new CEO, Patrick McCann, has set out a strategy centred on relationships, reputation, resonance and responsibility. One thing I know about Patrick is that he delivers on what he says. I am excited to see what is in store for the growth of the CLLS. In other exciting news, Joanna Hughes was recently awarded an MBE for her work on apprenticeships. Her career has been defined by determination and a steady
commitment to opening doors. She does not do it for praise, but I am glad she has received the recognition nonetheless.
Within the Company, we reflect on the Company Court and Livery Dinner, and the inaugural Co-Mingle Solicitors’ Social, a new informal event for members and nonmembers alike. The next social takes place on 6 May at Furniture Makers’ Hall. We look forward to another year of great events.
And because even a closed issue needs moments of openness, we turn to food and drink. Maroulla visits Otaku, think Michelinlevel food in a Finchley home, an intimate eighteen-course BYOW tasting menu for just ten guests. In SIP, we travel to Mexico City to savour cocktails at Handshake, a reminder that there is more to sip than wine.
So, is the system closed? Not entirely. But parts of it are under strain. Courtrooms without judges. Prisons beyond capacity. Reforms that test long-held principles. At the same time, new doors are opening into the profession. New routes, new voices, new energy.
Perhaps the better question is not whether we are closed, but what we choose to keep open and how we foster openness within our profession. ■
Salome Coker Editor mail@citysolicitors.org.uk
The Criminal Justice System. Temporarily Closed.
The criminal justice system has a habit of fading into the background when it’s working reasonably well. Most of us assume it will be there when needed—steady, fair, and broadly competent—and then get on with our lives. But when it begins to creak, the noise is hard to ignore. Right now, that creaking has turned into something much louder. Across courts, prisons, and legal services, there is a growing sense that the system is not merely under pressure, but in genuine crisis. Almost closing down for business.
This article explores what is happening to the criminal justice system, why it has reached this point, and what is at stake if the current trajectory continues. The crisis is not just about numbers on a spreadsheet or targets missed in a reporting cycle. It is about the erosion of fundamental principles— timely justice, fair process, humane treatment—that underpin public trust. If those principles are allowed to weaken further, rebuilding them will be far harder than addressing the problems now, while there is still time to choose a different path.
One of the most visible symptoms is delay— extraordinary, grinding delay. People accused of crimes are waiting longer than ever for their cases to reach trial. Currently, there is a backlog of nearly 80,000 cases awaiting crown court trials - meaning up to four years in legal limbo before a jury is sworn or a verdict reached. Predictions are estimating 100,000 by 2028. This is bad for victims, witnesses and defendants, Lives are being destroyed as a result. For those held on remand, this can mean months or years in prison without a finding of guilt - or innocence. For those on bail, it often means lives lived in suspension: jobs lost, relationships strained, travel restricted, and a constant uncertainty that seeps into every decision. Justice delayed, as the saying goes, is justice denied—but delay has quietly become the system’s default setting. COVID is often blamed as one of the reasons for the backlogs but Naureen Shariff, a partner at Blackfords LLP, feels that actually the opposite is true.
“There was a huge backlog way before the pandemic. COVID may have compounded it and brought it to the forefront but it did not cause the problem. In fact, during COVID, things were working really well. The onset of Teams / Zoom, online Court hearings and Prison video links meant everything actually ran more smoothly. Now we are going backwards. Lawyers and defendants are being required to attend in person for short hearings irrespective of where they have to come in from. This is inefficient and time wasting - and adding to delays. The inefficiency of the court system itself is compounding the problem.
There are so many strands as to why the backlog is so huge.
Cases are taking longer than they used to. Because of the volume of evidence available today as a result of technology, trials that may have taken three weeks in the past may last for a couple of months now.
Cutbacks have meant there are less judges to hear cases. Even when we do have available judges, we may not have the space to house them. The whole physical infrastructure of the courts is a mess - the buildings are literally falling apart. None of the Governments, irrespective of which side they are on, want to invest in infrastructure. Blackfriars Crown Court was a dedicated, purpose built building that was perfect. It was sold off. There is no logic to what is happening. It’s not just the courts. Police stations are being shut down too. In 2013 there were around 140 front counter police stations in London and now there are 37 to be cut to 19. The whole system needs an overhaul. We need to take a step back and look at the problem as a whole, not as separate, isolated parts.”
Backlogs are not the result of a single failure. Courtrooms sit unused because there are not enough judges, not enough prosecutors, not enough defence lawyers, and sometimes not even enough court staff to keep the machinery turning. Cases collapse or are adjourned repeatedly because disclosure is late, legal aid funding is stretched thin, and overworked professionals are juggling impossible caseloads. Each delay compounds the next, creating a vicious circle that punishes everyone involved—victims, witnesses, and defendants alike.
Stephen Davies works with EDS Law in Stratford, East London. Stephen sees criminal law as his drug of choice; he has been obsessed with it since he was a teenager. With a law degree followed by two Masters, he moved to London in 2018 and since then has been practising. Stephen considers himself fortunate to have been able to work on the most serious cases like murder and sexual offences. His knowledge and experience is of the highest calibre. He says that something he
did not plan but has somehow found himself in, is to be in the policy arena which happened when he saw first hand the criminal justice system and the legal aid system falling apart. He got a job as a special advisor for the then shadow Legal Aid minister and has been involved in meetings with David Gauke and Sarah Sackman looking at factors leading to the crises we currently find ourselves in. Definitely a man at the coalface in every sense. We spoke with him about delays - and their consequences.
“I am first and foremost a criminal defence lawyer. But because I get so frustrated with everything I see, I try to get politicians to fix it. How did it all go so wrong? In a nutshell, someone in the Treasury decided to cut funding and nobody listened to the concerns around the potential consequences. I see the criminal justice system as a living organism and it has to move as one - you can’t carve it up with some parts going very fast and others very slow and expect it to function properly.
“Backlogs are not the result of a single failure. Courtrooms sit unused because there are not enough judges, not enough prosecutors, not enough defence lawyers, and sometimes not even enough court staff to keep the machinery turning.”
Governments - of either colour - are trying to save money while expecting the conveyor belt to still function - but it’s not. We need to split the criminal process into two parts; pre and post charge.
Pre is the investigation up to the point the police or CPS say we are charging you. What we have seen is a shockingly prolonged period in this pre-charge arena. In 2017, via the Policing and Crime Act 2017, RUI (Released Under Investigation) effectively created - according to Dame Sarah Thornton who was the then Chair of the NPCC - a ‘new category of persons’. This has meant a legal limbo whereby people are being released from the police station with no bail conditions and that period of time can go on for years and years and life is simply put on hold. As a result, people lose their jobs, their
“Society is always going to be stuck with a level of crime resulting in throughput to the Crown Court; we measure the throughput by looking at the receipts and disposals, with particular consideration given as to how long it takes for a case to complete from start to finish.”
families, even their lives - I have experienced people killing themselves as a result of the agony they have undergone just waiting.
Post charge is when someone is charged and appears in a magistrates court and then 28 days later are in the Crown Court. But, because of the backlogs, those pleading not guilty can wait four or five years for their case to be heard so crown court hearings that took place in 2025 may be waiting till 2030 for their trial.
In those five years a life can be completely destroyed to the point where being found innocent doesn’t really help resolve the damage that has been caused.
In 2022 another act changed RUI to make bail a starting point. So what happens now is people are bailed for three months as a default - then it's extended for another three months. If it needs to be extended beyond 12 months, then it needs to go before magistrates. Now we are seeing so many of these cases appearing in magistrates courts. What is causing the delays? There is a huge backlog in forensics. A backlog getting into phones etc. But the major jam is the backlog trying to get into the crown court - and then, because of different factors, cases can be adjourned for many years, meaning that, even once in, there can be extensive periods of waiting.
Society is always going to be stuck with a level of crime resulting in throughput to the Crown Court; we measure the throughput by looking at the receipts and disposals, with particular consideration given as to how long it takes for a case to complete from start to finish. At present we have gridlock, resulting in delay and a backlog. If you think of the cases that go into a crown court as the receipts and cases that are complete as the disposals then these need to be calibrated and not tilted one way but, currently, there are too many receipts and not enough disposals. We are not using the crown court estate properly. We underuse the rooms available. 20% are left empty. In summer months this goes up to 35%. This is because of a lack of judges, defence lawyers, prosecutors, probation. A lack of resources. Governments allocate 113,000 sitting days a year - as in the money to pay for judges to sit. However, what bothers me is that part time judges - recorders - are not being paid for. In October, 2024 the Senior Presiding Judge put out a
message saying difficult decisions would have to be made. This was because the funding for these recorders was stopped. Imagine you are running a court with 3000 outstanding cases. You know some will plead guilty and some will have trials. When allocating judges to cases, priority and focus are given to those in custody. For those on bail, their trials have been kicked right down the road for years and years. If that funding for recorders had not been removed, we would have more capacity to hear these cases.”
In response to the pressures of backlogs, policymakers have increasingly turned to efficiency-driven reforms. The recent Leveson proposals aim to reduce backlogs and improve the experience of victims and witnesses, who often endure long waits before cases are resolved. One proposal is to encourage early guilty pleas by offering more predictable sentence reductions when defendants admit guilt at the earliest stage. This, Leveson argued, would significantly save court time.
While some of the proposals policy makers suggest are sensible and even overdue, others raise deeper concerns about what is being lost in the rush to move cases along. One of the most controversial developments has been the removal of juries from certain categories of criminal cases, particularly those involving offences that carry minimal or short custodial sentences. The argument is seemingly straightforward: jury trials take time, they are resource-intensive, and they contribute significantly to the backlog. Magistrates’ courts or judge-only trials, the reasoning goes, can deliver quicker outcomes. Although having listened to Stephen’s points, how valid is this argument? Surely judges and magistrates are more scarce than the general public? Add to that the fact that jury trials only make up a tiny percentage of overall trials - so what merit is there in abolishing a small percentage of that small percentage? Will it really make any significant difference to the backlog?
Juries are more than a procedural inconvenience. They are a central expression of public participation in justice, a safeguard against state power exercised behind closed doors. Removing them, even for ‘minor’ offences, subtly but significantly alters the character of the system. It raises uncomfortable questions about where
“Strip away juries and you strip away transparency, accountability, and the sense that justice belongs to the people. It’s not reform—it’s regression.”
the line is drawn, and how easily that line might shift again when the next crisis comes along. What begins as a pragmatic measure risks becoming a permanent narrowing of the right to be tried by one’s peers.
Naureen Shariff believes that is one of the most powerful things that juries have to offer, that they offer an element of neutrality, that they are people who are living normal, everyday lives and there are 12 of them - all of which ensures that the accused is really seen and heard.
Mark Stephens CBE had this to say;
“The argument for abolition is dressed up in the language of efficiency and cost-saving.
But justice is not a fast-food service. If speed were the only metric, we could build houses without foundations—they’d certainly go up fast, but they’d collapse just as quickly. Jury trials are the foundations of justice—slow to lay, but essential for stability. And Juries are the lifeblood of legitimacy.
Justice must not only be done—it must be done by the people. Without juries, the beating heart of justice falls silent.
Time and again, juries have stood where judges could not:
Between the citizen and the state,
Between law and justice.
Juries are the conscience of the community, not the echo chamber of authority.”
Mark echoes what many think. Whilst there may be practical reasons for abolition, it is merely a sticking plaster, not solving a problem - and actually causing bigger issues in the process.
Mark continues;
“Strip away juries and you strip away transparency, accountability, and the sense that justice belongs to the people. It’s not reform—it’s regression.
And once you start removing juries ‘in some cases’, history tells us it rarely stops there.
Time and again, juries have done what judges alone could not—they’ve been the conscience of the community, the democratic heartbeat of justice.”
Juries bring the wisdom of the street into the courtroom—they know the difference between a crime and a mistake.”
Louise Hodges is a partner at Kingsley Napley LLP and is Chair of the City of London Law Society Corporate Crime and Corruption Committee who have drafted a paper following the Leveson recommendations regarding jury trials in relation to serious and complex fraud.
In summary, the City of London Law Society (CLLS) strongly opposes the Government proposals to curtail jury trials, arguing they're a constitutional safeguard, vital for public confidence, and that the proposed changes won't fix the Crown Court backlog, potentially removing the one area in the criminal justice system where minority defendants do
not face disproportionality and creating new delays. They assert juries can handle complex fraud cases and warn that judge-only trials risk judicial vulnerability and erode justice, advocating for investment in the system and better trial management instead of cutting fundamental rights. The UK justice system has traditionally been a “jewel in the crown” of the UK’s reputation for economic stability and, one could argue, its identity on the international stage. The criminal justice system is the shop window, through which the wider system is perceived. At a time when the legal sector is at the heart of the Government's investment and growth strategy with a stated ambition “to ensure by 2035, the UK will be the world’s most trusted adviser to global industry”, removing access to one of the fundamental safeguards in the system without evidence that it will bring the benefits of speeding up the process, is counter-intuitive at best and potentially reckless.
The CLLS believes that trial by jury is a fundamental check on state power and protects citizens, rooted in Magna Carta but is most concerned that the Government has not provided any evidence that removing juries will reduce backlogs; rather, there is concern that the need to produce written reasoned judgments in judge-only trials add a different layer of complexity and delay. They argue juries are capable of understanding serious fraud and complex matters, countering the review's assumptions. They believe that reducing juries risks worsening outcomes for minority ethnic defendants and reduces socioeconomic diversity and that replacing juries erodes public trust and increases the risks that judges
become targets as they are directly linked to verdicts as well as sentencing. They say that the backlogs stem from court underfunding, closures, and lack of capacity, not juries and therefore the focus should be on investment, and case management solutions, not constitutional change.
Louise says that one of her biggest concerns is that there seems to be no evidence that removing trials by jury will sort out any of the problems that desperately need resolving.
“Delays relate to so many factors, the majority of which occur before cases get to court. There are multiple pinch points. The shortage of judges, of sitting days, of available representation on both sides. The pressures created by the explosion of data that needs to be reviewed. The chronic underfunding throughout the system. The one thing that is not a problem is the jury. The jury is made up of members of the public so it is a limitless resource with relatively few costs attached to it in comparison to other resources. It is the wrong fix.”
Louise says that Sir Brian Leveson talks of the complexity there now is in relation to criminal cases and his report makes reference to trials which have lasted over a year - but she says that these examples are decades old cases and there have been many improvements in trial management since then, for example is an intention that cases are managed so that a fraud case lasts no longer than three months.
to a decision-maker before getting to trial. By then many hours have been spent, which could have been avoided with earlier engagement . All of these things would be far more beneficial in terms of reducing delays and saving resources than simply removing juries.”
Louise believes such a radical change as removing juries should absolutely not be made without a proper evidence-based purpose behind it.
“At the moment, we are being persuaded to make a seismic shift in how we conduct criminal justice without any evidence that it's going to solve any problem.”
“Quite often the prosecution are over ambitious in terms of what they think they can fit into three months, but there have been many improvements and there are still practical ways that cases can be managed - whether it's the scope of the prosecution case, the charges brought, the number of defendants or the scope of evidence that is being presented - trials can be managed in a way that limits the time they take and therefore the court resources spent on them. Extending court hours is another option to consider. Online case management hearings speed things up. One simple but huge factor that could make a difference is having the opportunity to speak to someone before the actual day of the trial. This is less of an issue in serious and complex fraud, but in many smaller cases, it is difficult to speak
“At the moment, we are being persuaded to make a seismic shift in how we conduct criminal justice without any evidence that it's going to solve any problem. It is intellectually dishonest to be presenting this as a solution. There are real positives to having juries. At the CLLS, we consulted with Professor Cheryl Thomas KC who has done a lot of research around the effectiveness of juries - in fact, Sir Brian Leveson spoke with her when drafting his report and recommendations - and she is clear that having members of the public engaged in criminal justice has a positive societal impact. Her research says juries are fair and effective. Removing them is a big shift from the foundations of our democracy and not something that can be done in isolation. Of course there are other democratic jurisdictions which do not have juries, but they have completely different justice systems and it would require relooking at the whole process and potentially moving to an inquisitorial rather than adversarial system. Some of the justification used in attempting to remove them is that juries do not understand serious and complex fraud but there is more evidence to suggest they do rather than not. What the jury is there to do is deal with issues such as dishonesty and intent and they are very good at doing that.”
The situation inside prisons paints an equally troubling picture. Chronic overcrowding has become normalised, with institutions operating well beyond their intended capacity. Cells designed for one person routinely hold two; in some cases, makeshift beds appear on floors. Staffing shortages mean reduced access to education, work programmes, and rehabilitation services—the very things most likely to reduce reoffending. Lock-up hours are extended not for security reasons, but because there simply aren’t enough officers to safely manage movement.
“Prisons are the end of the criminal justice system - but this is a connected system. If you put more in at the beginning but don’t have the resources to process all the way through then you have multiple crises not simply one crisis. And that is what we have got.”
Conditions that would once have prompted public outrage are now met with weary resignation. Reports of vermin, failing sanitation, inadequate healthcare, and worsening mental health among prisoners are no longer shocking; they are expected. This deterioration affects not only those serving sentences, but also the many people held on remand—legally innocent, yet exposed to the same harsh environment while awaiting trial. When prisons become warehouses rather than places of rehabilitation, the consequences ripple far beyond their walls.
