Careers in Law Evening
Thursday 7 May 2026
Schedule
Refreshements in Hawkes Café 6pm
Introductory Panel Q&A 6.30pm-7.15pm
Presentation Session 1 7.25pm-7.45pm
Presentation Session 2 7.50pm-8.10pm
Presentation Session 3 8.15pm-8.35pm
In this booklet, you will find the biographies of all the speakers joining us this evening, each representing a distinct area of legal practice.
The event will commence with a panel discussion featuring our speakers, who will share perspectives drawn from their varied professional backgrounds. Following the panel discussion, you will attend a series of 20‑minute sessions led by individual speakers, offering a more detailed insight into their career paths and areas of expertise with the opportunity for Q&A and networking
Please ensure you attend the presentations according to your personalised schedule
Alexander is a barrister in civil practice and a Recorder (that is a part-time judge) in criminal cases in the Crown Court. He started off with a broad practice of civil work (housing, family, personal injury) and crime but now his barrister practice is purely civil and is largely (a) medical negligence (both for patients and for hospitals/doctors), (b) commercial disputes and (c) a strange specialism in litigation funding and disputes about legal costs, which can arise in relation to any area of law. Alexander was called to the Bar in 1992 and was appointed a Queen’s Counsel (now King’s Counsel) in 2012. Alexander was a long-time volunteer providing free legal advice and assistance at a Legal Advice Centre in Bethnal Green and he is now a trustee there
Danielle Altink-Brown
Danielle left KGS in 2010 and studied History at the University of Edinburgh before completing the Graduate Diploma in Law in 2015 and Legal Practice Course in 2016. She is a senior associate in the corporate energy and projects team at Bracewell LLP, having started her career as a trainee solicitor at Shearman & Sterling (now A&O Shearman)
Danielle advises clients (companies, private equity houses, banks, financial institutions and trading houses) within the energy industry on corporate, commercial and project development transactions, with a focus on oil and gas, liquefied natural gas and renewables projects located in Africa, South America, the Middle East, and Europe - many of which are regarded as "first in kind and first in country" transactions.She has also been fortunate to travel during her career, having lived in Singapore for six months during her training contract and travelling for client meetings, negotiations and conferences since she qualified as a solicitor in 2018
Ed Bowyer
Ed Bowyer is a partner at the global law firm Hogan Lovells and is Head of the Employment Team across EMEA. Ed has been practicing law for over 25 years and has been a partner for 16 years.
Ed’s team focusses on “bet the company ” high value litigation and regularly handles complex claims and investigations arising out of discrimination, harassment and whistleblowing allegations.
Much of Ed’s work has a global element to it and an important part of his role is managing large scale multi-jurisdictional projects Ed also works closely with his M&A colleagues where they execute some of the largest corporate transactions.
Ed read Combined Arts at Durham University and then attended Guildford Law school for two years post-graduation to do a law conversion course and the solicitor exams
Ellena Eley
After leaving KGS in 2019, Ellena studied Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at St. Hilda's, University of Oxford graduating in 2022. She then completed the Graduate Diploma in Law at City, University of London and her training contract at Vardags, a boutique law firm specialising in high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth family law
During her training contract, she worked for the ‘Diva of Divorce for the super rich’, assisting in financial remedy cases in the High Court including the reported case TY v XA [2025]. She also did placements in Reputation and Privacy (media law) and Compliance
She completed the SQE (Solicitors Qualifying Exams) during her training contract and qualified as a solicitor in September 2025. Following qualification, she moved to Thomas Mansfield Solicitors to join their family team and now works in all types of family law including financial remedy, unmarried separation and private children law.
James Whymark
James is a Director and Associate General Counsel leading the Generative AI legal team at Meta. His team is responsible for providing legal advice to product teams and engineers on legal risks associated with building AI powered products and models. James studied law at the University of Nottingham before training as a solicitor at Baker McKenzie LLP, an international commercial law firm. During his training James worked in Moscow and at the Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games. After qualifying he specialised in intellectual property law (copyright, trademarks, patents etc), advising and working on litigation for companies in the technology, fashion and pharmaceutical industries James then moved to be an in-house counsel at (what was then) Facebook and has spent the last eight years in various roles supporting product development, managing the application of new social media laws and counselling teams on legal issues relating to emerging AI technologies.
Louise Verroken-Jones
Louise Verroken-Jones is a barrister at1GC Family Lawwho specialises exclusively in family law. Her work focuses in particular on financial disputes following relationship breakdown and private law cases involving arrangements for children. She appears across all levels of the court system, from the magistrates’ courts to the High Court, and has experience handling complex and sensitive cases, including those involving domestic abuse and international elements. Louise studied Archaeology at university and went on to complete the Law Conversion and then to Bar School.
