The Charity Challenge The 2021 Charity Challenge goes hybrid. 10
Alumni Network 6 Where are they now? We catch up with a past member of staff who has moved on to pastures new.
14 Firm fundraising Fundraising activities over the past year.
Issue 6 2022
20 Focus on: Hybrid events How the Mills & Reeve events team responded to the pandemic.
Inside this issue 20
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6 Where are they now? Life after Mills & Reeve. We catch up with an alumni member to find out more. 10 The Charity Challenge Our 2021 Charity Challenge goes hybrid. 14 Firm fundraising Fundraising activities in 2021.
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18 The numbers Numbers over the last year 2020/2021. 20 Focus on: Hybrid events How the events team responded to the pandemic. 22 Focus on ESG: Explaining ESG and how we approach it.
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24 Director of digital & data strategy appointed An introduction to our new director of digital & data strategy Kristen French. 26 News round up The latest news from around the firm, including popular Cambridge pub Flying Pig shut down. 28 Promotions Firm promotions in 2021.
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30 Hatches & matches Hatches and matches since our last issue.
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32 Life in retirement Catching up with Stephen Christy. 36 Get in touch We’d love to hear from you.
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Brian Marshall Head of Alumni Network brian.marshall@mills-reeve.com
Welcome to the sixth issue of our Alumni newsletter We start this issue with a reflection on 2021. It was another tough year for many at Mills & Reeve, however, despite the challenges we faced, we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved. We finally got back to our offices following two years working from home, as 2021 proved to be the year when hybrid working emerged as a distinct phenomenon. Alongside this, 2021 saw another year of fantastic achievements for Mills & Reeve including being crowned joint second for RollOnFriday’s firm of the year. A double record-breaking achievement of being named in UK 100 Best Companies to Work For list, not only did the firm rank 23rd in the UK, but we have also featured for an unparalleled 18 years running! We were also announced as the winner of the Disability Inclusion award at the UK Diversity Legal Awards 2021, which recognised the work of our growing diversity, inclusion & wellbeing team. This is on top of posting another record turnover of £124.4 million – more on that on page 18.
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Following the slight delay in plans, the Manchester office move went ahead! At the start of last year, the Mills & Reeve Manchester office made an innovative move to its new offices at No.1 Circle Square. Now, as head of the Manchester office, Chris Ross has ambitious plans to capitalise on Mills & Reeve’s renowned reputation for innovation, culture, and sector strength to gain a larger slice of the regional market – more Mills & Reeve news on page 26. We love hearing from our alumni and keeping up to date with your news. If you want to get in touch to let us know how you’re doing, or you want to appear in our “where are they now” feature please let us know! Email us at: alumni@mills-reeve.com. Join our LinkedIn group or follow us on Twitter @Alumni_MR. We’d love to hear from you! If you know of any other previous Mills & Reeve people who might like to join the network please do point them in our direction!
Mills & Reeve in memory of... Ian Mayers
Amanda Battini
We are very sad to say Ian Mayers died in June 2021. Ian became a partner in 1988 in the insurance team in Norwich, he spent some time working on NHSLA matters after we opened the Birmingham office and subsequently developed a regulatory practice (including health & safety). He retired from the partnership in 2016 and became a consultant, stepping down in 2018.
Our former colleague Amanda Battini (Takacs) sadly died January 2021, she had asked that any charitable donations after her death be made to a charity that supports bees. Her family chose the Bee Friendly Trust that look to create bee friendly environments in railway stations. Alongside Amanda’s friends and family raising money for this project the Mills & Reeve Charitable Trust made a donation of £5,000, asking if something could be created at Cambridge station as many in the Cambridge office commuting and those travelling to other offices will pass.
Ian was a much loved and respected partner who was once described to me as ‘the embodiment of a Mills & Reeve partner’. He was always the life and soul of an office party and a frequent member of the Norwich office cricket team. Many remember Ian as someone who was passionate about the progression of junior staff and hugely loyal to the firm. He will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with his wife, Val, and their three girls at this sad time.
A sculpture and several new planters are outside Cambridge station in remembrance of Amanda’s to create a lovely and lasting memory for many of us to see, of a dear friend and colleague. Our thoughts are with her husband, Edoardo, and her four children. You can view the new sculpture here.
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Where are they now? Alumni from Mills & Reeve pop up in some of the most unexpected places. This issue we catch up with a past colleague to see where their journey has taken them...