The human cost of all this is often obscured by statistics and policy language. Behind every delayed trial is a person trying to live a normal life under extraordinary stress. Behind every overcrowded prison wing are individuals with complex needs— mental illness, addiction, trauma—who are receiving less support, not more. Victims, too, are left waiting, sometimes for years, for closure or accountability. Confidence in the system erodes not because people expect perfection, but because they can see that the basics are no longer being met.
What makes the current moment particularly unsettling is the sense that many of these problems are being treated as temporary emergencies rather than structural failures. Short-term fixes are layered on top of long-term neglect. Funding injections are announced, then quietly diluted. Responsibility is shuffled between departments. Everyone acknowledges that the system is strained, yet meaningful reform remains elusive.
Elizabeth Gwinnall of Duncan Lewis has been working in prison law since 2008, specialising in life sentence prisoners specifically dealing with parole. Elizabeth has seen so many changes over the years. She says the problem is way bigger and more complex than even the nightmare scenarios we are reading about in the media every day.
“Life sentenced prisoners in open prisons are tested on overnight releases. To do that they stay two or three nights in a hostel. But now the delays on this are phenomenal - because everyone being released early is sent into a hostel also so there simply are not enough spaces. Hence, the issue of overcrowding is having enormous knock on effects which nobody seems aware of other than those who are so adversely affected by them. Prisoners hardly ever see their prison offender manager - their inside probation officer - because they are so snowed under with the paperwork they are having to do for early releases. They are so run ragged, they have no time to do their actual job. These are examples of just some of the consequences - this was not thought through.”
The problem really began to escalate around 2010 - the years of austerity - when the Cameron Government started to close down smaller open prisons in places like Gloucester, Shepton Mallet and Reading.
“These prisons housed between 400 and 500 people and it has been shown that prisons of this size are much more beneficial because prisoners don’t get lost in the system, they have their own officers who know and help them. But when they were closed down, nothing replaced them. These closures also had knock on effects; highly experienced prison officers and police officers were made redundant. These buildings were sold off - Gloucester is now flats, Reading is empty costing the taxpayer money every month because it still has utilities. The dire situation we are in now would not have been as bad had all these prisons not been closed in what was a money saving exercise that was not properly thought through.”
Elizabeth thinks one of the conversations we should be having is to ask why we are recalling so many people to prisons. Cynics say it's easier to manage someone in prison than on probation but these recall decisions are not subject to the scrutiny of the court and, as a result, prisons are full of people on recall who have not been reconvicted - maybe they simply got back to the hostel late - does that seriously warrant recall?
Beyond simply recall, Elizabeth questions why we are sending so many people to prison in the first place.
“Why are we marginalising so many people who are damaged to start with and mostly come from a poor and deprived background? Because of what the public read in the press, they are conditioned into hating prisoners. Adding fuel to the fire, the police are now complaining about people being released early - people who most likely will reoffend - because they simply have not got the resources to deal with them. There are not enough probation officers and the ones who try to keep on working are often highly stressed. It’s an absolute mess. We do need prisons. There are some people who cannot be allowed to be with the general public but they are a tiny minority. And when people are in prison, they need to be given education, given the purpose they never had. They need to be put on the right track. The more we put people in prison the more we make it impossible for them to come back to society. They see themselves as outcasts. They were probably excluded at school. Prisons are perpetuating these feelings. We need to be working with prisoners and rehabilitating them, not just punishing them. The conditions in prisons are appalling - there are cockroaches, they sleep with rats. They are cold, unsanitary, there is violence, lack of staff means less opportunity for association. We cannot allow this to continue. The system is letting everyone down.”
Richard Atkinson, a past President of the Law Society, explains that all of the current breakdowns in the criminal justice system that we are seeing are connected.
“Prisons are the end of the criminal justice systembut this is a connected system. If you put more in at the beginning but don’t have the resources to process all the way through then you have multiple crises not simply one crisis. And that is what we have got. And yet some are saying we need to arrest and prosecute more people. But if you are going to increase the input, you need to increase the width of the pipe and the output. If our prisons are full up - which they arehow are we going to deal with this extra input? There are no spare places and the Government have had to come up with contingencies for this which are, quite frankly terrifying.”
So far, contingencies put into place have consisted of early release, Operation Early Dawn where cases were screened to reduce the number going to court and increasing police custody using police cells instead of prison cells. Once all these have been exhausted, the final one is to tell the courts they cannot send anyone to prison and the police cannot arrest anyone. That would be the end of the criminal justice system. This is why the debate is so urgent.
Former Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, David Gauke, recently chaired a Commission looking at sentencing to try and address the problem. Shifting the threshold for the length of suspended sentences from two to three years has been met with much approval.
Richard believes a lot of the recommendations to be sensible.
“Shifting the emphasis from simply punishment to a better way of addressing reoffending through rehabilitation not only deals with the crisis but also deals with the core of the issue. We shouldn’t be focussing on the length of a sentence but finding ways to stop the person reoffending. Every offence has a victim, a consequence. These are not just numbers but people being hurt and impacted. If there is an opportunity to stop that happening, then we should welcome it. This isn’t going to just happen organically. The Government has conducted a lot of research into this and found that, particularly the Texan method, where you have to earn early release, is effective because it focuses on changing attitudes and behaviours and consequent law adherence. However, this relies on resources. We had the highly controversial imprisonment for public protection where a minimum term was imposed which could be as low as four years and then the prisoner would be released when deemed safe and frequently this was measured by completion of courses. Time and time again the complaint was that people were being held way beyond their tariff because they had not been able to access the courses. If the resources are not there, these schemes just fall apart - which means people stay in prison for longer and the backlog is not addressed.”
One solution that has always been suggested in Sentencing Guidelines is a non custodial sentence like a community order. Whilst this is a course of action most agree with, again its success or failure depends on resources. If we were to suddenly start giving way more non-custodial sentences, the probation service - which is already on its knees - would totally fall apart.
Where we are today is without a doubt a result of decades of neglect in relation to investment.
Going back to Richard’s pipeline, less going in is a good thing and that is where the focus should be.
“This goes right back to the beginning and involves more work being done at the police station. The right discussions means cases can be diverted away from the system. This does not mean walking away scot free but depends on resolutions like community work, referrals to Youth Offenders Service and so on. These come about by having a solicitor there to give the correct advice. However, a quarter of duty solicitors have left since 2017 because, until recently, there had been no increase in Legal Aid rates since 1996. This Government has recognised that but the scale of the problem is now so enormous, it cannot be resolved with one wave of the wand, or one spending review. When qualified solicitors with huge experience cannot even get a mortgage, it is clear how drastic the situation is. Solicitors are qualifying with debts that have been calculated to be around £95,000. How can they possibly afford to go into publicly funded work? There has to be continued investment. This Government has put more money in - but it is still insufficient. We need investment in Legal Aid to make sure we have enough people to give advice. There needs to be a fee structure to make sure it is the right people who are giving the advice. We need senior lawyers to deal with the most serious cases and the current pay structure determines the reverse happens with the least qualified people dealing with the most complex work. We need a more joined up system. Less cases going to court. We need the courts to be better resourced. We need more legal advisers, more solicitors, more judges. Then we need to look at prisons. We need to send less people to prison and, where we do, we need to have the resources to rehabilitate them so that when they are released they do not go straight back in by reoffending and, by doing so, causing harm to more people and to society as a whole. The whole thing is interlinked and needs massive attention and long term commitment. It is essential if we are going to get on top of things. The criminal justice system is a public service that is akin to the NHS and other services that are so essential to our way of life and our democratic values. We have to recognise that. And take action now before it is too late.”
A great insight into the truth of what goes on in prisons is the book Jail Bird, written by Katharine Edwards (katharineedwardsauthor.com ). It is a book that will, hopefully, shift perceptions away from what the tabloids brainwash us into believing and into understanding the reality of the situation. The real life stories are told without sentiment or indulgence. The book explores the very different and effective system that is carried out in Norway.
Katharine explains how Norway’s criminal justice system was also in a mess until the 1970s when it completely stood back and assessed. Today, their crime rate is so low they virtually lock nobody up. They not only try to keep sentences as low as possible but also try to bring some semblance of real life by bringing nature in, bringing in people to work in prison.
“It would be a hugely radical step and take a very brave government to try and introduce something like this here. And a fundamental difference is that, in Norway, the public were supportive but in this country we are more pro-punishment.”
This book tackles the difficult issues. And shows how on its knees the criminal justice system is. Katharine says she wanted to chronicle her experiences during a time which has been extremely turbulent and chaotic and to show that 99% of people in prison are there because they made a mistake - maybe a huge mistakebut there is usually a fractured childhood behind that. Katharine says this is not an excuse but something that comes up in every single case.
“There is some loss, some abandonment, some damage - usually in childhood. It could happen to any of us. This book brings prison into the real world rather than it being some mysterious, murky place. They are real people behind the bars. They
are sons, fathers, husbands, brothers, mothers - and this is what they are going through. We are locking them up for years and years. Subjecting them to very difficult conditions. What do we expect them to do when they come out?.”
This is a book that needs to be heard.
From start to finish, our whole process of criminal justice is in complete and utter crisis. The parts cannot and must not be looked on individually but as part of a whole that needs a complete overhaul and continuing investment - both in terms of finance and people - in order to stop it from totally shutting down. This is really important and really urgent. And it is fundamental to everything we stand for as a democracy. Quick fixes fix nothing. Serious action is needed. And needed now. ■
“Katharine explains how Norway’s criminal justice system was also in a mess until the 1970s when it completely stood back and assessed. Today, their crime rate is so low they virtually lock nobody up.”
“THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO REACH THE ROOF. YOU CAN REACH IT BY STONE STAIRS OR BY WOODEN STAIRS OR BY BAMBOO STEPS OR BY A ROPE. YOU CAN ALSO CLIMB UP BY A BAMBOO POLE.”
For much of its history, our legal profession has been seen as closed, traditional, and—at times—intimidating. Becoming a solicitor was often portrayed as a narrow, highly prescribed path, accessible mainly to those who knew the right people, studied at the right universities, and could afford years of training with little financial support. Law firms themselves were frequently viewed as cautious gatekeepers, more comfortable preserving long-established routes into the profession than questioning who those routes left behind.
That picture is now starting to change. Across England and Wales, the legal profession— solicitors in particular—is becoming more open in how it recruits, trains, and supports new entrants. While significant barriers remain, there is a growing acceptance that the old model no longer fits a modern legal system. Talent does not come from one social background, one academic profile, or one stage of life, and the profession is beginning to reflect that reality.
A major driver of this shift has been the widening of qualification routes. The introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) has challenged the longheld assumption that there is only one ‘proper’ way to qualify. Aspiring solicitors can now combine work and study, qualify through paralegal roles, or progress after time spent outside formal legal education. This flexibility has been particularly important for career-changers, parents, and those who simply cannot afford the traditional full-time study route.
Apprenticeship schemes have played a crucial role in opening these doors further. Solicitor apprenticeships allow people to earn while they learn, gaining real, paid experience in legal practice while working towards qualification. For school-leavers and those without the means to self-fund university and postgraduate courses, apprenticeships offer a credible and increasingly respected alternative. They also broaden the talent pool for firms, enabling them to train solicitors who are rooted in their local communities and who bring practical experience from the outset. Importantly, apprenticeships challenge the idea that legal ability must be proven before someone ever sets foot in a law office.
Law firms are also rethinking how they identify potential. Recruitment processes that once focused heavily on academic pedigree and polished interview technique are being supplemented by contextual recruitment, blind CVs, and skills-based assessments. There is a growing recognition that resilience, communication, and judgement—qualities essential to good legal practice—are not captured by grades alone. Smaller firms and high-street practices, in particular, have often led the way, reflecting the diverse clients they serve.
Finally, openness is increasingly understood as something that must continue beyond entry. Mentoring schemes, clearer progression pathways, flexible working, and support networks are helping new solicitors navigate a profession that has not always felt welcoming. Professional bodies and firms alike are beginning to acknowledge that access, retention, and progression are closely linked.
This shift is far from complete, and cynicism is understandable. But the direction of travel is clear. The legal profession is slowly opening itself up—through apprenticeships, alternative routes, and cultural change—and in doing so, taking steps towards becoming more representative, resilient, and relevant in the society it serves.
We spoke to four people who, through circumstance or design, have found themselves in our profession following different journeys to get there.
Hannah Fernie-Clarke is a legal assistant at Pallas Partners. She says she always had a keen interest in the law but, coming from a working class background and with no contacts in the profession, she was daunted about how she could break into a path that seemed closed to her. At college, she decided to study what she enjoyed and was good at – creative projects like textiles and musical theatre. But that urge to learn about the law kept nagging at her. When she was 18, while waiting for her A-Level results, she got a summer job at Pinsent Masons. She hoped to go to university to study law, but found she loved working for the firm, and because she had no real guidance about training contracts, she continued working there. She started as a Legal PA assistant, then became a PA and, alongside that, took a history degree with the Open University so she could stay in full time work and support herself financially while studying. She had been discouraged from studying law straight away, because the six-year time period that it entailed made her think she might fall out of love with the subject if forced to study it for such an extensive period of time. Studying history would enable her to then do the conversion.
Hannah has been in full-time work for eight years now and has only just begun the conversion. She was a paralegal in Manchester – where you don’t need a law degree to do paralegal work – but when she moved to London in May 2024, she was shocked to discover how fierce the competition was. She managed to secure a job as an assistant at Pallas Partners, an elite litigation and disputes boutique, an area she has worked in from the beginning. She has a 2.5-year conversion ahead of her, with the SQE1 Prep included in the course, and says she doesn’t believe she will qualify until she is at least 30. This means the whole journey will take her 12 years, and totally self-funded.
“The profession is changing, in that there are more schemes and bursaries but it is still an incredibly difficult world to break into.”
Hannah says the apprenticeship scheme would have been perfect for her, but at that time that route was disparaged, so she decided against it. Clearly, such attitudes have changed massively in the past eight years since Hannah began, but she was perhaps a little too early for that option.
Eight years in and only two thirds of the way, does Hannah enjoy it and feel it was the right decision?
“I love it. It is exactly what I thought it would be. The challenge comes in trying to manage the competing priorities of full-time work, which is very demanding, and having the determination to keep revising in any moment you can. It is difficult. I often ask myself if I did the right thing. But I realise how lucky I have been to be earning right through. That is not a luxury everyone has, and I don’t have to worry about repaying student loans. The exams and courses are expensive, and this is the only way I could have done it.”
Hannah finds city life in London very different from regional offices. She has made great connections who have been able to guide and help her, which she was lacking before entering the profession. A big shout out now to Patrick McCann, the CLLS Chief Executive and founder and joint CEO of City Century – Hannah met him through a Partner at her firm and she says he has been a huge support and help.
Breaking into the profession is one hurdle, but how does Hannah navigate actually being in it when her background is so different from so many of her colleagues?
“Class in the UK is one thing, but class in the legal profession is on a whole different level. You are always around privately educated people who have led completely different lives. The opportunities they had growing up gives them a huge advantage over people like me, and I most definitely feel it.”
What advice would Hannah give others in similar positions to her wanting to enter the profession?
“The most important thing is to build connections and networks. Approach people. If you aren’t from a family who have contacts, just message everyone and find your people. Find inspiration and help from those who faced the same disadvantages. You need a sounding board.”
Beth Taylor is someone who went down the apprenticeship route into the profession. She began in 2017 when the scheme was still relatively new so there were not that many positions to be had. She admits to feeling a “bit like a guinea pig” in the entire six years it took for her to qualify.
Beth was in foster care from the age of ten. A lot of assumptions were made about her in schools because she was in care - assumptions that she wasn’t that bright or intelligent or motivated and, as a result, she was streamed accordingly in the bottom sets. Her GCSEs were, therefore, in subjects like Dance and Music rather than the more academic subjects. At the end of Year 10,
“Class in the UK is one thing, but class in the legal profession is on a whole different level.”
the top 10 performing students of the year were taken to visit Oxford University. Beth was the only one from her side of the year - the students not on the English Baccalaureate. It was like a penny finally dropped and the teachers began to take an interest in her. They realised she was on the wrong side of the year. Just because she was from the lower privileged area of Dewsbury and in care. She was moved onto the English Baccalaureate and in Year 11 she had to do a language, geography and pick up additional sciences to catch up with her other classmates. Needless to say, as a result of her abilities and her capacity to work hard, she not only did it but excelled.
Beth began to think about a career in law from that very first visit to Oxford. In 2015, she began Sixth Form and then in 2016, apprenticeships in the legal profession were announced. The timing could not have been better. Beth had previously thought her only option was to go to university and study law. She was also a bit of a maths nerd and discovered accountancy did offer an apprenticeship path - so she googled whether she could do it to become a solicitor and, lo and behold, she discovered she could - just!
This was not an easy time for Beth. There were concerns about whether she could remain with her foster parents once she reached 18 so her life was full of uncertainty. How could she navigate such a challenging apprenticeship when her domestic life was so so insecure and uncertain?
She discussed the prospect of an apprenticeship with her head of year whose advice was the only way she would become a solicitor was by studying law at a Russell Group university.
