Law Society News

“There’s work to do to ensure women can progress and remain in the profession as they manage symptoms, which can have an average duration of five years. They can worsen without the right knowledge and support.

Legal profession marks World Menopause Day

World Menopause Day helps boost

awareness of the menopause and the support available for improving health and wellbeing.

The first woman became a solicitor in 1922 and today women make up 53% of the profession in England and Wales.

A survey conducted by IPSOS Mori for the British Menopause Society, found that more than a third of respondents said their menopause had impacted their work life.*

Research by Forth also found that 63% of respondents said their working life had been impacted negatively by their symptoms. 34% had developed depression and anxiety, 29% significantly lost self-confidence at work and 47% of respondents struggled to concentrate.**

Law Society of England and Wales president Lubna Shuja said: “The menopause affects a large proportion of our members, whether first hand, through relationships, friendships or in the workplace.

“That is why the Law Society has produced menopause guidance to help individuals and firms access the support they need.***

“It is important that organisations and their leaders understand the impact of the menopause on their employees, take steps to offer support and adapt their environments to be more accommodating. This allows their workforce to thrive.

“Despite being more widely discussed, there is still stigma attached to the menopause in some environments which makes people reluctant to discuss it. “Our annual statistics report 2021 found that the median age of women, who are practising certificate holders, is 40 and the average age of sole practitioners is 52.4. The average age for a woman to reach menopause is 51.

“If the profession fails to appreciate the potential impact of the menopause, we risk losing a large demographic at a point in their careers where they may be in more senior roles. The profession then loses influential senior women role models which should not happen.

“We must recognise that, for many reasons, peoples’ individual experiences of the menopause differ greatly.

“Symptoms, such as hot flushes, sweats, heart palpitations, brain fog and poor sleep, can have a strong adverse impact on both physical and mental health. These can be exacerbated when paired with long hours and high demands on time and output, which are so common in law firms.

“Employers should be considering job redesign, reasonable adjustments, HR policies, changes to their working environments, flexible working, and annual training for all staff.

“Anyone going through the menopause should be empowered to seek professional advice when needed.”

Proportionality of the SRA’s extra powers in combatting economic crime must be considered

Ahead of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill’s second reading in parliament, the Law Society of England and Wales has raised concerns at how effective the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) additional powers will be in combatting economic crime. “We welcome the second Economic Crime Bill’s intention of stopping money laundering in the UK and we also believe the Companies House reforms will help to improve transparency over UK company structures and strengthen the business environment,” said Law Society president

Lubna Shuja.

“We support the UK government’s ongoing commitment to tackling economic crime, preventing the misuse and abuse of limited partnerships and corporate structures, and increasing the integrity of the registers maintained by the Registrars of Companies.

“We propose amendments to the Bill to provide greater clarity to the proposed legislation, which would assist companies and investment vehicles to operate smoothly in the UK.

“We do have a concern, however, over the government’s proposal to allow the SRA the ability to impose limitless financial penalties for economic crime disciplinary matters.

“The SRA’s fining powers have been substantially increased in relation to traditional firms and individuals from £2,000 to £25,000.

“There appears to have been little evidence that a parallel increase in the Financial Conduct Authority fining powers – or the large fines they have applied – have aided the fight against financial crime.

“Therefore, we do not have confidence that increased fining powers for the SRA would have a significant enough impact on the fight against economic crime to warrant the additional burden of regulation.

“We are concerned about the impact of the proposed additional powers on our members and we urge the government to carefully consider the proportionality of additional regulation.

“The proposed unlimited powers would be likely to cover more serious or significant cases which currently go before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) and we maintain that this should remain the case."

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