Editorial Board
LW Editorial Board We are delighted to be supported in this new magazine by ambassadors for the legal profession across the UK. ENGLAND & WALES Christina Blacklaws, “Honoured and delighted to be asked to become a member of the editorial board and to welcome the new independent Legal Women magazine.” Christina developed and managed law firms including a virtual law firm and set up the first ABS with the Co-op. More recently, she was Director of Innovation at a top 100 firm. She now runs her own consultancy and holds a range of public appointments including chair of the LawTech UK Panel, chair of the Next Generation Services Advisory Group, part of Innovate UK and member of the Legal Support Advisory Group. Christina was President of the Law Society of England and Wales until July 2019 performing ambassadorial and representative functions domestically and internationally. Christina is a multi-award winning (for innovation and diversity and inclusion) published author, speaker and lecturer and frequent media commentator. Millicent Grant FCILEx QC (Hon); CILEx Past President 2017/18; CILEx Professional Board Member. Millicent, a Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) board member and a former CILEx President and first Chartered Legal Executive to be appointed an Honorary Queen’s Counsel. Millicent has worked to tackle diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and the judiciary. She gave evidence to the Constitution Committee regarding the eligibility of Chartered Legal Executives for judicial appointment and contributed to the Pre-Application Judicial Education (PAJE) group and programme. She was awarded the UK Diversity Legal Awards of ‘Black Solicitors Network Lawyer of the Year’ in 2017 and is an ambassador for social mobility and Chair of the Knights Youth Centre. Janem Jones kick-started her successful career as a solicitor after being awarded the Welsh Office Prize and the Cavendish Prize for Criminal Law. She practised for many years as a partner and senior partner in a West Wales firm where she specialised in Family Law, Education Law and Criminal Law. She now works as a consultant for Williams and Bourne as an experienced advocate.
Sally Penni MBE is a barrister at Kenworthy's Chambers, Manchester, whose practice encompasses Criminal (including Cyber Crime) and Employment Law. Sally is a Bencher at the Honorable Society of Gray’s Inn, Founder of Women in the Law UK and regular broadcaster of the highly acclaimed podcast series ‘Talking Law’ with over 44 thousand listeners.
NORTHERN IRELAND Karen O’Leary leads Caldwell & Robinson’s Family Law practice. Qualified to practice in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, England, and Wales, Karen is regularly consulted by government and state agencies on legal matters from other jurisdictions. In 2011, she was invited to be a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL), an organisation of leading global family lawyers. She is also a regular speaker on family law matters and has addressed the Four Jurisdictions Family Law Conference on a number of occasions, the European Family Justice Observatory, most recently speaking about the implications of Brexit on family law.
SCOTLAND Alison Atack, Past President of The Law Society of Scotland. Formerly, Alison was a member of the Regulatory Committee and convener of the Client Protection Sub-Committee. She was a partner at Lindsays until March 2018 and has detailed knowledge and experience of private client work, including succession planning and agricultural property.
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