But Beth was - as she always had been - a woman of her own mind and applied for an apprenticeship at Eversheds Sutherland LLP but, not believing she would get in, also applied to university too.
She came to the Eversheds Sutherland assessment day where she was with nine other candidates. In all there were 95 applicants for the Leeds role, and 10 made it to the assessment day. She did not believe she had a hope in hell. But she got it. She was the only one in her cohort in Leeds.
She then had what she describes as a “difficult but thoroughly enjoyable” six years of training and eventually qualified in 2023.
Beth was always apprehensive about sharing her story. “It’s been quite the journey. As a woman, we already have to deal with the imbalance between males and females. I am also mixed race so I have the prejudice that comes with that. Then there is my socio-economic background. Add to all that the fact I was in care and it was all too much to share. I decided to keep everything quiet until I qualified - I wanted to qualify based on merit and to solidify myself because I was a good solicitor rather than someone who could be used to tick boxes. It was only when I was asked to sit on the City Century SASS
Board (Solicitor Apprenticeship Strategic Sounding Board) that I first told my story. I realised my super power was knowing that there are no barriers to where you want to be. I gave a keynote speech at one of City Century’s events and that was the first time I revealed the extent of my journey. The response was so positive and I finally understood how speaking up could help, encourage and inspire others. So many people reached out to say how it resonated with them and how it gave them the courage to do it too. I haven’t shut up since. It has become my side mission to help as many young people as possible who have grown up in troubled or disadvantaged backgrounds understand that if they want to be in this profession they can.”
The profession itself also needs to be educated. It is not simply about getting in but fitting in once you are there.
“It’s a two way street. It’s not just about what you can do for a firm - but are they right for you? This is why it is so important to educate firms too. When they are recruiting for young future talent or bringing in senior staff, they need to be aware that it's not just about attracting but retaining. There has to be some level of pastoral care. Don’t just bring in an apprenticeship scheme unless you are prepared to really care for those apprentices who are probably from the more vulnerable areas of society. I was lucky that I always felt supported at my firm as an apprentice.”
Beth had been placed with her foster parents alongside her younger brother who suffers from neurodivergences and learning difficulties. Both were troubled children and the foster parents stepped up to give them a nurturing home. But when Beth turned 18, started her apprenticeship and began to make her own life, her relationship with her foster parents fell apart. They didn’t feel she needed them anymore so the relationship severely deteriorated. This impacted Beth hugely. To be navigating such a challenging new career path and to lose all the stability she had finally experienced in her home life was very traumatic for her. This was her first experience with stable parents, she had been with them since she was 10 and even changed her surname to theirs. To lose them was devastating. Her foster mother died of cancer at the start of 2025 and Beth went to the funeral but there is no relationship anymore. Beth had moved out of her foster home three months after starting her apprenticeship - imagine how difficult that was.
“I was trying to learn how to work in a big, scary office. I was entering a world I had no knowledge of. And suddenly I had lost my home and my parents. Perhaps if I had felt I could be more open about my situation it would have been easier for me. I didn't want to jeopardise anything so I just kept quiet.”
A few months ago Beth won a Special Recognition Award from the Department for Education National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards for overcoming significant barriers to establish herself in the profession. She is proof of how valuable these different routes are as,
CLOSED?
had she simply applied to universities, her CV may have looked poor in relation to others and all the amazing things she has to offer may have been overlooked.
Nikki Lewis is a managing associate in the structured finance group of Linklaters LLP. She has worked at Linklaters for 25 years where she began as a legal secretary. Nikki grew up in South East London in a council tower block and went to the local college to do a secretarial course. She was the first person in her family to finish school. She always wanted to do more so, whilst working, decided to take A levels “for fun”. She then got married and had children and, after that, looking for a new challenge, she started to look much more deeply into the work the lawyers in her team were doing. Urged on by a supportive partner in the firm, Nikki started really delving into legal documents and whilst the firm was acting for a company buying lots of real estate, much due diligence had to be done and Nikki felt she could work it out herself so she dug right in. It was at this point that she felt maybe she too could become a solicitor so she looked into doing a law degree whilst juggling work and bringing up a family. This option looked very long - but Nikki was determined. However, she then fell upon a different option, the CILEX route. For anyone who doesn’t know exactly what CILEX is or does, their website explains;
‘CILEX is the professional association and governing body for over 21,000 Chartered Legal Executive Lawyers, other legal practitioners and paralegals. Our role is to enhance the role and standing of Chartered Legal Executives and all our members within the legal profession.
For fifty years, we have been offered a unique route to a legal career and becoming a qualified lawyer without a requirement to having a law degree, although law graduates and graduates with non-law degrees can also qualify as a lawyer through the CILEX route. Entry is accessible to those holding a variety of qualification levels.’
A CILEX Lawyer is a highly qualified legal professional, just like a solicitor, but with expertise in a specific area of law.
This status proves to clients, colleagues, and employers that you’ve reached the top of your profession and are fully regulated to practise. As a CILEX Lawyer, you can work independently without restrictions in your specialist field – giving you the freedom to shape your career your way.’
Nikki was really drawn to this approach, particularly as it focussed on helping people - like her - who came from poorer socio-economic backgrounds and who had lived experience but not a qualification on paper. Another appeal for Nikki was that she could focus on specific areas of law immediately, in her case company law and also that she could take as many of the units together as she wanted. This allowed Nikki to condense the time it took her from six years to four and this was followed by three years of work based learning. She even did one of those years before completing her exams. She qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive lawyer in May 2020 and today still works for the same team that she began as a legal secretary with.
How has Nikki found the last five years?
“It’s been challenging, but rewarding. Initially there was a lot of talk about whether I wanted take the SQE and requalify as a solicitor. I respectfully rejected this. I am of the opinion that the qualification I have got allows me to do precisely the type and level of work I want so, if I were to step away from it to become a solicitor it is like saying to the world my qualification is not good enough. And it is!”
As a chartered legal executive lawyer, Nikki says there is virtually nothing that she is not allowed to do in her area of speciality compared with what solicitors do, so she is more than happy with her position. She is a big supporter of people entering the profession through different routes and mentors several solicitor apprentices in her firm.
Ealgi Dadzie is a second year law student at Norwich. Her goal is to become a solicitor. She says that her passion is business, she considers herself to be very entrepreneurial - and law allows her to interact with different areas of business.
Ealgi grew up in Ghana and moved to the UK with her family when she was 17 years old. She went to college to take her A levels and chose sociology as one of her subjects because she loves “to learn about people and how a nurturing family environment and education impact the person we become”. She also studied English Literature and History “because we can always learn from books and the past."
When she was in Year 12, Ealgi learnt about the Solicitors’ apprenticeship scheme - and was desperate to take part.
“I was a huge uni hater - so I was determined to become an apprentice and enter the profession that way. But it was not in my cards. I applied to so many firms and got to four assessment days but I did not get an offer. My options were to take a gap year and reapply or to go to university. At the end of the day, I knew I couldn’t justify taking a year out of education because I love learning so much and want to do it every day. This coincided with the fact that when I finished my A levels, I took an internship - and that made me realise that actually I was not ready to start working yet. The commute, the crowded trains, the chaos of the city - it all felt too much too soon and I knew I needed a break from London. And so my choice was made.”
Ealgi chose Norwich because of the “natural scenery, the warm people and the community”.
She says at Norwich “everything clicked”. She felt at home, she loved law and she really understood for the first time while being in the UK how people are assessed - so she ended her first year with a First Class.
Ealgi is a bundle of energy. As well as excelling in her law studies she is a member of the university’s Dance Society, the Afro-Carribean Society and the Law Society. She entered a negotiation competition “because it had a lot of numbers and I love being on opposite sides and trying to find a compromise”. As if all that is not enough, Ealgi has also set up the Black Law Network which is for aspiring lawyers from Afro-Carribean backgrounds.
“I created this network because when I was in year 13 it was a very formative year for me and I realised it would be helpful to form a community where people could get advice - irrespective of which route you are travelling; the uni or the apprenticeship. Yes, we are different communities but what binds us is our ambition and our background.”
Ealgi is also a writer; she says when she is feeling emotional, putting her thoughts and feelings down on paper helps her resolve any issues. Ealgi is a power of nature who will never let anything stop her. Her poem below sums it all up.
“Today I got my fiftieth “no” Another crack in the dream I sow. It’s not the rejection pulling me down, But the fear I’ll never wear that lawyer’s crown.
That maybe my best will never suffice, That this dream I chase comes at too high a price. That all the tears, the restless nights, Will fade in silence, without a fight.
“We regret to inform…” - the same refrain, Like a cruel echo, whispering my name.
And I wonder, deep in student debt, If law is a dream I should just forget.
But something within refuses to fall, Even if I crawl, I will answer the call.
So I dust off the doubt, wear resilience as skin, And remind myself — this is only the beginning, I will win. I rise with a fire they never knew,
Determined, unshaken, I push through.
Because one day soon, they’ll surely see,
The solicitor this country needs — is me.
Every “no” fuels me, every tear a flame,
But I’ve learned this journey is more than a game.
For while I rise, I do not rise alone,
It’s the voices beside me that steady my own.
The friends who remind me of all I can be,
The community that holds and empowers me.
They lift my spirit, they sharpen my fight,
Together we turn darkness into light.
So no, I won’t quit, not today, not ever,
Because we are stronger when we stand together.The road is long, the nights are rough,
But with community beside me — we are enough.”
So many people and organisations within our profession are working hard to help those who may not have the obvious means to enter do so. A scholarship has been created by the City of London Law Society in memory of Stephen Denyer who died last year. This scholarship, which was conceived together with the Denyer family who contributed £50,000, will help four future social welfare solicitors in the North East Law Centre by funding their SQE1 and SQE2 fees. In addition, the Social Welfare Solicitors Qualification Fund will also finance a candidate each year for the next four years.
We are opening up. We are changing. And we are better for it. ■
“A CILEX Lawyer is a highly qualified legal professional, just like a solicitor, but with expertise in a specific area of law.”
FROM MAGIC CIRCLE TO INCLUSIVE CIRCLE;
TIME TO UPGRADE THE PROFESSION
In an era defined by rapid social change and intensifying scrutiny on institutional fairness, the legal profession finds itself at a crossroads. Once seen as bastions of tradition and exclusivity, modern law firms, courts, and legal organisations are increasingly confronting the imperative of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). But beyond buzzwords and mission statements lies a complex reality: EDI is both a moral obligation and a strategic necessity for a profession that serves diverse communities and strives for justice. Today, EDI is no longer an optional add-on to business operations—it is central to how the law is practised, perceived, and legitimised in society.
At its core, EDI in the legal profession seeks to ensure that the makeup of law firms, chambers, corporate legal departments, and the judiciary reflects the rich tapestry of the communities they serve. According to recent UK data, while women make up over half of practising lawyers, representation for minority ethnic groups, individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and people with disabilities remains comparatively low. For example, only around one in five lawyers in the UK identify as Black, Asian, or minority ethnic, and less than 7 percent of lawyers declare a disability. Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ lawyers are similarly under-represented compared with broader population figures.
These numbers, while imperfect, underscore both the progress made and the work that remains. Across the legal industry, surveys show that the vast majority of firms support diversity initiatives, yet far fewer have systems in place to measure their effectiveness or to embed inclusive practices deeply into organisational culture. One industry report revealed that while over 70 percent of legal employers have structured diversity hiring goals, less than half actively track EDI outcomes or offer targeted mentorship programmes for under-represented lawyers—highlighting a significant gap between aspiration and execution.
This disconnect is not unique to one jurisdiction. Globally, the legal profession exhibits similar patterns: formal strategies often exist on paper, but meaningful
progress requires sustained leadership, investment, and accountability. For example, a recent global survey found that nearly every responding law firm engages in some form of EDI effort, and more than 73 percent report having formal EDI strategies. Yet crucial disparities persist, particularly at the highest levels of leadership, where underrepresentation remains entrenched.
The stakes of getting EDI right—or wrong—are substantial. From a business perspective, law firms with robust EDI programmes are better positioned to attract and retain top talent. Younger lawyers, especially Millennials and Gen Z, increasingly prioritise workplaces that champion inclusive values and equitable career pathways. Firms that fail to
“Beyond competitive advantage, EDI is fundamentally tied to the raison d’être of the legal system: achieving justice equitably. Law’s legitimacy depends not only on impartial application of rules, but also on the perception that the system is fair and inclusive.”
demonstrate authentic commitments to EDI may find themselves at a competitive disadvantage in a tightening talent market, with potential recruits opting for workplaces where they see themselves represented and valued.
Moreover, diverse teams have been shown to enhance decision-making and innovation. Research across professional sectors suggests that organisations embracing a range of perspectives outperform more homogeneous counterparts precisely because diversity of thought leads to better problem-solving. In the context of legal practice, this translates into richer legal analysis, more comprehensive client understanding, and stronger advocacy.
Beyond competitive advantage, EDI is fundamentally tied to the raison d’être of the legal system: achieving justice equitably. Law’s legitimacy depends not only on impartial application of rules, but also on the perception that the system is fair and inclusive. Clients, people and communities are more likely to trust legal institutions when they see them mirroring the diversity of society and demonstrating genuine commitment to fairness. For historically marginalised groups—whether defined by race, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status—the presence of diverse legal practitioners can transform access to justice and shape the outcomes of real-world disputes.
Yet, even as the rationale for EDI strengthens, the profession faces huge challenges. Implicit bias continues to influence recruitment, evaluation, and promotion practices. Many under-represented lawyers report feelings of isolation, lack of support, and barriers to advancement—contributing to higher attrition rates compared with their peers. And while firms may talk about inclusive values, many remain unable to translate EDI strategy into measurable, sustained change without dedicated resources, agreed-upon metrics, and strong accountability frameworks.
Whether such pressures will reshape the long-term commitment of legal institutions to equity principles remains an open question, with implications that extend far beyond firm branding or compliance requirements.
all this, there is cause for cautious
More law firms and legal institutions are recognising that EDI must be integrated into core business operations rather than treated as an isolated agenda item. Enhanced transparency around demographic data, proactive mentorship and sponsorship for diverse talent, and leadership accountability are increasingly seen as essential ingredients for lasting change. As the legal profession navigates this ever shifting terrain, EDI represents both a mirror reflecting deep-seated inequities and a roadmap for building a more just, effective, and resilient legal system—one that lives up to its highest ideals.
In the last article, we examined how the profession is opening up different routes to make entry more accessible to more strata of society. But, reading the figures above it is apparent that, once in, equality is not all that equal. The Law Society has recently launched its EDI strategy for 2025-28 and we spoke to Chris Seel, EDI manager, from the Law Society to find out more about it.
“For years now, our profession has been working on EDI but things have not been changing quickly enough. Entry is more diverse - particularly when it comes to women and ethnic minorities - but they are not progressing to senior roles. For some groups - like disabled and lower socio-economic groups - we are not even getting them in the right numbers let alone progressing them to leadership. We wanted to review what we are doing and how we can do it better. We looked across other industries to see what we can draw from them. The outcome was to do less and be more focussed.
We narrowed it down to three particular areas;
Support disabled solicitors
Only 6% of solicitors are disabled. Contrast this with around 16/20% of the population. This is just not OK.
Make senior leadership more diverse
With more diversity at the top, this will filter down into the rest of the profession.
Make the culture more inclusive.
There are still too many reports concerning harassment and discrimination. We want to address
that with a focus on wellbeing. What is happening is not sustainable. Nor is it fair. We used to tolerate things that the younger generation coming in are not prepared to - and quite rightly so.
You cannot bring more diverse people into the profession but then simply expect them to conform to old practices of working that were not developed with them in mind.
We want to gather the best practice - and share it. In a world where a lot of people are pulling back, we are doubling down and set to achieve more. We are project based; I am working on senior leadership specifically. How do we get more diverse people into these positions? We are looking at what is happening in great detail and, where it is working well, we are passing on this information.
Whilst a lot of time and money has been put into EDI over the years, there has been very little research into what has worked and what hasn’t. We are aiming to change that; to offer practical solutions that do have a positive outcome.
We are committed to making this work. It has to be done because it's the right thing to do. But, beyond that, why would you exclude a certain group from the talent pool within which you recruit? Why would you not want the largest pool of people?”
Over recent years, the Law Society has put many schemes and initiatives in place to improve EDI.
The Diversity Access Scheme (DAS), run by the Law Society, has become one of the most significant initiatives aimed at widening entry into the profession for people from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds.
At its core, DAS provides three crucial interventions: financial support, work experience, and mentoring. These are simple ingredients, but they address some of the biggest structural hurdles that aspiring solicitors face. Funding is often the first barrier. The cost of postgraduate legal study—whether the LPC or the SQE preparation courses—runs into the thousands, and that’s before you factor in living expenses or the cost of sitting the SQE assessments. For many talented students, the price tag alone is
Despite
optimism.
enough to end the dream. DAS offers full funding to successful applicants, giving them a genuine chance to progress on merit rather than means.
But DAS is more than money. It connects candidates with paid work experience in firms or organisations that want to support inclusive access to the profession. Unlike unpaid internships that can further entrench socio-economic disadvantage, these placements give participants a foothold in the professional world and a chance to prove themselves. They learn how firms work, build networks and gain the kind of practical insight that is indispensable when applying for training contracts.