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Katie Spencer White Position President & CEO of the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter & Services Position while at Mills & Reeve Trainee Solicitor Dates employed by Mills & Reeve September 2006 - August 2008
Legal training in action I am currently the President & CEO of the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter & Services (one of the largest homeless services providers in Maine, USA) and a member of the Maine Statewide Homeless Council, to which I was appointed by Governor Janet Mills. I use my legal training every day, from negotiating contracts and grant agreements, navigating governance and legal compliance, and managing employment and housing complaints (which can be very thorny) to implementing federal and state housing policy.
We’re proud that the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund, working with leading homelessness experts, has selected us as one of the 32 organisations to receive a 2021 Day 1 Families Fund grant! This game-changing $750,000 contribution will help get us one step closer to ending family homelessness in our community. I left legal practice in early 2009 because of the economic downturn and ran a multi-agency children’s partnership in the Midlands before returning home to the States in 2014.
I have worked in the charities sector for the last six years including for Habitat for Humanity, a major international housing charity. I am also currently pursuing a doctorate in law and public policy at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. My research focuses on eviction and how civil justice is experienced by vulnerable households who lack legal counsel.
No two days are the same, but I know my legal training is going to serve me well.
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I was fortunate to spend a year at the Mills & Reeve Cambridge office, as well as part of my second year in Birmingham. I was one of two trainees who helped open the Manchester office in 2008. I learned a lot about leadership and innovation in my two years at Mills & Reeve.
I credit Mills & Reeve with instilling in me both curiosity and discipline when it comes to legal research and applying the law.
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The quality of the work available to trainees is second to none. The training I received in doctrinal research is critical to my doctoral work, where I now focus on empirical legal research – what do we know about the law and how can we make it work for those who lack resources? It was the hardest two years of my professional life, and totally worth the effort.
What’s your favourite Mills & Reeve memory? My favourite memories are of people and having lunch with my fellow trainees. Stuart Pemble asking random and arcane legal questions when he visited the Cambridge office, and three legal assistants (one in each office) who were witty, fun and totally accepting of me. Their support and camaraderie will be with me always. There was also the Cambridge christmas party “Big Brother House” video we shot, which was just epic. Kimberley Sayward deserved an Oscar for her portrayal of the “frozen trainee” trying to type with gloves on and Tricia Ashton was our own Geordie voice of Big Brother. Legend.
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The Charity Challenge
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Mills & Reeve Charity Challenge 4 – 8 October 2021
The Charity Challenge goes hybrid! Mills & Reeve saw the return of in-person activities. With a great firmwide effort, Mills & Reeve has raised over £3,500 for Switchboard LGBT+ helpline.
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Rising to the challenge The 2021 Charity Challenge blended virtual and in-person challenges. Firmwide, there were physical and mental challenges for everyone to take part in each day of the week. These saw the firm doing everything from running and swimming to cracking sudokus and making origami cranes.
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On the Friday, each office held several in-person challenges including hikes, running tours, and an assault course. This was the first time we saw many colleagues from the shoulders down since March 2020, with well over 200 staff across the offices getting involved! Everyone taking part in the challenges won points for either Team North and Midlands or Team South and East. In ground-breaking fashion, Justin and Claire were on the same team for the first time.
It has been great to see people together, get a sweat on and support a good cause.
The scores were neck and neck during the week, but the prowess of Team North and Midlands was in full force on Friday and they cruised through to victory. All offices were involved in the Charity Challenge committee this year, with thanks going to Victoria Hughes-Barker, Ellen Wilkinson, Robert Jackson, Maeve Canavan, Peter Lennon, Kristyna Petrosjanova and Morsal Sherzad. Thanks are also due to Angie Morley and Charlie Edwards for all their behind the scenes work making the week run smoothly.
Through all of this, we raised support, awareness and donations for Switchboard. The firm is committed to offering them business support and we have so far raised over £3,500. Participation has been wide-spread and energetic. It has been great to see people together, get a sweat on and support a good cause. Hopefully, next year will be more of the same!
In support of Switchboard LGBT+ helpline We chose to support Switchboard for the 2021 Charity Challenge. They are the oldest LGBT-focused charity in the UK, providing a confidential helpline to support and inform anyone identifying as LGBT+. Last year they took over 18,000 calls, helping people who are vulnerable and who need information they can’t safely get elsewhere. If you want to learn more about the work that Switchboard do, they have a podcast, The Log Books. This discusses cases they have been involved with and highlights the work they have done, and continue to do.
