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The President's Foreword
The President’s Foreword
SUMMER 2023
Dear Member, Welcome to the Summer 2023 edition of Central London Lawyer..
We hope this edition’s focus on IP will be of interest to all our readers whether or not it is the main focus of your practice. Thank you to this edition’s Guest Editor Amanda Lathia, to our Editor in Chief Kene Onyeka Allison, the Editorial Board and to our contributors for all of their work on this edition of Central London Lawyer.
A team of Westminster & Holborn Law Society members enjoyed participating in the London Legal Walk on 13 June 2023, to help raise funds for the London Legal Support Trust; you can read more about this in this edition. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming events including the Summer Garden Party on 27 July 2023 and our Annual Dinner on 6 October 2023, which will take place at the House of Lords.
I always enjoy catching up with regular attendees at our events and meeting new members. We have so many fantastic and interesting members, from aspiring and junior lawyers to senior and former lawyers, working for and running a variety of law firms and organisations. Our Society is truly inclusive and welcoming. I am happy to call myself a member of Westminster & Holborn Law Society. In addition to hosting social and educational events, our Society is a wonderful breeding ground for ideas, partnerships, collaborations and friendships. We have opportunities to meet lawyers practising in other jurisdictions thanks to our international links and twinning arrangements with overseas law societies. We also maintain a good relationship with The Law Society of England and Wales.
I received the sad news of the passing of John Lewis, a former President of Holborn Law Society (pre-amalgamation of the societies) and am grateful for the beautifully written obituary I received from one of his children, a copy of which is printed in this edition. It is clear that John had a happy and fulfilling life and career. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.
This is the last edition of Central London Lawyer during my presidential year so I will take this opportunity to thank all of our members for your support and for attending our events; you make our Society what it is. Thank you to my fellow officers, members of the main committee and members of our Education & Training; Equality, Diversity & Inclusion; Junior Lawyers Division; International; Law Reform; Membership; Pro Bono and Corporate Social Responsibility; and Publicity and Social Media committees for all of your work. A huge further thanks to our Editorial Board for all of their work over the past year on Central London Lawyer. You can hear a summary of my presidential year when it concludes in October 2023, at the Society’s AGM. I hope to see you soon.
Best wishes.
Nicola Rubbert
President Westminster & Holborn Law Society
Iam delighted and honoured to be guest-editor of the summer edition of Central London Lawyer. I first began as a qualified solicitor in Holborn and now work in West London and Surrey but can easily find excuses to continue to enjoy the vibrancy of Central London! In this edition, I have focussed on Intellectual Property (IP) with additional insights on NFTs and cryptocurrency. My main message to you the reader is, if you are well-versed in IP law, to keep abreast of the evolving law around IP, particularly given the advancement of artificial intelligence technology. For those who have little to no experience of Intellectual Property, keep your eyes peeled as you might be surprised to learn how IP rights – and infringements – come up in various shapes and forms in everyday life! I hope you enjoy reading this edition.