The mentoring element is equally transformative. Many prospective solicitors struggle not with ability but with the ‘hidden curriculum’ of the profession. How do you tailor a strong application? How should you frame your CV? What does good commercial awareness look like? How do you prepare for partner-level interviews when you’ve never met a partner in your life? DAS pairs participants with experienced lawyers who guide them through these questions with honesty, clarity and encouragement. This support often continues long after the formal programme has ended, providing a long-term anchor in a profession that can feel intimidating from the outside.
What makes DAS particularly important is its focus on intersectional disadvantage. Many schemes target individual characteristics—ethnicity, disability or socio-economic background—but DAS recognises that the barriers people face rarely sit neatly in one category. Its applicants include care leavers, first-generation university students, people who have overcome significant personal hardship, and those who simply never had access to the informal networks that others take for granted. By casting its net widely, the scheme enriches the legal profession with individuals who bring not only ability but resilience, empathy and a broader understanding of the society the law serves.
The profession benefits enormously from that diversity of perspective. Clients increasingly expect their legal advisers to reflect the communities they operate in, while firms understand that diverse teams make better decisions and innovate more effectively. Programmes like the DAS don’t just change individual lives; they help shift the culture of the profession itself.
Project Rise is another Law Society initiative created by the Law Society’s Disabled Solicitors Network to widen access to the solicitor profession by promoting part-time and flexible training routes. It was developed in response to the recognition that traditional, fulltime training contracts can unintentionally exclude talented candidates who cannot commit to rigid schedules. Disabled aspiring solicitors, people with long-term health conditions, carers, parents and those balancing other commitments are often among those most affected. Project Rise aims to remove these barriers by encouraging firms to build flexibility into the earliest stages of legal training.
The initiative is based on a straightforward idea: if the profession wants to attract and retain a broader range of candidates, its training structures must reflect the diversity of people entering law today. Participating firms commit to offering successful applicants the option of undertaking training part-time where feasible. This applies to traditional training contracts,
solicitor apprenticeships and qualifying work experience under the SQE framework. The SQE’s flexibility makes it easier for businesses to design tailored pathways without compromising the quality or depth of training.
The Law Society’s Women in Law Pledge is one of the profession’s most visible commitments to improving gender equality across the legal sector. Introduced in 2019 in collaboration with the Bar Council and CILEx, it was created to encourage law firms, in-house teams and chambers to take meaningful, measurable steps to support women’s progression. Although women now make up a substantial proportion of solicitors and new entrants to the profession, they remain under-represented in senior roles, and the pledge aims to close that gap through structured commitments and transparent reporting.
At its heart, the pledge invites organisations to publicly confirm that gender equality is a strategic priority, not simply an aspiration. Signatories commit to developing clear action plans tailored to their own circumstances. These might include setting targets for representation at partnership or leadership level, reviewing promotion processes, improving flexible working options or taking steps to reduce the gender pay gap. The intention is not to mandate a single model for progress, but to ensure each organisation moves beyond good intentions toward concrete, accountable action.
A key feature of the pledge is its focus on leadership responsibility. Senior decision-makers are expected to champion progress, resource initiatives properly and ensure that equality commitments are embedded within organisational culture. This top-down support is intended to shift gender equality from a diversity project to an integral part of business planning and workforce sustainability.
The pledge also emphasises the importance of creating supportive environments for women throughout their careers. Retention can be as pressing an issue as recruitment, and many organisations use the pledge to revisit policies around parental leave, return-to-work support, career development frameworks and access to mentoring or sponsorship. The flexibility of the scheme allows signatories to evolve their plans as their organisations grow and as their understanding of the barriers women face deepens.
Another strength of the initiative is the community it fosters. Signatories are encouraged to share experiences, challenges and examples of what works in practice. This collaborative aspect helps smaller firms and chambers learn from larger organisations, while also highlighting the many different ways progress can be achieved. Annual reporting mechanisms help track sector-wide trends and maintain momentum by ensuring that commitments remain visible and measurable.
While the pledge has been taken up by a wide range of legal employers, its broader significance lies in its ability to shape the culture of the profession. Gender inequality in law does not stem from a lack of talent or aspiration, but from longstanding structural issues that take time and sustained effort to address. The Women in Law Pledge provides a framework for that work, encouraging organisations to be honest about where they are, ambitious about where they want to be and transparent about how they plan to get there.
Ultimately, the pledge is both a symbol and a tool: a public sign of commitment, and a practical roadmap for creating a more equal profession in which women can thrive at every stage of their careers.
For our profession to grow and progress, for it to be relevant to the people it represents, we need to become more diverse and inclusive. We have made a great start - but we have a long way to go. The Law Society and others are doing phenomenal work to improve matters - but we all need to p;ay our part in creating a less closed and fairer profession. ■
If you or your firm would like to find out more or get involved with the EDI work that the Law Society is doing, please contact diversityteam@lawsociety. org.uk.
“For our profession to grow and progress, for it to be relevant to the people it represents, we need to become more diverse and inclusive. We have made a great startbut we have a long way to go.”
THE PERFECT BLEND OF TRADITION AND THE FUTURE
When Dame Susan Langley walks into Mansion House as Lady Mayor of London, she carries with her more than eight centuries of civic tradition — and a distinctly modern sense of purpose. Hers is a mayoralty shaped not only by ceremony and symbolism, but by decades spent navigating global finance, public service and international diplomacy. It is this blend of experience that gives her leadership both credibility and momentum.
Raised in East London, Susan Langley’s early life was far removed from the rituals of the Square Mile. Growing up in a diverse and fast-moving part of the capital instilled a strong sense of resilience and opportunity. Her route into the City was not inherited or obvious, but built gradually through education, determination and professional excellence — a trajectory that has informed her longstanding commitment to social mobility and access.
After university, she began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, working as a principal consultant advising major corporate clients. The role demanded strategic clarity and an ability to navigate complex organisational challenges — skills that would prove invaluable as her career progressed. From there, she moved into senior leadership positions across financial and professional services, increasingly focused on international markets.
Pic Courtesy of CITY OF LONDON CORPORATION
Her most prominent roles came within the insurance sector, particularly at Lloyd’s of London. Over several years she held senior posts overseeing market development and international expansion, including leadership roles in North America and Asia. As Chair of Lloyd’s Japan, she worked at the intersection of global finance, regulation and diplomacy, building relationships in one of the world’s most sophisticated insurance markets. These experiences placed her at the heart of the global financial ecosystem and sharpened her understanding of how trust, governance and legal certainty underpin successful markets.
Alongside her private-sector career, Langley has played a significant role in public service. She served as Lead Non-Executive Director at the Home Office, bringing commercial and governance expertise into government, and later worked with the Department for International Trade focusing on financial and professional services. These roles deepened her insight into how policy, regulation and business interact — and how the UK presents itself on the world stage.
Her contributions have been recognised with national honours, including an OBE for services to women in business and a damehood for her wider contribution to financial services and public life. Yet recognition has never been her driving force. Throughout her career, she has been a consistent advocate for widening access to City careers, arguing that diversity and inclusion are not simply moral imperatives but economic ones.
Her move into civic leadership followed naturally. Elected Alderman for Aldgate Ward in 2018, she became immersed in the unique governance of the City of London — a place where medieval institutions coexist with modern global business. A year as Sheriff, combining ceremonial duties with close involvement in the justice system, served as a demanding prelude to the mayoralty.
Now, as Lady Mayor, she occupies an office held by nearly 700 individuals since the 12th century — and by only three women. She is the first formally to adopt the title ‘Lady Mayor of London’, a symbolic shift that reflects her broader aim of modernising how the role is understood without abandoning its traditions.
Central to her year in office is a determination to make the mayoralty purposeful rather than purely ceremonial. She has spoken consistently about the need for a “modern mayoralty”: one that uses the City’s convening power to drive growth, strengthen global relationships and reinforce London’s competitiveness. At its core is a belief that the City thrives when it remains open — to ideas, to talent and to the world.
A key priority is reinforcing London’s position as a global centre for financial and professional services. Through overseas visits, trade missions and high-level meetings, she promotes the City as a place of innovation and expertise rather than nostalgia. Her own international career gives her a keen understanding of how London is perceived abroad — and what is required to maintain its edge.
This agenda naturally encompasses the legal profession. While she has not focused on lawyers as a separate constituency, Langley has repeatedly highlighted the importance of the rule of law as one of the UK’s most valuable assets. In doing so, she has underlined the role of English law, judicial independence and legal expertise in supporting global finance, investment and dispute resolution. For City law firms, barristers and in-house legal teams, this framing positions legal services as a cornerstone of the UK’s international influence rather than a supporting act.
Lady Mayor of the City of London, Dame Susan Langley, said:
“A key aim of my mayoralty is to change how people see the City. What some mistakenly think of as hard to access, is, in reality, one of the best places to work in the world: a vibrant ecosystem of workers, residents, world-leading industries, SMEs, faith leaders and educational institutions. We need to move away from endlessly talking about what we’re bad at and start celebrating what we do exceptionally well – and the legal sector is one of the City’s greatest
strengths. The UK’s legal framework is world-renowned, with English common law underpinning a huge proportion of global business transactions. At a time of increasing global competition, we must be clear and confident about how the City helps make the UK a world leader.”
Her emphasis on professional services recognises the deeply interconnected nature of the City’s ecosystem. Finance, law, insurance and consultancy do not operate in silos; they rely on each other to function effectively. By promoting London as a jurisdiction of trust, stability and legal certainty, she implicitly champions the lawyers who help maintain that reputation.
Economic growth is another central theme of her mayoralty. Langley has spoken about the importance of connecting capital with opportunity, ensuring that investment reaches innovative businesses and emerging sectors. This, too, has implications for the legal profession, which plays a crucial role in structuring deals, managing risk and enabling growth across the economy.
She is equally concerned with perception. Conscious that the Square Mile can seem remote or exclusive, she wants to challenge stereotypes and make the City feel more accessible. This includes widening pathways into professional careers — law included — and highlighting the many routes into the City beyond traditional elite channels.
Philanthropy forms part of her civic focus, particularly where education, opportunity and inclusion intersect. Like her predecessors, she supports charitable causes, but with an emphasis on long-term impact rather than symbolic giving.
Her days are a carefully balanced mix of tradition and action: hosting international delegations, attending livery events, supporting charities, representing the UK abroad and presiding over ceremonies such as the Lady Mayor’s Show. Beneath the robes and ritual, however, is a leader intent on using the office to shape conversation and influence outcomes.
In Dame Susan Langley, the office of Mayor of London feels firmly rooted in the present. Her career has given her authority, her background has given her perspective, and her agenda reflects a City that understands the need to adapt. For financiers, lawyers and business leaders alike, her mayoralty signals a belief that London’s future depends not on clinging to tradition for its own sake, but on using it as a platform for relevance, openness and progress. ■
“A key aim of my mayoralty is to change how people see the City. What some mistakenly think of as hard to access, is, in reality, one of the best places to work in the world: a vibrant ecosystem of workers, residents, world-leading industries, SMEs, faith leaders and educational institutions...”
Professional Indemnity Renewals: Why Starting Early Makes a Difference
By Alex Hill, Client Director at Konsileo, specialising in Professional Indemnity and Commercial Insurance for Law Firms
Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) renewal has become an increasingly challenging process for law firms. Greater insurer scrutiny, reduced capacity and premium volatility mean that last-minute renewals now carry real risk.
As renewal season approaches, early preparation is one of the most effective ways firms can improve both outcomes and experience.
A More Selective Market
The PII market for solicitors has changed. Insurers are no longer focused solely on firm size or claims frequency. Instead, underwriters are looking closely at:
• Claims trends and how firms respond to them
• Practice mix, particularly higher-risk areas such as conveyancing
• Supervision, file review and quality controls
• Financial stability and cash-flow management Firms that can clearly demonstrate control and transparency are more attractive to insurers.
The Problem with Late Submissions
Many renewal difficulties arise simply from timing. Submitting information late often results in:
• Fewer insurers willing to engage
• Limited ability to negotiate premium and excess
• Insufficient time to explain claims or unusual aspects of the practice
• Pressure to accept less favourable terms to avoid a lapse in cover Insurers are increasingly reluctant to rush decisions, particularly where a firm’s profile is complex.
What Insurers Really Want to See Claims history remains important, but insurers are often more interested in how risk is managed. Clear supervision structures, evidence of file reviews, robust cyber controls and an honest narrative around past claims all carry significant weight.
A well-presented submission that explains what has changed since any claim can materially improve insurer confidence.
Final Thoughts
The smoothest PII renewals are rarely achieved by firms with no claims at all, but by those that can demonstrate good governance, learning and improvement.
As renewal season approaches, engaging early and preparing properly can reduce pressure, widen market options and often lead to more stable terms. ■
We shall never know for sure whether the current Government had seriously considered putting forward in its 2025 Budget a proposal that limited liability partnerships should be subjected to the National Insurance Contributions regime, by way of an effective extension of employer NICs to the posttax income of professional services partners who practise within UK LLPs. All we knew thenand indeed now - is that these sorts of proposals had been discussed in research papers by CenTax and Demos and had been reported in the Budget run-up with some authority by the Financial Times. Although we were lacking any detail as to how these proposals might actually be applied and enforced had they come in, it was evident from concerns expressed by a huge majority of our member firms that we and other City bodies, as well as The Law Society, had to take them very seriously and seek to push back as hard as we could.
There is something of a pattern here inasmuch as City firms in particular have occasionally over the last decade been seen as "ripe" for imposing additional taxes given our financial success and because that success is built, to an extent, on the foundations of the English legal system which has - broadly speaking - been underfunded for many years now. Thus, Conservative Chancellor Michael Gove first mooted in 2015 the idea that there should be a "levy" - which in plain speaking is no more than a "tax" - imposed on City firms. That proposal was vigorously resisted by the CLLS, with its then Chairman Alasdair Douglas taking the lead in explaining the problems that would arise if imposed.
My view is that that proposal has never quite gone away. Indeed, in September last year we had to make a further submission, this time to the Justice Select Committee, to explain with reasons our view that to the extent it may seek to revive this idea then it is still flawed.
The NIC proposal seemed much more serious, seemingly emanating from the heart of Government and at a time when we all knew the Chancellor was looking to raise taxes all round, given the country's perilous fiscal state. Fully supported by our member firms, I was pleased that in collaboration with them we were able to send a powerful submission to the Chancellor to the effect that:
1. The proposals lacked all detail - but in so far as they seemed to impose, in effect, a significant tax hike on UK LLP practitioners, then this would unfairly impact only part of the legal profession, namely those solicitors who practice through UK LLPs. The Bar does not, of course.
2. We argued that these proposals would undermine what is on any basis a significant part of - and driver of - the UK economy. Quite apart from the fact the profession already pays huge sums to HMRC and is a significant employer, there was, based on what we were hearing, a considerable risk that some firms or lawyers would prefer to practice from overseas; and many firms would consider reorganising into a general partnership outside the scope of the proposals as we understood them;
3. All this would in turn, undermine English law as a success story at the very time when the new Lord Chancellor Lammy was setting up the new English Law Panel designed to promote the success of English law - in our view a real contradiction in terms.
In the event, the proposals never made it to Budget day, although we could not safely relax until we heard the Chancellor's speech on 26 November last. Whether or not this counts as a win for CLLS and its members, it was nonetheless a fantastic example of what we can do when putting our resources together - and I am hugely grateful to the many senior and managing partners who helped us write our submission to the Government.
“The NIC episode also reinforced a wider lesson: that there is always more we can collectively do to ensure the Government fully understands the contribution the legal sector makes to economic growth, inward investment and the UK’s global competitiveness.”
It was also notable how closely aligned our concerns were with those of other professional services LLPs, and how this work has strengthened relationships that will matter when the next challenge arises.
Rightly or wrongly, I remain on my guard as to the risk that the NIC proposal, or a variant of it, may come again, albeit a recent letter from the Lord Chancellor has gone some way to assuage my concerns. Even so, hot on the heels of the NIC debate, another law firm tax debate has arisen with the publication in early January 2026 of the Government Consultation on Interest on Lawyers’ Client Accounts Scheme.
Widely publicised and criticised already, this appears to be another attempt to extract additional cash from lawyers - albeit those most likely to suffer are the smaller law firms - by taxing the interest earned on client account funds. Here we go again ...
More broadly, these last few weeks are a reminder that the City legal sector is increasingly regarded in some quarters as appropriate not only for additional taxation but also for heightened regulation, restriction and scrutiny, often advanced with limited appreciation of how our firms operate or the wider value they deliver.
The NIC episode also reinforced a wider lesson: that there is always more we can collectively do to ensure the Government fully understands the contribution the legal sector makes to economic growth, inward investment and the UK’s global competitiveness.
That is precisely why the Society places such emphasis on monitoring policy and regulatory developments at an early stage, and on ensuring that the collective voice of City firms is represented clearly, constructively and credibly to those shaping the framework within which we operate.
In that context, we remain vigilant and ready to engage whenever the interests of our members, and of the City legal sector more broadly, are at stake.
We keep on!
MEETING THE MOMENT FOR CITY LAW
We are used to thinking of change in City law as something that happens at the margins. Increasingly, it is happening at the centre - of our business models, our careers, our reputations, and our responsibilities as a profession.
