President’s Foreword

INTRODUCTION

The President’s Foreword

FEBRUARY 2021

Welcome to the February edition of Central London Lawyer. This is an important year for us all and I hope it finds you, your families and your colleagues well. We have many challenges ahead of us, that is certain, but the pandemic has already given us a whole year of training in adapting to change and forging resilience. We are the daffodils poking through the snow.

A huge shout out must go to the Westminster & Holborn Law Society team for their incredible work in 2020 despite unbelievably difficult times. Well done to all of you! I look forward to brighter days when we can all meet up again in person … and assess the damage that working at home next to the fridge has brought.

This edition focuses naturally on Brexit and also invites us to think about our wellbeing.

The issues we face as solicitors around Brexit are brilliantly encapsulated by David Greene on page 12 – a must read! Though daunting changes lie ahead, David suggests viewing them as the beginning of a new process and embracing possibilities.

Sara Chandler’s article on page 8 ‘Message in a Bottle’ is a heartening piece with positive messages from colleagues in European Bar Associations. It’s reassuring to know that we are fully supported by our friends in Europe; Brexit will change our relationship but we are still firmly together! And a great reminder that the International Sub Committee of WHLS is always keen to welcome new members.

And we will need plenty of support as we navigate our way through this (surely final) lockdown. Suzanna’s excellent “Top Tips” on page 20 will help us come out of it feeling ready for normal life again. She points out that we are guilty of being notoriously bad at self care and stresses the importance of getting away from the screen and out into nature when possible. Even in the cold city rain – remember, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes”.

We have all been under immense pressure for a long time now, and we finally have a real prospect of returning to the real world within months. The pandemic has at least served to put Brexit into perspective. We have made it this far, so we can make it further. Keep connecting with colleagues and supporting each other through.

Thank you to all the contributors this month who have taken time to share their views and ideas in these brilliant and useful features – I am certainly grateful to be part of such a strong network. Good luck with the next few months. Brace yourselves to face people again in 3D, get a haircut, try on clothes in shops, grab a coffee without preparing an excuse. Who needed Glastonbury when we’ve got all this rock and roll coming up? It’s going to be wild!”. ■

Paul Sharma

President Westminster & Holborn Law Society