Oliver Canning
Oliver Canning is Chief Legal Counsel of NBCUniversal International. NBCUniversal is one of the world’s largest media companies with a focus on theme parks, and production/distribution of film and TV content. It is owned by Comcast, a large US cable company that also owns Sky in the UK
Oliver’s primary focus is the international streaming and channels business in Latin America, Europe/Africa and Asia-Pacific and his team of lawyers is spread across those regions. He also works on international M+A, joint ventures and new projects.
Oliver studied Economics at King’s College, Cambridge before converting to law. He trained at Clyde and Co then moved into structured finance at Wilde Sapte (now Dentons). Oliver’s first jobs outside law firms focused on sports marketing including with FIFA’s marketing company and with IMG. He has worked for over 20 years for Universal
Osma Hudda
Osma Hudda is a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she is the co-partner in charge of the London office and co-chair of the London Disputes Group.
Her job involves helping companies resolve disputes which usually occur when they disagree over contracts or business deals. The first step is to see if they can agree a resolution between themselves and, if not, she helps prepare their cases which are then argued in court or before specialist panels called arbitration tribunals. Her work has taken her all the way up to the UK Supreme Court – the highest court in the country
Osma studied Modern History at the University of Oxford, earning her Bachelor of Arts in 2000. She then completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Law at City University London, followed by the Legal Practice Course at BPP Law School. Osma was admitted as a qualified solicitor in 2004
Serena Sekhon
Serena Sekhon is a barrister specialising in public law and human rights. She practises in judicial review (challenges to the legality of decisions by government and public bodies), inquests (investigations into deaths in suspicious or unnatural circumstances) and education law She regularly represents vulnerable individuals such as survivors of modern slavery, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, and bereaved families.
Internationally, Serena has studied Peacebuilding in Colombia at Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, and accountability for mass atrocities in Dubrovnik, Croatia (the latter with a scholarship from the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple)
Prior to joining the Bar, Serena graduated from the University of Bristol with a first class degree in history. She has volunteered at organisations including Southall Black Sisters, a specialist NGO providing support to survivors of domestic violence, and Vocalise, an initiative where volunteers deliver debating workshops to prisoners. She undertook her legal studies with a total of five scholarships.
Acknowledgements
This evening would not be possible without the support of all our speakers, and we thank them for giving up their time and sharing their expertise.
A big thank you also goes to the staff and prefects, who have given their time and support to help the evening run smoothly.
If you would like further guidance about careers in law, please speak to Mr Fitzgerald or Mr Morris.
Mr
A Fitzgerald Director of
Careers & Universities
020 8939 8179
afitzgerald@kgs org uk
Mr
S
Morris Deputy Director of Careers & Universities
020 8939 8843
smorris@kgs org uk
Resources
Law‑Specific Careers Resources for young people
The Lawyer Portal
https://www thelawyerportal com
The Lawyer Portal is a free UK careers website dedicated entirely to:
Law careers
Routes into the profession
Work experience and applications
Skills needed to succeed as a lawyer
Springpod – Lawyer Virtual Work Experience
Website: https://www.springpod.com
Free virtual law work experience programmes with top law firms
Includes solicitor and barrister insight opportunities
InvestIN Education
Website: https://investin.org
In‑person and online law work experience programmes
Opportunities to shadow lawyers, take part in mock trials, and develop professional skills
Bursaries sometimes available
Young Professionals
https://www.young-professionals.uk (signup to receive regular updates about work experience, careers events and virtual law firm events for sixth form students)
Resources
Career Days
Career Days – online work experience and careers days including for Law for students aged 13-18
Super‑Curricular Activities:
Reading legal news (BBC Law in Action, The Guardian Law)
Listening to podcasts (e.g. Law In Action)
Essay competitions (e g schools’ law essay competitions)
Visiting a Court: Public Gallery Tips
UK courts are open to the public, making this one of the most accessible forms of legal work experience
Shows initiative, curiosity, and reflection on law in action
Highly regarded by universities, law firms, and apprenticeship providers
Observe:
The roles of:
Judge / Magistrates
Defence and prosecution lawyers
Court clerk and legal advisers
How lawyers:
Speak to the judge
Question witnesses
Structure arguments
Courtroom etiquette and formality
How the law affects real people
Tip: Magistrates’ Courts are ideal for first visits cases are shorter and easier to follow