Ijoined the City of London Law Society just over four months ago, officially working three days a week, with principal responsibilities including running the organisation, shaping and implementing its strategy, and stewarding its relationships across the legal sector and beyond. It has been a great honour to take on this role, and one I do not take lightly.
The potential of the Society is enormous. Our member firms employ tens of thousands of solicitors and advisers whose work underpins transactions, disputes and structures that reach far beyond the City itself. The collective intellectual capital of our profession is extraordinary. When aligned, it gives us the ability to influence law, policy, practice and standards - not just domestically, but internationally.
That scale brings responsibility. And with responsibility comes a choice: to react, or to step forward.
Resource has been front of mind for me from the outset. The CLLS has a deliberately small central team, supported by a Chair who gives an extraordinary amount of time and expertise, and by a network of specialist committees whose contribution is nothing short of phenomenal. That reality demands focus, prioritisation and discipline. It also means we must be clear-eyed about where the Society can add the greatest value, and where it should not overreach.
Relationships are the connective tissue that make that possible. The Society sits within a complex legal ecosystem: Government, Regulators, other Law Societies, international bodies, and organisations working across access to justice, ethics and professional standards. Maintaining and deepening those institutional relationships is essential.
Equally important are our relationships with our member firms - and with the individual solicitors we represent. The CLLS must be relevant not only to senior leadership and committee chairs, but to the many thousands of lawyers working across our firms, at different stages of
their careers, with different ambitions and perspectives. If the Society is to remain effective, it must continue to listen as well as to lead. That is not a platitude; it is a necessity.
Reputation and resonance matter too. City law is often scrutinised, sometimes misunderstood, and rarely afforded the space to tell its own story well. Part of the Society’s role is to ensure that the contribution of City solicitors - to the economy, to the rule of law, and to society more broadly - is properly articulated, responsibly represented, and credibly heard.
That leads inevitably to responsibility. The standing of our profession rests not only on technical excellence, but on trust. Issues such as ethics, conduct, mental health, diversity and inclusion, and the broader purpose of legal work are no longer peripheral concerns. They are central to how we are perceived, how we retain talent, and how we sustain our licence to operate as a world-leading profession.
Change in itself is not the challenge. The opportunity is how we meet it: collectively, thoughtfully, with ambition, and in a way that strengthens both the profession and the trust placed in it.
The role of the City of London Law Society is to help our members navigate that journey - with clarity, credibility and care. That is the work ahead, and it is work I am committed to doing with you.
We are ready for it. Bring it on.
Patrick McCann Chief Executive, City of London Law Society
There are three letters that can still stop even the most grounded person in their tracks: MBE. Not because they glitter with ceremony or hierarchy, but because they signal something far more interesting — work that has mattered, quietly and consistently, over time. An MBE suggests commitment rather than spectacle, substance rather than spin. Which is precisely why Joanna Hughes receiving one feels not just deserved, but inevitable.
MBE FOR MODERN LAW: WHY JOANNA HUGHES’ APPRENTICESHIP
WORK MATTERS NOW.
Joanna has never chased recognition. If anything, she has spent much of her career gently redirecting attention away from herself and towards the people and systems she believes deserve it more. The award does not change who she is or how she works; it simply places an official stamp on what many already knew — that her contribution has been both significant and enduring. The letters may now follow her name, but they sit lightly, just as she does.
At the heart of the MBE is Joanna’s work on apprenticeships, particularly within the legal profession — a sector not known for its enthusiasm for rethinking how it recruits, trains or defines talent. While apprenticeships have long been promoted by the government as a route to skills, employment and social mobility, turning that ambition into reality has often proved uneven. Joanna has been one of the rare figures who has not only believed in the promise of apprenticeships, but has done the hard, detailed work of making them function in practice.
Her authority in this space comes from experience. After a long and successful career as a solicitor at the top of the profession, Joanna understood the internal mechanics of elite firms — their pressures, incentives and ingrained habits. When she began advocating for solicitor apprenticeships, she did so not as an outsider with a theory, but as someone who knew exactly what she was asking firms to change, and why it mattered. Apprenticeships in law were never just a new training route; they represented a cultural shift, and Joanna approached that shift with realism as well as conviction.
She says “I guess I am unusual in working for 25 years as a solicitor and then pivoting to be a full-time champion of solicitor apprenticeships after co-leading the introduction of the solicitor apprenticeship route to qualification at Allen & Overy as it then was. I am not aware of anyone else who has done that! I am fortunate that this dual experience provides me with a unique insight into the experiences of solicitor apprentices, their supervisors and law firms in general".
Government policy has, for some time, positioned apprenticeships as a serious alternative to the traditional university-first pathway, emphasising the value of earning while learning and widening access to high-skilled professions. Sir Keir Starmer recently emphasised how important they are in creating a better world for young people. Joanna’s work aligns closely with that direction of travel, but what distinguishes her is her focus on delivery rather than slogans. She has worked with firms to navigate the practical realities: designing programmes that are rigorous, embedding pastoral support, and ensuring apprentices are treated as future professionals rather than side projects.
In doing so, she has challenged one of the most persistent myths in professional life — that broadening access somehow undermines excellence. Joanna has consistently argued, and shown, that the opposite is true. When firms widen the routes in, they uncover talent that might otherwise be missed. Apprentices bring commitment, perspective and resilience, and when properly supported, they perform at the highest level. This is not ideology; it is evidence, accumulated over time.
A significant part of Joanna’s influence has come through collaboration. She has worked across alliances of firms, educators, institutions and sectors to normalise apprenticeships as a credible, mainstream route into law. Rather than presenting change as a rebuke to tradition, she has framed it as an evolution — one that strengthens the profession’s long-term relevance and legitimacy. It is an approach that has brought sceptics into the conversation and helped move the needle where policy alone often cannot.
“For Joanna herself, the award is unlikely to prompt any dramatic change of pace. Those who know her well suspect the celebrations will be modest and swiftly followed by a return to whatever needs doing next.”
This commitment to the profession in its broadest sense is also reflected in Joanna’s involvement with the City of London Solicitors’ Company. Her participation in the Company speaks to a deep respect for the history, standards and civic role of the profession, and to a belief that tradition and progress are not mutually exclusive. The City’s Livery Companies have long been about stewardship — passing on skills, values and opportunity — and Joanna’s work on apprenticeships fits naturally within that lineage. She is helping to ensure that the future of the profession is as robust and principled as its past, while being far more open.
"Something that made me very happy in 2025 was the increasing presence of solicitor apprentices at City of London Solicitors' Company events. To begin with, this was happening because I would always take an apprentice or two as my guests, but now apprentices are being invited by other members of the Company and the Clerk to the Company always now offers tickets to events that would otherwise be wasted due to occasional last minute drop outs. Furthermore, as reported in a previous edition of City Solicitor, the Company has opened access to solicitor apprentices to become Associate Members. Solicitor apprentices, paralegals seeking training contracts and trainees can all apply to be an Associate for £50 a year".
The social mobility dimension of Joanna’s work cannot be overstated. Apprenticeships remove some of the most entrenched barriers to entry into law: the cost of full-time university, the expectation of unpaid experience, and the unspoken assumption that there is a single “right” background. Joanna has been clear, repeatedly, that talent is everywhere but opportunity is not. Her work has been about closing that gap in practical ways — not through grand gestures, but through systems that actually change who gets through the door.
What makes this particularly effective is her leadership style. Joanna is persuasive without being preachy, strategic without being remote. She has an ability to translate between worlds — policy, practice, education and lived experience — and to make conversations about apprenticeships feel grounded rather than abstract. In meetings where discussions risk becoming theoretical, she has a knack for returning to first principles: who is this for, and does it work?
That clarity has made her a trusted voice in national discussions about skills and access. She understands the Government’s objectives around apprenticeships, but she also understands where those objectives can falter if they are not matched by engagement on the ground. Her work sits at that crucial intersection between ambition and implementation, where good ideas either take root or quietly fail. The MBE recognises the importance of that often invisible labour.
There is another strand to Joanna’s contribution that deserves attention: her generosity with time and influence. She is a mentor in the truest sense, supporting others as they navigate unfamiliar or historically exclusionary professional environments. Her current priority is mentoring care leavers into the legal profession. This is not mentoring as a badge or a branding exercise; it is sustained, thoughtful advocacy. Careers have shifted because Joanna made an introduction, offered reassurance, or simply made it clear that someone belonged.
All of this is done with a characteristic lightness of touch. Joanna does not dominate rooms or centre herself in narratives of change. She is comfortable working behind the scenes, connecting people, smoothing paths and letting others take the spotlight. The result is leadership that feels expansive rather than performative — and in an age often dominated by noise, that restraint is striking.
Honours lists can sometimes feel disconnected from contemporary working life, but this one lands differently. At a time when debates about access, fairness and skills are increasingly urgent, Joanna’s MBE sends a clear signal about what is valued. It says that long-term commitment matters, that widening opportunity is central rather than peripheral, and that professions thrive when they take responsibility for their future.
For Joanna herself, the award is unlikely to prompt any dramatic change of pace. Those who know her well suspect the celebrations will be modest and swiftly followed by a return to whatever needs doing next. The work is far from finished. Apprenticeships continue to evolve, policy continues to shift, and the need for thoughtful, credible leadership remains.
Still, the moment deserves to be marked. The MBE offers a pause — a chance to reflect on how much has been achieved, and how much of that progress has been driven by someone willing to commit for the long haul. It brings visibility to work that has often been deliberately low-key, and it offers encouragement to others who believe that systems can be changed from within.
So yes, Joanna Hughes MBE has a pleasing ring to it — even if she might prefer not to dwell on it. The real achievement lies not in the letters themselves, but in what they represent: a career spent opening doors, challenging assumptions and proving that doing good does not require drama, only determination. The honour does not elevate Joanna above her work; it simply confirms its value. And in a world that too often confuses noise with impact, that feels like exactly the right outcome.
LIGHT TOUCH. HEAVY IMPACT.
“In a profession built on precedent, mentorship reminds us of the value of human judgement, generosity and perspective.”
Mentoring in the legal profession has long been spoken about as something for the young: the trainee finding their feet, the newly qualified solicitor navigating their first promotion, the associate wondering what on earth comes next. The City of London Solicitors’ Company’s new mentoring scheme will provide all this support and more. The scheme, launching this Spring, is drawn on a much broader canvas, recognising that careers in law are rarely linear, predictable or neatly staged – and that support, perspective and thoughtful conversation can be just as valuable at mid-career, partnership level, in the run-up to retirement, or during moments of reinvention, as they are at the outset.
The enduring power of mentorship lies in its simplicity. At its most effective, it is not about instruction or hierarchy, nor a checklist of worthy objectives, but about conversation: one person offering time, perspective and attention to another, without an agenda beyond helping them think more clearly about where they are and where they might go next. In a profession as demanding and fast-moving as law, that protected space for reflection can be quietly transformative.
Mentorship has a particular resonance in the City, where success is often measured in billable hours, titles and transactions, and where the unspoken rules of progression can feel opaque even to the most accomplished practitioners. A mentor can help decode those unwritten expectations, challenge assumptions and, just as importantly, offer reassurance that uncertainty is not a personal failing but a common feature of long legal careers. For many, the most valuable moments come not from advice at all, but from hearing that others have wrestled with similar questions – and lived to tell the tale.
It is also a powerful counterweight to professional isolation. As lawyers move through their careers, peer groups narrow and opportunities for honest discussion can quietly diminish.
Obviously many firms offer valuable mentoring schemes. They are particularly useful when someone is looking for precise support on what to do within the firm. The advantage of an external mentor is that the mentee can talk absolutely freely with someone whose only interest is helping that individual to succeed and who is able to draw on experience gleaned from other firms or in-house. The scheme is open to those in private practice and those inhouse subject only to them being an associate or member of the Company
Crucially, mentorship can expand what lawyers imagine is possible. Whether that leads to being kept on as as associate, moving into partnership, portfolio careers, governance roles or something entirely different, the confidence to choose – rather than drift insecurely– is one of mentorship’s quieter strengths.
In a profession built on precedent, mentorship reminds us of the value of human judgement, generosity and perspective. Its impact is rarely immediate or easily measurable, but over time it shapes careers, cultures and communities in ways that are subtle, cumulative and enduring.
At its heart, the Company’s scheme is deliberately light touch – but designed for lasting and meaningful impact. This is not a a rigid programme of prescribed meetings and outcomes. Instead, it is built around the idea that mentoring works best when it is tailored: shaped by the needs of the individual, responsive to where they are in their working life, and flexible enough to evolve over time. For some, the value lies simply in having space for candid, experience-led conversation with someone who understands the particular pressures – and privileges – of City practice.
The City of London Solicitors’ Company is unusually well placed to offer this kind of support. Where the City of London Law Society focuses on firms and the issues shaping the profession, the Company has always been more closely attuned to the individual lawyer and their specific needs. It also brings long experience of mentoring in different forms, with initiatives such as the Lucky Girls scheme offering a clear illustration of what thoughtful, people-centred support can achieve.
Its membership spans generations, practice areas and professional pathways, bringing together those at the start of their careers with those who have decades of experience behind them, as well as many who have taken less conventional routes through law. The mentorship scheme draws directly on that diversity, pairing participants not according to a single template, but through a matching process that reflects experience, interests and aspirations on both sides.
Importantly, the scheme recognises that mentoring is not a one-way street. While those seeking guidance may benefit from insight and perspective, mentors themselves often gain just as much from the exchange: fresh thinking, renewed connection to the profession, and the opportunity to reflect on their own journeys through the act of supporting others. In a profession that can feel increasingly transactional and relentlessly busy, the programme offers something quietly radical: a structured yet human way of fostering generosity, curiosity and continuity across the City’s legal community.
In choosing a bespoke, adaptable model, the City of London Solicitors’ Company is making a statement about what modern professional support should look like – and, indeed, what a modern Livery Company can be. Not prescriptive, not confined to a particular age or stage, and not driven by metrics alone, but grounded in trust, shared experience and the understanding that careers, like people, rarely fit neatly into predefined boxes.
If you are interested in becoming a mentor or a mentee, please contact clerk@citysolicitors.org. uk for more information.
Celebration of Impact
On Tuesday 7 October, members of the City of London Solicitors’ Company and City of London Law Society (CLLS) gathered for the annual Celebration of Impact, an evening that shone a light on the work carried out by Committees, charitable partners and members throughout the year.
The evening opened with the presentation of several awards, each recognising a different facet of service.
Helen Boniface, Counsel at Hogan Lovells International LLP, was awarded the 2025 Wig & Pen Prize for her leadership and commitment to pro bono work, particularly supporting bereaved families and frontline social care workers. In 2024 alone, she dedicated over 840 hours to pro bono matters, including major inquests like the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry for care workers. Described during the ceremony as a “model of pro bono leadership”, Helen has built Hogan Lovells’ inquest pro bono practice for over a decade and has used judicial review to achieve pioneering outcomes.
In an unusual departure from tradition, the Distinguished Service Award was awarded to Simon Davis, marking the first time a Senior or Junior Warden has received the honour. The decision, unanimous among the Court, reflected Simon’s pivotal role in leading the Company’s most extensive strategic review to date, alongside years of service.
Jude D’Alesio at A&O Shearman LLP, and a former City Solicitors Horizons alumnus, was awarded the 2025 City of London Solicitors’ Company Prize for his essay on balancing the Rule of Law with economic growth after a highly competitive process.
Sports achievements were also celebrated. The Sports Team of the Year Award went to the Company’s Netball Team, which was largely composed of solicitor apprentices and captained by Shreya Bhogaita. Their performances against more
recognised for his determination to contribute despite injury.
The evening also featured inspiring talks from Master Virginia Cannon, charitable partners and Committee Chairs, highlighting the breadth and impact of the Company and CLLS.
City Solicitors Horizons, now in its tenth year, outlined its work supporting aspiring lawyers from lower socio-economic backgrounds through mentoring, professional development and access to opportunities that build social and cultural capital.
Prisoners Abroad, marking its 50th year, described its vital role supporting British citizens imprisoned overseas, providing welfare grants, legal information and emotional support to families. Rights of Women advised over 3,100 women in the last year, training 1,400 professionals and influencing policy.
Further examples of community impact came from Haringey Law Centre. Supported since 2016, the centre has expanded from assisting 450 clients annually, to over 7,500, including landmark work on housing cases such as the Ayinde case.
The Social Welfare Solicitor Qualification Fund (SWSQF) has raised £1.575 million, enabling 145 aspiring social welfare solicitors to qualify. It was also pleased to announce additional and ongoing support through a bequest from family of the late Stephen Denyer.
Committees also shared highlights of their work, from advising the Home Office and HMRC to contributing to new legislation.
The evening showcased just a fraction of the practical and profound impact delivered across the profession. ■
seasoned opposition were commended. The Sports Person of the Year Award was awarded to Oliver Williams, the youngest member of the Company,
Images by Jampondphotography.com
THE HISTORIC CLSC 2025 JOINT LIVERY DINNER
Ginny Cannon’s theme for her year as Master of the Company is “connecting”: and, in that spirit, a unique joint “Amity” dinner was held in November in the magnificent Hall of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple.