This Charity Challenge was back to being in-person. With a great firmwide effort, Mills & Reeve has raised over £3,500 for Switchboard LGBT+ helpline.
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Firmwide fundraising Amazingly, staff have raised over:
£23,000 for deserving charities: Cambridge Cyrenians The Arthur Rank Hospice Birmingham Women’s Hospital Woodland House Appeal Yorkshire Air Ambulance Young Minds The Bread & Butter Thing (TBBT) Little Lifts NARS – Norfolk Accident Rescue Service
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Firmwide fundraising activities Our CSR team have been busy over the last few months! We’ve had bake sales, bingo, quizzes, raffles and the firm’s winter Charity Challenge... all for a good cause of course.
• The Cambridge corporate team spent a day with Lifecraft, painting and updating their premises and volunteers from the Cambridge office spent a day with The Botanic Gardens. • The Manchester office took part in the Christmas toy appeal for the Wood Street Mission homeless charity.
• The Norwich office were busy! Amy Parkins , EA jumped thousands of feer during her impressive sky-dive, Louisa Butcher donated her marvellous Christmas wreaths which were auctioned and Jo Hook organised a historical “Baedeker Raid” tour of Norwich.
• Members of the firm competed in a Dragon Boat Race in the centre of Birmingham. • The Leeds office took part in The Leeds Legal Walk 2021. • The London office held events for a range of charities such as MacMillan Coffee Morning, Young Minds #HelloYellow and Children In Need.
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The numbers In 2020/21, the second financial year of the COVID-19 pandemic for Mills & Reeve, the firm continued to demonstrate strong performance with turnover increasing 9% to £124.4 million. As a result, it is paying an all staff bonus of over £2,000 for every employee. A person working full-time for the whole financial year receives £2,214.60, while the bonus for those with five years’ service or more is £2,443.29. Awards are prorated for those working part time or having worked for Mills & Reeve for less than a year.
Claire Clarke, managing partner, believes this success is due to everyone pulling together: “To be able to pay a bonus reflecting our strong performance in a hugely challenging year is a real pleasure. This has been achieved by a lot of hard work from everyone across the firm really pulling together in difficult circumstances showing both the resilience of our people and also the overall strength of our culture.” In 2021 Mills & Reeve was ranked: • Joint 2nd place Law Firm of the Year by the legal industry website RollonFriday. • 23rd in The Sunday Times’ Best 100 Companies to Work For list – appearing for a record 18 years running.
Mills & Reeve awarded for disability inclusion in the legal profession The UK Diversity Legal Awards are the only industry awards which focus solely on recognising, promoting and celebrating equality, diversity and inclusion across the legal profession. Natasha Broomfield-Reid, head of diversity, inclusion & wellbeing said: “This award celebrates the excellent contributions made by the DIW team, Ability network and recruitment team to raising knowledge and awareness across our firm of the benefits of building practices, processes and a culture that is inclusive of disabled people. It also recognises the work we are doing with clients - not just for those who have a disability themselves, but also to collaborate with and support them to enhance their own inclusion programmes.”
Partner promotions On 1 June 2021, Mills & Reeve promoted 5 principal associates to partner, boosting the partnership to 135. The five new partners are based in the Birmingham, Cambridge, London and Leeds offices of the law firm.
Frances Churchard
Lucy Howard
Frances Churchard has been made up to partner in the banking team, Lucy Howard in the regulatory, public & commercial disputes team and Liam Burnett, Lisa Taylor and Tom Filby in the insurance team. We’re thrilled to be able to share our success with you and look forward to continuing the upward trend in 2022! 18
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Liam Burnett
Lisa Taylor
Tom Filby
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Focus on: Hybrid events A series of unfortunate events… how the Mills & Reeve events team responded to the Covid pandemic
Leanne Loome Position Marketing Events Manager
Looking back to March 2020, and as we enter a new year, I can’t believe how much life has changed for the M&R events team. A packed in-person events programme was halted literally overnight as Covid turned off one of the most fundamental and important elements of marketing for the firm. The events that my team design and implement help form and solidify strategic business development projects, put lawyers in amongst targets and clients, facilitate new business relationships and allow existing relationships to flourish.
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Adapting quickly
What have we learned?
The M&R events team is a five strong group who are very much “people” persons. Client facing, creative and professional, we love leading on projects that enable lawyers to develop and grow the business. With the announcement of home working early in 2020, however, the first few weeks in March were spent cancelling planned events and exploring alternatives for online options.
