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Surrey Junior Lawyers Division Report
REPORT
Surrey Junior Lawyers Division Report
With Hallowe’en around we thought an Addams Family parody song was in order:
We’re friendly and we’re homely,
Solicitors not only,
We’re here to help you solely,
We’re Surrey JLD!
CILEX, the Bar, SQE,
Paralegals, CLC,
We want to make you happy,
We’re Surrey JLD!
So, when the pressures pour on,
The group that you can call on,
As we head through the autumn,
We’re Surrey JLD!
What’s been going on
SJLD held what we hope to be our first quarterly in-person networking event on 30 June. The event involved drinks and a huge spread at All Bar One in Guildford, generously sponsored by Pump Court Chambers.
In July we were glad to have Donna Smith give a Burn Brighter Masterclass. Many in law will appreciate what she said about how daily legal life can sap away at you and that it is effective to make changes in your life to conserve and recharge your energy reserves. In Donna’s words: “This is not about asking you to work less hard, you are in the legal profession, you are not afraid of hard work. This is about you being more productive when you consider yourself important too”.
SJLD also attended the Surrey in Pride parade on 27 August 2022 in collaboration with Surrey Law Society, to show our support for the LGBTQ+ community. This is an event we are looking to support annually so look out for signups next year.
We were also very pleased that we had five committee members all nominated for Rising Star of the Year at Surrey Law Society’s 2022 Legal Awards, namely Seema Gill, Tabitha Lee, Amber Matheson, Bethany Walker and Chloe Wallington. ■
Common misconceptions about joining Surrey JLD
While some local JLD groups might only admit solicitors, that is not the case with us. In short, if you’re part of the junior legal community you’re a member. That includes whether you’re a student, graduate, paralegal, legal executive, conveyancer, costs lawyer, trainee solicitor, solicitor apprentice, solicitor of up to 5 years’ PQE, pupil barrister, junior barrister of up to 5 years’ practice or otherwise trying to progress into and through the early stages of law.
Not so. We welcome those who live and/or work in and around Surrey. Some of our committee members live and/or work in Hampshire, East Sussex and South London and we have had junior lawyers attend our events from Berkshire, Devon and London, so don’t feel you are excluded.
Unlike other JLDs we do not charge a membership fee. So far all of our virtual events have been free of charge, while in-person events are subsidised by sponsorship, meaning you pay a nominal amount to attend. ■