It was unique in that it brought together at a joint dinner the solicitor Liverymen of the Company (and their guests) and the barristers and judges of the Inner Temple. As the Master’s husband Richard Salter KC, the Treasurer of the Inner Temple, said in welcoming everyone, the Inner Temple can trace its origins back to the 14th century, but in all the time that has passed since then, there has never been a dinner quite like this in bringing together in amity the two sides of the legal profession.
The dinner was preceded by Choral Evensong in the Temple Church. This service, which was very well-attended by members of the Company, was conducted by the Reverend and Valiant Master of the Temple, Dr Robin Griffith Jones. The choir of the Temple Church sang the canticles to settings by Herbert Howells, and the Master and her husband read the lessons.
The theme of amity and connecting continued during the dinner itself, which involved a mix of the dining customs of the two societies. Grace was said in Latin by the Master of the Temple, not sung as it often would be at a Company Livery dinner. Much amusement, however, was caused by the introduction of the Company’s ceremony of the loving cup, something which many of the members of the Inner
Temple had not experienced before. Surprisingly, some of the barristers proved not to be very good at following the “instructions” given by the solicitors of the Company in the Menu Cards!
Speeches (unlike those at many Company events) were generally very short: but the guest speaker, Lady Justice Juliet May DBE, gave an inspiring address about trust - the trust which lawyers should be able to have in each other and which the public ought to be able to have in judges and lawyers.
After dinner there was what the Company called a “stirrup cup” and what the Inner Temple (rather more prosaically) called an “after bar” in the beautifully decorated Luncheon Room next to the Hall, at which the celebrations and the making of friends and connections went on into the night.
As the Master said in her speech of welcome, the purpose of the evening was to increase understanding and links between the two halves of the profession. In that, this joint “amity” event was plainly a great success, and very enjoyable for all concerned. ■
LESS FORMAL. LESS CLOSED. MORE INVITING
On January 20th 2026, I was invited to attend the City of London Solicitors’ Company Court and Livery Dinner held at the Company’s very stylish and beautiful new home, the Furniture Makers Hall in Austin Friars. (Just walking into the building and seeing the stunning staircase takes your breath away.)
The dinner was preceded by a Court Meeting and then a ceremony to formally admit new Freemen and Liverymen. For those - like me - for whom Livery Companies are shrouded in mystery, I learned there are three strata, firstly freedom of the Company, then of the City and, finally, a Liveryman. Members work through these ranks before then going on to become Stewards and, ultimately, one becomes a Master- an honour this year held by Virginia Cannon.
On arrival, I was greeted by the Company’s Beadle, Anthony Parker, who with his humour and warmth made everyone feel welcome and at ease. The Court Meeting was still in play and so I waited with the nine lawyers who were about to be admitted, seven as Freemen and two as Liverymen. Beadle Tony entertained us with fascinating stories of the Company and its traditions over his many decades with them. The group was a fascinating mix of people; obviously, all originally solicitors but some now doing very different things - yet all still wishing to maintain a closeness and connection to their original profession via the collegiate character of the Company.
I chatted with Cail Wyn Evans, previously with Mayer Brown LLP, who now is with a legal tech start-up, Wexler, as their Head of Commercial Strategy. Cail is loving his new challenge and says his time as a solicitor more than prepared him for the transition. David Leach and Joan Scott told me about their roles as in-house counsel and Joan Ma amazed me by telling me she - after having had a hugely successful career as a finance solicitor, including a stint at Morgan Stanley, is now a milliner (watch out Philip Treacy). Also admitted were Melanie Nash, Alexander Denny, Colin Ngan, Borja Ruiz de Gopegui and Dominic Cooper. After the ceremony, as the new admittees proudly held their certificates, we celebrated with a glass of champagne. We were then summoned by Beadle Tony into dinner. Historically, this dinner was for Court members only but, as times change and Livery Companies become more open and inclusive, now Liverymen are also invited. Livery company dinners are known for their fabulous pomp and ceremony with strange but wonderful traditions and many speeches and toasts. But this one is very, very different. It is a much smaller and intimate affair (last night there were 35 guests) and it is a much less formal and more relaxed occasion. The head table was flanked by two other tables and it felt like we were at a friend’s very wonderful dinner party where everyone had the opportunity to really talk to old friends and make new ones.
The evening began with a welcome speech from the Master, Virginia Cannon, who looked very regal and elegant in her robes. The Master introduced her guests and warmly set the scene for the evening using words like “warm” and “intimate”; her radiant smile melted away any apprehension I may have had and I can truly say she made everyone feel welcome and included.
I was seated next to the Deputy Clerk of the Company, Julie Pearce, and with a really fun and entertaining group; Luca Cordelli, Simon McMenemy and Artur Burzynski. Yes we talked law (a bit) but we discussed wine (a lot), theatre, sport and, so comfortable were we, we even ventured into religion and politics with no casualties.
Both the food and wine were exquisite and very plentiful - my highlight was the 2019 Cote de Nuits Villages, Ambroise, selected by the Company’s Wine Committee. Delicious.
Looking around the room you could see a wonderful mix of people of different generations, different nationalities - testament to how welcoming and inclusive the Company is.
I had the privilege to chat with the Master about her year so far. She is someone who really exudes warmth and who very clearly is passionate about the Company. Her personality very much set the tone for the event.
I chatted also to the next Master, Simon Davis, about what he wants to achieve in his upcoming year. He came up with one word - WOW - and explained that is the reaction he wants to evoke about everything the Company does and is involved in from contributions to charities to the opportunity to attend incredible events and even to the quality of the champagne.
In a heartbeat, the evening was over. Everyone was having so much fun the time literally flew by. We said our goodbyes to newly made friends and thanked our gracious hostess, the Master, for creating such a wonderfully intimate event that managed to embrace both the traditions of the past whilst also having its feet very firmly in today’s world.
I loved this event. The Company affords its members so many incredible opportunities to attend extraordinary venues, to participate in very different experiences - but also to feel part of a very warm and inclusive community. ■
WHY MINGLING MATTERS
The inaugural CoMingle Solicitors’ Social, hosted by the City of London Solicitors’ Company (CLSC), took place at Furniture Makers’ Hall on Thursday 27 November. 2025. The event was created to help potential new members learn more about the Company, connect with existing members, and expand their professional networks.
Around 45 attendees joined the evening, including prospective members and senior representatives of the Company such as the Master, Virginia Canon, Senior Warden Simon Davis, and Steward Lee McLernon.
Feedback following the event was overwhelmingly positive. As a result, additional CoMingle gatherings will be held at Furniture Makers’ Hall from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the following dates:
6 May 2026
2 September 2026
The evening set a brilliant precedent for future CLSC social events. New and existing members alike enjoyed an informal, friendly atmosphere, with warm introductions from the Master, Senior Warden, Steward and CLSC Clerk Kerri Mansfield. Members of the Communications Committee,
including Neha Jannath, Mitchell Blythe, Oliver Williams, Charlie Moore, and Gareth Ledsham, were also present to welcome guests.
Why CoMingle Matters
The CoMingle concept recognises that some of the most meaningful career opportunities arise not from formal emails but from authentic human connections. The CLSC designed this event to bring together legal professionals from across the career spectrum—from paralegals and apprentices to experienced associates, inhouse counsel, and partners.
For early career lawyers, CoMingle provides a chance to build confidence and meet the wider legal community without the formality of traditional conferences or client dinners. For more established lawyers, it offers an opportunity to connect with emerging talent and strengthen the future of the profession.
Attendees were encouraged to bring their curiosity, share their experiences, exchange stories, and enjoy the relaxed setting. The hope is that many future professional relationships will begin with the words “I met them at that CLSC CoMingle event…”.
We will be hosting an informal Livery Dinner at Furniture Makers' Hall on 31 March; an opportunity to enjoy fellowship (or network if you prefer!) with other members of our livery over fine food and wine without the formality of a black tie dinner. So, no formal speeches but the Master is likely to say a few words!
The next edition of Co-Mingle, Solicitors' Social, our new regular informal event for both members and non-members with an interest in the Company, will take place on 6 May at Furniture Makers' Hall. There's no obligation to be there from beginning to end and, if the first such event is anything to go by, we expect a good mix of non-members and both long-standing and younger members and for the drinks and conversation to flow well. If you have any questions about the Company, this is the event for you!
After a year away, we return to the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula for our annual Guild Service on 11 May, which is followed by supper at Trinity House. The current chapel, one of two Chapels Royal within HM Tower of London, was constructed during the reign of Henry VIII and is the burial place of three queens and a patron saint of lawyers and the service, sung by the magnificent chapel choir, includes a moment of reflection for those recently departed. Following the service, we move up to Tower Green and into Trinity House, the headquarters of the authority responsible for lighthouses in England, Wales, the Channel Islands
Let’s talk about events
Steward and events convenor Lee McLernon selects his highlights of forthcoming events with the Company and in the City.
and Gibraltar. Seated at round tables named after lighthouses, this informal supper is probably my favourite event of the Company's year as it allows for easy conversation in beautiful surroundings.
In conjunction with the University of Law London Alumni Network and the National Liberal Club's Legal Circle, we will be hosting a panel discussion relating to the route to partnership at the National Liberal Club on 13 May. Attendees at a similar session last year heard from partners who had been made up across the decades and found the event incredibly insightful and helpful.
Every year I look forward to Common Hall, the twice annual meeting of the City-wide Livery in the Great Hall at Guildhall. The next Common Hall will be held on Midsummer Day, 24 June, when we meet to elect the Sheriffs for 26/27 and other City officers (including the Ale Conners – ask me sometime about what they do!). All members of the Livery who were clothed before May 2025 are entitled to attend and vote and you can get a pass for entry from the Clerk. We follow the meeting with lunch in a Livery Hall, where Livery members and their guests have the opportunity to mix with other companies.
The following week, the Company meets on 29 June for its Annual General Meeting at Merchant Taylors' Hall, which includes the installation of the new Master and Wardens. This is followed by a champagne
reception and the Outgoing Master's Dinner at which we will celebrate the Immediate Past Master's impact during their year in office and look forward to the new Master's year. Merchant Taylors' Hall is a very elegant venue and has an excellent organ; noting that the Master's consort is an organist, I think we'll be in for a special treat!
Finally, I want to mention a couple of events that should appear in the diary shortly. First, an evening at the Temple Bar. The Temple Bar used to serve as the gate between the Cities of London and Westminster and stood outside what is now the Royal Courts of Justice but now, after a period of residence at Theobald's Park, forms the entrance to Paternoster Square. It is also the home of the Architects' Company and the smallest livery hall in the City. Join us for a tour of the building and a lecture followed by refreshments. Secondly, we will enjoy Dinner with the Aldermen at the Guildhall during which we will learn more about the City from Aldermen who have a connection with the Company, surely a must for any members of the Company who are interested in the civic City or may be looking towards involvement with the governance of the City.
Further details of events can be found on the events section of the CLSC webpage.
Dye & Durham integrates Stewart Title Indemnity Insurance to Unity® Platform
London, UK: Dye & Durham has announced that Stewart Title Indemnity Insurance is now fully available within its Unity® legal platform, giving conveyancers a simpler, faster way to order and manage both property searches and title insurance from the same system.
The integration means Unity® users can now obtain quotes, draft policies and place cover in minutes, without leaving the platform they already use to manage conveyancing due diligence searches, client onboarding, AML/KYC checks, practice management, and legal accounting.
Through the Stewart Title online solution, firms have access to over 150 cover options, including policies for recently completed and multi-unit properties, as well as support for bespoke and complex risks.
Colin Bohanna, Managing Director at Dye & Durham UK, said: “In just a matter of minutes, conveyancing professionals can secure appropriate cover for common title issues, all within Unity®. Our aim has always been to bring essential services together into one place to streamline the overall process for our customers. By adding Stewart Title Indemnity Insurance into our Unity® platform, we’re providing a more connected way to not only manage searches but also title protection without delay.
Stewart Title’s policies cover a wide range of common conveyancing scenarios, such as missing or defective title documents, restrictive covenant breaches, absent freeholders, rights of way or access issues, or title defects that could otherwise delay completion. By incorporating ordering within Unity®, it provides a more connected way of managing conveyancing risks.
Robert Kelly, Stewart Title, said: “Stewart Title is trusted by both lenders and lawyers for the quality and breadth of our indemnity cover and our claims support. Making our full range of policies available directly within Dye & Durham’s Unity® legal platform gives firms swift access to robust protection, whether for straightforward risks or more complex scenarios.”
Concludes Colin Bohanna: “We’re proud to align with a recognised and trusted brand like Stewart Title, giving our clients confidence and convenience. This integration supports good conveyancing practice, helps firms to act quickly when title issues arise and keeps everything organised within the same digital workspace.”
To learn more, stream the on-demand webinar “Protect Your Client's Title with Stewart Title Insurance” or arrange a demonstration, by visiting www.dyedurham.com ■
AN ADDICTION FOR MINUTIAE
You clearly know what foodies Paul and I are. And after our trip to Wales (see last two issues), even London’s top offerings were falling short. To add even more insult to the injury, I happen to live in Finchley where the concept of fine dining simply doesn’t exist. Or so I thought.
Whilst in Wales (yes, this is now the third issue where I am talking about that piece of heaven), Jake, sommelier at Gwen,and we were discussing best places to eat in London (as we restaurant addicts do) and he said Otaku.
Neither Paul nor I had ever heard of Otaku - which was pretty much a first for us ‘know it alls’ when it comes to the restaurant scene - so we grabbed at this crumb offered to us like starving animals.
Jake explained Otaku was a pop up run by an ex Ynyshir chef, Max Posener, who had been taught by the master himself, Gareth Ward.
And it was in - wait for it - Finchley.
I was convinced Jake had got it wrong - surely, he meant Finchley Road - somewhere near Swiss Cottage perhaps?
He was adamant. Finchley. Hmmmmmmmmmm.
I immediately looked it up. And, indeed, there it was, just up the road from me.
As soon as we got back to London, I tried to book. But it's not that simple. The pop up only operates roughly one weekend a month. To get a ticket (and there are only 10 for each event) you need to sign up to be on Max’s list and you receive a text as soon as the dates are announced - and you have to act fast as they go in a heartbeat.
I signed up. Immediately. And got a lovely message from Max saying how nice it was to be in touch - again!
Who is Max?
It turned out years before, we had met at an old favourite restaurant of mine (which sadly is no more) in Islington which is where his journey in the hospitality sector began.
Recommended by Jake, in Finchley and someone I knew from the old days. This all bode very well.
I waited. And waited. Not so patiently and one day in September whilst I was away on holiday in San Sebastian (a foodie paradise so another sign!) a text arrived with details of December dates. I booked two tickets straight away.
WHERE TO EAT
“I asked Max where the name Otaku was from. He explained it is a Japanese word that means someone who is obsessed with minutiae, even to the detriment of other things.”
And last night was that night in December when I discovered that not only had fine dining come to Finchley but this ‘local’ was pretty much the best food I had ever had in this capital city that has more Michelin stars than the sky has actual stars.
But let’s start at the beginning. Otaku is run out of Max’s parents’ house and our instruction email told us to arrive at 5.45pm for a 6pm sharp start. The tickets were priced at £150 each for an 18 course tasting menu. Wine is on a BYO basis, with a £20 per bottle corkage and cocktails are on offer, created and made by Ollie Baggott, another ex-Ynyshir employee.
We were so enthusiastic we were there at 5.30 very curious as to what was in store for us. We - a tad nervously - knocked on the door and said Ollie greeted us and introduced himself and guided us in while a very chic young lady took our coats. We entered a beautiful kitchen where Max and a team of helpers were very calmly and beautifully prepping. Open from the kitchen was a stunning dining room with a very large table and ten chairs. It felt like we were at a very special dinner party. Ollie took us to the seats that had been especially allocated very cleverly - pairs were separated diagonally so having to engage with others on the table.
Two guests had arrived before us, Sara and Miguel. Sara, like us, is somewhat food obsessed and so we immediately got into restaurant talk. The table very quickly filled and everyone was chatting away like old friends brought together with a common love - then the first course was served.
But before I wax lyrical about the food, I have to tell you the house is beautiful, the art on the walls is beautiful, the glasses the wines are served in are beautiful and the plates are total works of exquisite art. I found out these are made by a local Highgate ceramistist, Kyri Mouzouris, who I will most definitely be visiting sometime very soon.
Scene set stunningly.
The first plate was an Orkney scallop tempura with Katsu and Garam. The flavours exploded in my mouth. It was divine.
Dish after dish of utter joy was then served for the next four hours. There was not one dish I would not give 10/10 to. This was not just food. This definitely was not M&S food. This was utter perfection. Food to die for.
You can see the menu yourselves, if I described every course I would need all 48 pages of the magazine and more superlative adjectives than actually exist. Everything comprised the absolute finest ingredients, langoustine, hamachi, caviar, foie gras, oysters, beef that melted in your mouth like butter. These were ingredients fit for kings, the best of the best and put together into innovative, incredible creations that play with your brain but completely delight your palate and your soul. Not only did every dish taste amazing but they almost looked too good to eat. Not that that stopped us! We could see everything being prepared - the zen aura in the kitchen was palpable. And Max came to the table as each dish was served and described it with such love and passion, he told us of kissing ingredients on the barbecue, of combining pork scratchings and salt and vinegar with chocolate (yes, honestly, and let me tell you it was my absolute favourite dessert), he asked opinions of new dishes that he was making for the first time - like the ramen (chicken broth with noodles) which I think was my personal favourite.
Max’s food is clearly inspired by his time at Ynyshir. His sous chef, as well as Ollie, trained there. Asian influences are paramount. But there is a joyful playfulness too; a prawn dog with ketchup and mustard is a great example. And Max is boldly adventurous with punchy flavours. I couldn't believe the layers of flavours that revealed themselves in my mouth with each taste.
Paul and I were sitting next to two very gorgeously dressed and very beautiful young women in their twenties. (The guests were a complete melting pot of age and culture but everyone had a passion for food and style.) Our new best friends were Olivia Egan, a stylist and Hope Winter, a singer songwriter who
told us that she works with Sam, Max’s brother, who is a music producer and that she had sung at Max’s previous event. Wait! There would be music too?
Indeed. Towards the end of the evening, Sam played guitar and an absolutely amazing singer, Brook Rivers, entertained us. But I was never going to sit next to a singer and not persuade her to sing too so we managed to coax Hope into doing a number as well. Honestly, she was totally incredible. Both she and Brook are going to be very big artists so how privileged were we to hear them perform for us in such an intimate environment?
The evening was drawing to a close. Paul and I had shared a bottle of Sugrue’s Trouble with Dreams and a delicious Muscat I had brought back from a trip to Alsace but Ollie tempted us with a glass (or two in Paul’s case) of Royal Tokaji which was nectar. Ollie had served all the guests their wines throughout the evening, topping up the perfect appropriate glassware for the different wines alongside making cocktails there was an entire cocktail menu to choose from) and chatting to us all about wine and spirits and sakes. This man knows his stuff. Ollie told us he is the head sommelier at Strakers in Notting Hill but the ex Ynyshir dream team come together for the Otaku pop ups.
I asked Max where the name Otaku was from. He explained it is a Japanese word that means someone who is obsessed with minutiae, even to the detriment of other things. This is the perfect name for this pop up where no detail is overlooked from the cutlery to your napkin being picked up and folded beautifully every time you go to the bathroom. And, of course, the attention to detail that goes into every single dish is literally mind blowing. This food is not something that is easy to create. Max must literally work forever trying different combinations, different measurements, different ingredients, different seasonings in order to achieve something so perfect. Do not be fooled by the fact this is in a suburban home. The level of service, the attention to every single detail, the quality of the food were all so sublime you could be in a two starred Michelin star restaurant in Mayfair.
Max is a true artist in every sense. He is a calm, quiet soul who has put 110% into creating the perfect dining experience. Whilst there is no denying his sensational food is most definitely the star of the show, it is not alone in shining. The cocktails were yum (yes we had to finish off with an espresso martini), the ambiance was that of the best dinner party you have ever been to (Max studied psychology so clearly understands people and the dynamics of how to put them together) and the art, furniture and flatware all added to a night I will never forget.
I know I have used the word ‘perfect’ countless times in this article but, honestly, this was as near to the most perfect night you could have.
We even got given a little ‘takeaway’ so we could literally take away something of the Otaku experience home - some gorgeous homemade fudge which I devoured whilst writing this.
You may not live in Finchley but GO. It’s two minutes from Finchley Central tube and there is literally no more perfect place in London.
But be quick - Max is planning on continuing the pop up throughout 2026 but is set to open his own restaurant sometime in 2027 - and he is hell bent on getting a Michelin star (or two!).
So get your pop up tickets whilst you can - and, should you be interested in investing in the planned restaurant, contact him directly.
OTAKU
6 Victoria Avenue
Finchley N3 1BD
Instagram @otakupopup
Tickets https://www.exploretock.com/otaku-london/
For info about investing in Max’s new restaurant; Max Posener Maxposener@gmail.com
To find out more about the ceramics; Mouzuri Ware @muzuriware www.muzuriware.com
And to hear some gorgeous music; Brook Rivers @brookmeetsworld and Hope Winter @hopewintermusic
SiP
Welcome To SIP, our new regular column devoted to every delicious thing we can sip; wines, cocktails and non alcoholic delights.
Written by our journalist Maroulla Paul who is a self confessed nerd when it comes to wines and spirits. Maroulla has WSET Wines and Spirits Level 3, WSET Sake Level 1 and Capstone Level 1 (so far!)
A handshake. A FIG martini. AND THE REST IS HISTORY.
Afew months ago, I was travelling to Mexico City for a break. Needless to say, I was beyond excited about all the Frida Kahlo experiences that would be in store for me, not to mention the pyramids, the canals - and the tacos, of course. CDMX is very well known for being a foodie paradise; there are Michelin restaurants in abundance alongside street food that is renowned for its excellence. And then there is the amazing drink side of things; Mexican wines, margaritas, tequila, mescal - not to mention the best cocktail bar in the world - as ranked by the prestigious World’s 50 Top Bars.
Except we are very much going to mention it.
I discovered Handshake as I was researching and preparing an action packed itinerary. Yes, the number one ranked cocktail bar in the world just happened to be where I was next going. (It has since slipped to number two, but at that crazy level of superlative, who would notice the difference?) Needless to say, I was desperate to get a reservation. This could only be made 14 days before - and the spots went like hotcakes so I had to navigate the time difference, ink it in my calendar, set alarms and pray.
The prayers were answered. We were in.
Our reservation was for our very first day in the city and, because it’s a speakeasy, and we had not yet in any way figured out different areas in this vast place, we decided to get there early to give ourselves time to find the place and then we could have a stroll around. Handshake is located between Colonia Juarez and Zona Rosa. We were staying in Polanco and, on our taxi drive to the address we were given, we went through some really gorgeous areas. But, fair to say this area was a bit less opulent - and that’s being nice. We arrived at C. Amberes 65 to find a hotel - but after a wander around, it was clear the bar was not in the hotel. As we were leaving, we spotted a queue forming - already! Outside a black door with a number 13 on it - and no signage whatsoever. This was clearly it. There was still an hour to go till the bar opened (we had the first reservation at 6pm) so we decided to explore a little.
We came back at 10 to 6 and the queues were now very substantial. A woman with a clipboard was going round checking whether you had a reservation and then putting you into two different lines.
There was most definitely a buzz, an anticipation - but, as 6pm came and went and the doors were not simply opened but people called in separately and with a time lag, I started to think maybe this was not the level of sophistication we are used to in London with places like the Donovan Bar or Velvet.
I’ll be honest, I was even on the verge of leaving when our names were called. We were guided to our particular space - Handshake comprises three separate bars within one building, and you don’t get to choose which one you go to. I have no idea what the other two are like but, as we entered ours, my breath was taken away. It was absolutely beautiful. As we walked in, the entire staff shouted out ‘bienvenido’ in perfect unison. A little bit of a smile in an otherwise uber smart, chic environment.
The room was tiny. There were stools around the bar - where, fortunately we were seated and which is always my preferred option - and some tables. Again, where you sat was not a choice.
We were immediately given water - always needed in a cocktail bar - and menus. The list was creative, innovative and exciting. Truthfully, everything sounded so delicious, I could have just stuck a pin in to make my choice - but eventually I opted for an Orange Blossom - which comprised Altos Silver Tequila, Jasmine Tea, Lemon Vanilla, Orange Blossom and Whey and was described as citrusy, floral and short. Alana decided on the Olive Oil Gimlet which was made from Don Julio Blanco Tequila, Olive Oil. Apple, Rosemary, Lillet Blanc and was round, zesty and long.
Watching the barmen mix our drinks was incredible. The precision, the attention, the passion - all of these were palpable. We were definitely seeing art being created.
From the very first sip, I understood exactly why this place had been the number one spot. Our drinks were both extraordinary.
As we were happily sipping and observing the three bar staff mix their different creations, a very smiley, happy man came in and introduced himself to us with a bubble machine. Alana - who just happens to love bubbles - was in heaven. The said man was Rodrigo Urraca, one of the founders of Handshake. Rodrigo is the perfect host. The smile never leaves his face. He is super warm and welcoming and his enthusiasm was literally bursting out of every pore. I was full of questions - and Rodrigo was more than happy to share the story of Handshake with us. Rodrigo, initially a journalist, went through - as many of us do - a heartbreak and decided to change his life. He went to work for Red Bull but still wasn’t really happy. Being a spiritual man, he decided to go to India to “eat, pray and love”. When he returned home to Mexico City, he took a job as an ambassador for Torres brandy - a somewhat strange choice of job as Rodrigo didn’t really drink himself.
Whilst working for Torres, Rodrigo was invited to the World's Top 50 Bars awards ceremony, which he attended with his best client, Marcos Di Batista. The two of them started
“What is the secret to Handshake’s great success? Great cocktails obviously. Great service for sure. But Rodrigo says it all comes down to being a great team.”
chatting about what it would feel like to win such an award - but Rodrigo quickly dismissed the conversation saying he had no money to set up a bar. Marcos quickly retorted that he did not want Rodrigo’s money, just his talent and should he agree in that very moment to go into a partnership, Marcos would give him a percentage of the bar. They shook hands to seal the deal - and so Handshake was born.
The first iteration of Handshake was actually in the most expensive street in the whole of Latin America in the swanky Polanco area in 2018 at a time when the cocktail scene had not really taken hold of Mexico City. In those days, the drinking culture was about bottles not mixed drinks. Add to this the pandemic hit. Marcos and Rodrigo lost absolutely everything - except the name Handshake. Far from being the end, this point actually marked a brand new chapter.
Enter Eric van Beek, one of the finest mixologists in the world. Eric, a Dutchman, who decided to come to Mexico City for an adventure. Initially, a job he had been offered fell through. He then offered a job in a new bar that was being set up but, again, when the pandemic hit, the backer disappeared. Literally. With his last bit of money, Eric bought a ticket to go back to Amsterdam but the flight was cancelled and he was stuck in Mexico City.
This was fate. Eric and Rodrigo met. Rodrigo sipped a Fig Martini which Eric had made - and he says his “mind was blown”. Rodrigo knew he had to get Eric to join the team. By this point, Marcos had started building a new Handshake inside the NH hotel. He showed Rodrigo the space and Rodrigo was not impressed - but they were determined to make it happen.
Rodrigo started to talk to Marcos about how the most successful bars in the world - like Paradiso in Barcelona all had their bartender as a partner - and in this way he introduced Eric.
Initially Eric was a tad sceptical. He wasn’t convinced by the speakeasy concept Marcos and Rodrigo were proposing; to him speakeasies equated jazz music and strong alcohol forward drinks - but Rodrigo convinced him they could do it their own way.
Thus this holy trinity was born. And, obviously, just as a handshake is an integral part of the brand, so the Fig Martini is a permanent part of the menu.
Within six months, they were in that Top 50 list, entering at 25.
It was an upward trajectory from that moment onwards.
It was obviously time for us to try that famous Fig Martini - which Alana chose - and it did not disappoint. I went for one of the mini cocktails - a great way to try different things without overdosing on alcohol, more bars should do this! I chose my favourite, the negroni which was completely divine.
What is the secret to Handshake’s great success? Great cocktails obviously. Great service for sure. But Rodrigo says it all comes down to being a great team. Every member of the team is encouraged to be the face of the business every bit as much as the founders. Rodrigo likens them to a football team - each person is equally important to the end result. And because they are so important, they are treated brilliantly. In Mexico City, it is the norm to work six days a week; the Handshake team only does five. They get private insurance as part of their package. And they travel all over the world representing their brand.
I mentioned that Handshake is in three different spaces within its building - it started off as just one but with success came the need for more capacity.
As well as expanding the number of rooms within its original location, Handshake has also opened a sister bar in the city, Cantina Ahorita. It still is the same team; staff do shifts at both so it is one family.
Ahorita is unlike the typical cantinas found in Mexico City which are normally about getting you to drink lots and then giving you food for free. They are a bit down and dirty, messy. Not so in this case. Ahorita is sheer class - as its parent - but with less rules. Reservations are not needed. You can stand up and dance. It is a cantina in the sense it is all about fun - something Ahorita has in bucket loads. It has the class of Handshake - but less rules. And it doesn’t stop there. The team have recently opened a bar in Eric’s home town of Amsterdam called Shakerato.
Will Handshake get its number one spot back? I have no doubt of that. It is a unique experience where everything is exquisitely perfect. And if it has competition, then I suspect it will only come from Ahorita or Shakerato. I loved Handshake. Everything about it. It manages to be both very special but very home at the same time. Make sure you visit.
Handshake
Calle Amberes 65, Juárez, Mexico City, 06600, https://handshake.bar/ @handshake_bar also www.ahoritacantina.bar @ahoritacantina and @shakerato_bar
From precedent libraries to prompts The next step for legal drafting
Almost every lawyer maintains a Precedent Library, collections of letters, documents, and draft orders that serve as reliable templates for routine legal tasks. Whether housed centrally save time, promote consistency, and ensure that essential information is communicated accurately. They prevent lawyers from having to repeatedly craft the same content from scratch.
Almost every lawyer maintains a Precedent Library, collections of letters, documents, and draft orders that serve as reliable templates for routine legal tasks. Whether housed centrally within a firm or kept individually by lawyers, precedent banks save time, promote consistency, and ensure that essential information is communicated accurately. They prevent lawyers from having to repeatedly craft the same content from scratch.
Yet while precedents are widely used, most lawyers do not yet have something that may soon become equally indispensable: a bank of prompts for automated legal drafting. A prompt is a
Yet while precedents are widely used, most lawyers do not yet have something that may soon become equally indispensable: a bank of prompts for automated legal drafting. A prompt is a set of instructions given to artificial intelligence, essentially a command or description designed to generate a specific output such as a document, letter, or analysis. Writing a good prompt is much like instructing a trainee solicitor: the instructions must be clear, unambiguous, and thorough. The more detail the prompt contains, the higher the quality of the result. These prompts often include instructions that might seem obvious, such as avoiding Americanised spellings, but are crucial for consistent outputs.
such as a document, letter, or analysis. Writing a good prompt is much like instructing a trainee solicitor: the instructions must be clear, unambiguous, and thorough. The more detail the prompt contains, the higher the quality of the result. These prompts often include instructions that might seem obvious, such as avoiding
daunting; it seemed faster simply to type the letters myself. Yet the capability of AI systems to read and interpret case data changes that calculation. In theory, AI could identify pensions, values, dates, or factual circumstances directly from the matter, eliminating the need for manual data entry. A precedent could therefore evolve into a prompt, an automated set of rules that instructs AI on how to assemble the necessary document.
it for the correct reading order of John le Carré’s George Smiley novels. The idea of drafting complex legal instructions for AI was daunting; it seemed faster simply to type the letters myself. Yet the capability of AI systems to read and interpret case data changes that calculation. In theory, AI could identify pensions, values, dates, or factual circumstances directly from the matter, eliminating the need for manual data entry. A precedent could therefore evolve into a prompt, an automated set of rules that instructs AI on how to assemble the necessary document.
Once created, a prompt could be reused just like a precedent. It could tell the AI to consider the Pensions Advisory Group guidance, relevant Practice Directions, or even the terms of a specific court order. It could dictate formatting, tone, style, and legal framing. After the prompt runs within the secure environment of the case management system, the lawyer would receive a completed draft ready for review.
Once created, a prompt could be reused just like a precedent. It could tell the AI to consider the Pensions Advisory Group guidance, order. It could dictate formatting, tone, style, and legal framing. After the prompt runs within the secure environment of the case management system, the lawyer would receive a completed draft ready for review.
My recent move from private practice to a role with LEAP, a legal technology company specialising in case management software, has given me a new perspective on both precedents and prompts. As Head of Family Law, I now help shape the software to better support family lawyers. Leaving practice meant leaving behind 18 years’ worth of carefully curated precedents; I was hardly going to commit intellectual property theft to take them with me. Instead, I now work closely with LEAP’s precedent libraries, which contain a wide range of template letters and documents designed to streamline legal workflows.
In exploring these templates, I have begun adapting and creating precedents that offer enhanced automation. One example is a letter of instruction to an actuary, which not only pulls through key case details but also uses LEAP’s Word Add-in to offer dynamic questions. The lawyer indicates, for instance, whether a report is ordered or agreed, and the remainder of the letter changes automatically. This creates a more sophisticated tool than a static template, one that reduces repetitive drafting and accelerates routine tasks.
But this still raises an obvious question: what if technology could answer those questions itself by analysing information within the case file? This is where prompts rather than precedents begin to show their potential.
Another example is the preparation of briefs to counsel. Traditional precedents can pull basic information such as names, dates of birth, or case identifiers. But a prompt could go much further. It could analyse the matter file, summarise the children’s arrangements, extract the current issues in dispute, and compile the factual background. This would not replace the lawyer’s judgement, but it would provide a first draft similar to the one a trainee might prepare on their first day, only produced in seconds rather than an hour.
Artificial Intelligence is already reshaping legal practice, whether lawyers embrace it or not. The familiar saying captures the trend well: “AI won’t replace lawyers, but a lawyer using AI will.” Replacing or supplementing precedents with prompts is one way to harness the benefits of AI while preserving the lawyer’s expertise, oversight, and control. Just as precedents did not replace lawyers, prompts will not either. Instead, they represent a natural evolution in how we create, structure, and automate legal drafting in an increasingly digital profession.
When I joined LEAP, I had limited experience with AI prompting. My early use of ChatGPT had been purely personal, such as asking it for the correct reading order of John le Carré’s George Smiley novels. The idea of drafting complex legal instructions for AI was
But this still raises an obvious question: what if technology could answer those questions itself by analysing information within the show their potential.
When I joined LEAP, I had limited experience with AI prompting. My early use of ChatGPT had been purely personal, such as asking
Katie Phillips Head of Family Law in LEAP Verticals
Katie Phillips Head of Family Law in LEAP Verticals
TFOUR BOOKS FOR THE ROADAND THE CELLAR
here’s a particular satisfaction in books that feel as though they belong together, even when they weren’t written with that intention. Read side by side, these four titles – two focused on wine, two on travel – end up having a quiet conversation with each other about place, taste and how we choose to move through the world. They remind us that wine is never just something in a glass, and travel is rarely just about ticking places off a list. Both are about attention, curiosity and, increasingly, responsibility.
Rooted in Change: The Stories behind Sustainable Wine by Andy Neather and Jane Masters MW is the most overtly forward-looking of the four. It arrives at a moment when ‘sustainability’ is everywhere in the wine world, yet still poorly understood by many drinkers. Rather than laying down rules or preaching a single ideology, Neather and Masters take a more human approach, building the book around the stories of people who are trying to do things differently. Vineyard managers, winemakers and growers appear not as abstract case studies but as individuals grappling with real-world pressures: climate instability, rising costs, changing consumer expectations and the limits of tradition.
What makes the book especially engaging is its refusal to offer easy answers. Sustainability here isn’t a badge to be pinned on a bottle, but an ongoing set of decisions and compromises. One producer might reduce chemical inputs at the cost of yield; another might prioritise water use or biodiversity over formal certification. Jane Masters’ MW background is evident in the way technical ideas are translated into something readable without being dumbed down. You come away better equipped to understand what producers mean when they talk about organic, biodynamic or regenerative practices, but also more alert to the gaps between intention and outcome.
It’s also a quietly optimistic book. Despite the challenges it describes, Rooted in Change is full of people who are curious, inventive and deeply attached to their land. It’s the sort of book that changes how you shop for wine, how you talk about it at the table, and how you listen when a sommelier or winemaker explains what they’re trying to achieve.
If Rooted in Change broadens the lens, Natasha Hughes’ The Wines of Beaujolais narrows it, and does so with impressive clarity. Beaujolais remains one of the most misunderstood wine regions in France, still too often flattened into a single idea of light, cheerful, early-drinking wine. Hughes patiently dismantles that stereotype, guiding the reader through the region’s geology, villages and crus with the confidence of someone who knows both the wines and the common misconceptions that surround them.
The writing is precise but never dry. Hughes has a talent for explaining why a wine tastes the way it does without resorting to mysticism or overblown language. Soil types matter here, as do slope, altitude and farming choices, and she makes those connections feel intuitive rather than academic. For readers who want to travel, the book doubles as a practical guide: it helps you understand which villages reward lingering, which producers are shaping the region’s modern identity, and which wines are worth laying down rather than drinking immediately.
There’s a strong sense that Beaujolais is in the middle of a quiet re-evaluation, and Hughes captures that moment well. This is a book that makes you want to revisit bottles you thought you understood, and to plan a trip that goes beyond the most familiar names.
The two travel guides pick up where the wine books leave off, translating knowledge into movement.
Simon Hardy and Mark Checkley's Switzerland is a reminder that good travel writing doesn’t have to be lyrical to be pleasurable. Switzerland is a country that benefits enormously from practical advice: its transport systems are superb but complex, its regions distinct, its costs sometimes startling. Hardy and Checkley lean into that reality, offering a guide that feels reliable and thoughtfully curated.
What lifts it beyond pure logistics is the attention paid to food and local rhythms. There’s a strong sense of how Swiss life works: when villages shut down, when mountain areas are at their best, how meals fit into the day. For travellers interested in wine and food, the guide quietly points you towards regional specialities – Valais wines, alpine cheeses, lakeside dining –without overwhelming you with options. It’s the kind of book you’d actually use on the road, dog-eared and annotated.
for wine lovers. The Rhône is a long, varied region, and Walls understands that most visitors will encounter it in fragments rather than as a single, coherent whole. His guide is built around that reality, helping readers stitch together routes that make sense geographically, gastronomically and vinously.
Walls writes with the assurance of someone deeply embedded in the region, but he never forgets the practical needs of the traveller. Tasting appointments, seasonal differences, lunch stops and lesser-known producers are woven into the narrative. There’s enough wine knowledge here to satisfy serious enthusiasts, but the tone remains welcoming rather than exclusionary. You don’t need to be an expert to benefit from his recommendations; curiosity is enough.
Read together, these four books form a satisfying arc. Rooted in Change gives you a framework for thinking about how wine is made and why those choices matter. The Wines of Beaujolais shows what that thinking looks like when applied to a single, complex region. Switzerland and Rhone Valley then invite you to pack a bag, plan a route and see how all of this plays out on the ground.
If you’re choosing selectively, the pairings almost suggest themselves. For ethical context and contemporary relevance, start with Rooted in Change. For regional depth, The Wines of Beaujolais is hard to beat. Travellers with limited time will find Switzerland invaluable, while anyone planning a wine-led trip through France would do well to keep Rhone Valley close at hand.
Ultimately, what all four books share is an insistence on paying attention – to land, to people, to flavour and to movement. They reward readers who like to linger, ask questions and follow a thread from page to place, and from place to glass.
Why choose just one when you can have all four? Publishers Academie du Vin are offering City Solicitor readers 10% discount on any purchase by using the code CITY 10.
Available through https://academieduvinlibrary.com/
Matt Walls’ Rhone Valley feels like the natural partner to Hughes’ Beaujolais book, especially
The Hidden Cost of Standing Still: Why Law Firms Can’t Afford “Business as Usual”
In today’s legal market, tradition alone won’t keep your firm competitive. Many solicitors are unknowingly paying a steep price for clinging to outdated systems—lost time, frustrated staff, and missed opportunities. The truth? “Business as usual” is costing far more than change ever will.
Outdated Systems Drain More Than Just Time
Every hour spent wrestling with clunky software is an hour not spent serving clients or bringing in new business. Across the UK, lawyers still report spending the bulk of their working day on non-billable tasks. The result? Burnt-out teams, dissatisfied clients, and firms falling behind.
Your Staff Deserve Better Tools
The tools you give your people directly impact their job satisfaction. Legacy systems that crash, lag, or make simple processes unnecessarily complex don’t just slow things down—they chip away at morale. Cloud-based legal practice management systems, on the other hand, make collaboration seamless, improve wellbeing, and free up lawyers to focus on meaningful work.
The Risk You Can’t See: Compliance and Security
If your software hasn’t had a major update in years, you’re at risk. GDPR compliance, data security, and operational resilience aren’t “nice-to-haves”—they’re the bare minimum clients expect. Modern solutions like Clio are built with these needs in mind, offering peace of mind alongside performance.
Why Forward-Thinking Firms Are Switching to Clio
For firms in Hampshire, the choice is simple: continue absorbing the hidden costs of outdated technology, or invest in a platform designed for modern legal practice. With Clio, firms gain:
• Efficiency at scale – Automate routine tasks and reclaim billable hours.
• Happier teams – Empower staff with intuitive, reliable software.
• Future-proof security – Stay compliant, safe, and resilient.
• Better client service – Onboard clients quickly and communicate seamlessly.
The Cost of Doing Nothing
Ask yourself: How much is inefficiency already costing your firm? Slower onboarding? Errors creeping in? Time wasted juggling multiple tools?
When you put numbers against these inefficiencies, the real expense becomes clear. And it’s usually far greater than the investment in modern software.
The firms thriving today aren’t necessarily the biggest, they’re the ones willing to adapt. If you’re ready to see what smarter systems could mean for your practice, book a quick walkthrough of Clio and see how it can help your firm work smarter, not harder. ■
Sarah Murphy, General Manager of Clio EMEA
Cyber woes at Jaguar Land Rover
OUnpicking why the motor manufacturer's recent digital pile up closed down production and sent shockwaves through the UK’s industrial engine.
ne might be forgiven for thinking that the most obvious threats to the UK automotive industry are postBrexit trade uncertainties, a 73-year low in car production and an arguably rushed transition to Electric Vehicles, but the recent cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) demonstrated that the most catastrophic breakdowns occur not on the M6, but on computer servers.
Unsurprisingly, given the eye watering numbers involved, the incident is now widely accepted as the most economically damaging cyberstrike in UK history, wiping an estimated £2bn from the national economy. And it wasn’t only JLR who suffered the multi-layered consequences; some 5,000 of its suppliers, ranging from high precision component specialists to firms producing humble plastic clips, were also subjected to the aftershocks.
A timely annual business survey by Vodaphone confirmed what many in the commercial world have long felt to be true – that recent and high profile attacks on major household names such as Marks and Spencer have left British businesses noticeably twitchy when it comes to cyber risks. Yet despite one in ten respondents believing they simply wouldn’t survive a similar blow, fewer than half of that number had implemented even basic disaster recovery and cyber awareness training for their staff to protect against AI deepfake and phishing scams, suggesting that a significant portion of UK plc is under-protected.
It is now known that the attack on JLR was mounted via a collaboration between three infamous Englishspeaking cyber miscreants – Individually Scattered Spider, Lapsus$ and ShinyHunters – who refer to themselves collectively as Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters (SLH). Each group boasts an extensive rap sheet of corporate theft, achieved through the ruthless exploitation of human weakness and technological shortcomings.
Together, SLH have teased, coordinated, and executed a series of progressively more complex and devastating attacks, communicating via the secure instant messaging App Telegram. This is also used by the group to market a subscription based Ransomwareas-a-service (RaaS), effectively a side hustle leasing proprietary extortion technology to Telegram’s billion plus monthly users, from which a 20-40% share of the resultant profits is taken as commission. The platform offers low levels of visibility, allowing criminal actors to manage their victims and payments, whilst taking advantage of Telegram’s historic stance on privacy for users.
As one might expect of such sophisticated operators, the impact of their attack on JLR's business was immediate and brutal. Virtually all of its IT systems were taken offline, factories fell silent and production across all sites stalled. The financial fallout remains evident in JLR’s latest quarterly results where the sales slump, operational chaos and cascading failures across the supply chain are all laid bare.
The most startling discovery of the post incident autopsy, however, was that JLR did not hold cyber insurance and had outsourced its cybersecurity to Tata Consultancy Services, an organisation already linked to previous data breaches. By way of contrast, Marks and Spencer had robust cyber cover in place, meaning difficult questions around JLR's governance and oversight have inevitably arisen. The failure was felt particularly surprising given JLR’s prior healthy finances, including £5bn in liquidity and £2.5bn in pre tax profit the previous financial year.
The Government, understandably concerned about the potential failure of one of the UK’s few remaining industrial heavyweights stepped in quickly via an Export Development Guarantee backed loan covering up to 80% of lender risk. The resultant bail out was the first time Westminster had offered direct financial support to a company as a result of a cyberattack.
Critics argue the move risks encouraging complacency among big industry players. Ministers counter that when a British company directly employing over 30,000 people is in trouble, offering assistance is the only viable option.
Suppliers were shown no such mercy. Take Genex UK, a pressed metal manufacturer whose directors were compelled to offer personal guarantees to keep credit lines alive, a step potentially placing their homes on the line. The firm was ultimately forced to lay off 17 staff.
To add further to their woes, JLR are likely to face a slew of legal wrangles in the coming years as a result of the orchestrated data breaches. The ICO may impose fines if GDPR transgressions emerge, no small matter given the scale of the attack and the fact that both staff and contractor data was stolen.
Contractual disputes with suppliers, partners and fleet customers also seem inevitable given the widespread disruption. Shareholder actions may also follow, focusing on the lack of cyber insurance and the outsourcing to Tata, and JLR may, in turn, consider counter claims for alleged service failures.
The strike on JLR acts as a stark reminder that fractures in complicated modern supply chains can cause seismic repercussions both up and down the chain, and should be an industry wide wake-up call that the implementation of measures to ensure operational resilience in the event of such attacks, and obtaining appropriate cyber insurance to cover potential losses in the event you fall victim, are not optional.
Cyberattacks are no longer regarded by Westminster as isolated incidents, but as a core pillar of modern organised crime and a systemic threat to the country. Big business must catch up fast or face the damaging and embarrassing consequences. ■
Joel Leigh is the motoring correspondent of City Solicitor and a Partner at Howard Kennedy LLP
DID YOU KNOW?
A CLOSED COMPARTMENT AND A BRUSH WITH HELL
The Metropolitan Railway opened in 1863 and, for its first 45 years, it ran steam trains.
The choice of words and phrases used to describe the early days of the Underground give a sense of the hell that had been created beneath the city streets: ‘sulphurous fumes’, ‘sooty smuts’, ‘noisome tunnels’, ‘acid gas’, ‘smoke cinders’, ‘black smoke’, ‘coughing and spluttering’, ‘an experience of Hades’ and warnings fo the dangers of ‘choke damp’.
On the first day alone, a railway porter was hospitalised due to the ‘vitiated atmosphere’. He was not the only casualty of the concentrated smoke, with several other people left ‘insensible’ from fumes. One journalist described riding in the driver’s cab leaving him: “coughing and spluttering like a boy on his first cigar.”
Another reporter, dispatched to cover the first day of service, described how a local publican had told him he had treated several insensible porters and had to: “bathe their heads and temples with vinegar, as they were exhausted and suffering from the effects of bad air”.
This was surprising to many of the Victorian pioneers. The Metropolitan Railway had been at pains to celebrate its smokeless technology. On 11 January 1863, the day after general service had started, the Manchester Guardian wrote that: “it was understood that there was to be no steam or smoke from the engines used in working this tunnel railway.”
The Guardian’s journalist was disappointed and wrote, somewhat sniffily, that: “on one of the journeys between Portland-road and Baker-street, not only
were the passengers enveloped in steam, but it is extremely doubtful if they were not subjected to the unpleasantness of smoke also.”
The dreams of a smokeless railway engine were to be confounded, as ‘Fowler’s Ghost’, the experimental fireless locomotive, failed to produce enough power to be useful. After nearly exploding on its first trial run, the engine never overcame problems with emissions of steam and pressure retention, and was quietly removed from service just two years after the line had opened.
Concentrating the discharge from a standard steam powered locomotive within the tight confines of the Underground would inevitably create a distinctive, if not toxic, atmosphere. A Board of Trade study in 1897 found high concentrations of carbon dioxide and sulphur. This scientific finding was in line with anecdotal accounts that had likened travel on the railway to be like “chewing Lucifer matches” or, as Elizabeth Pennell had written, “choked and stifled beyond endurance”.
So what did contemporary passengers make of the railway? Some of the descriptions left by writers, diarists and journalists provide the most vivid accounts of what travel was like on the steam powered Underground.
The American-born journalist Ralph David Blumenfeld wrote in his diary on 23 June 1887 that: “I had my first experience of Hades to-day, and if the real thing is to be like that I shall never again do anything wrong … The compartment in which I sat was filled with passengers who were smoking pipes, as is the British habit, and as the smoke and sulphur from the engine fill the tunnel, all the windows have to be closed. The atmosphere was a mixture of sulphur,
coal dust and foul fumes from the oil lamp above; so that by the time we reached Moorgate Street I was near dead of asphyxiation and heat.”
Blumenfeld predicted that steam engines would soon be discontinued as a menace to health. He was, of course, wrong, which enabled Mark Twain to describe his experiences of using the Underground in 1896:
“The engine goes blustering and squittering along, puking smoke cinders in at the window, which someone has opened in pursuance of his right to make the whole cigar box uncomfortable if his comfort requires it; the fog of black smoke smothers the lamp and dims its light, and the double row of jammed people sit there and bark at each other, and the righteous and the unrighteous pray, each after his own fashion.”
Twain’s account demonstrates that the numerous attempts of the Metropolitan Railway to improve air quality had largely failed. Christopher Woolmer, in his authoritative book ‘The Subterranean Railway’, notes how ventilation shafts had been sunk, coal had been pre-cooked in an attempt to remove impurities and drivers had been allowed to grow beards (on the assumption that the hair would absorb some of the soot and sulphur).
Mark Twain’s own comfort would have been greatly improved had he travelled just nine years later. The Metropolitan Line was electrified in 1905, dispelling steam, smoke and choke and changing the atmosphere below ground forever. ■
This article was provided courtesy of Ian Chapman-Curry, Legal Director in the pensions team at Gowling WLG.and host of the Almost History podcast.
Time-saving solutions for busy solicitors
Clio makes running your firm, organising your cases, and collaborating with clients from one place possible.
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• Simplify your workload: Manage cases, clients, and billing in one place. Save time: Automate admin tasks and focus on billable work
Stay connected: Access your practice anytime, anywhere. Boost performance: Leverage analytics and reports to enhance your practice.
Clio has revolutionised our practice Billing that once took hours, now takes minutes It took us far too long to find the case management software that fits our needs and now that we have, we’re not going anywhere