As the weeks rolled into months, it was interesting to see that some of our star in-person presenters did not necessarily gravitate easily to online events whereas our more introverted lawyers found a new confidence.
I am very proud to say that within four weeks of the national lockdown we held our first webinar on Zoom but while the team worked hard to upskill to a virtual events world, we quickly discovered that a whole new training programme was needed to give lawyers the confidence needed to use it too. From starting a meeting, to sharing screens, and running a poll, it was clear that rehearsals and changing the way presentations were made was also needed. It isn’t easy presenting to a camera on screen when the interaction of a physical audience is missing. My team quickly became experts and the lawyers relied on us to give them the skills required to put on great webinars with excellent content.
During this time, my team has witnessed some “interesting” sights from a small home office fire, to a shared toilet break, many family pets, and even some nudity! Despite the odd hiccup our clients, the reason that we continue to develop our events programme, have been incredibly positive about the content and the experience. We are almost two years on and with the number of events in the calendar substantially increasing, so has the workload on our team. Pre pandemic, we ran up to 200 events a year, by comparison, during the last three months of 2021, we planned and implemented almost 100 events (a mixture of virtual, hybrid and inperson sessions).
So what’s next? The benefits of in person events are obvious in that face-to-face contact gives delegates and hosts the ability to read each other and to connect in a human way to forge relationships. There has on the flip side, been huge benefits associated with running events virtually: easier access to national and international speakers and guests, larger delegate numbers, volume and reach of content, reduced costs, and libraries of recorded content and data to enable effective follow up. After listening to our clients, it’s clear that some people have missed the in-person element of events. Choice is key here so as we move into 2022, we enter a testing phase of ‘hybrid events.’ For M&R this means that those who choose to take part virtually in our events can continue but for those that need the human element, we can welcome them to some of our offices too. However the trials go, it’s important for the events team to ensure that
not only our clients have a positive experience but our team also and the lawyers we work with. I am convinced we will return to a face-to-face events programme at some stage in 2022. Events are engrained into the DNA of legal marketing, we are social beings, and we need to meet and engage with colleagues, clients and referral networks. Online events will now happily sit alongside and compliment an already diverse in-person programme. Those trying to manage hybrid events without external input will be faced with the resource and logistics issues of needing a team to manage the event in both online and offline environments. From the trials we have held so far, it’s clear that in reality we are running two events at the same time and the experience for each audience is usually very different. Another period of upskilling for the events team is on the way but if we have the right technology, we are halfway there.
Looking forward to the challenges ahead Time will tell but one thing is certain, I am incredibly proud of the events team here, we have supported each other during the pandemic through a huge period of permanent change. I believe that training and knowledge sharing sessions will stay mostly online but that experiences or networking opportunities will return to a fully face-to-face format eventually. Whatever happens, the events team has traditionally been one that has had to adapt and evolve, this is nothing new and it will remain. We will continue to offer our internal and external clients the best possible service but I personally hope that 2022 will be a more settled year for everyone.
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Focus on ESG : ESG – what is it and how do we approach it? We’re hearing more and more about the wider importance of “ESG” and the pressure on all organisations to be “better” citizens. Neil Pearson, Head of ESG and Social Value at Mills & Reeve, explains what ESG is, how Mills & Reeve is looking at it and how you might start to embed ESG within your own organisation.
What is ESG? ESG stands for “Environmental, Social and Governance” – a broad set of issues that underpin the move away from a “profit-at-allcosts” model to a model that considers the longer term impact of an organisation’s actions on all of its stakeholders (particularly people and the planet). Or, more bluntly, it’s shorthand for a way in which all businesses and other organisations can be “better” citizens. Why is it suddenly so important? This is not new. The term ESG was first coined in 2005 in a study from the UN Global Compact. Following the banking crash in 2007/8, many organisations developed CSR programmes to put something back. And so-called “ethical” or “socially responsible” investing has morphed over the last decade into “ESG investment”, where investment decisions recognise that a business that contributes to the good of society is a more sustainable business (and so more financially viable in the long term).
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But what has changed is the focus on ESG and impetus for businesses to change. We’re seeing an ever increasing drive for better ESG performance, which is coming from a variety of stakeholders. Customers are looking to buy more sustainable products and services from more sustainable businesses. Employees increasingly want to work for organisations that focus on more than the bottom line. Investors and lenders now look at an organisation’s ESG track record as part of their decision as to whether or not to back them with funding. And wider society is pushing more and more for organisations to act in a way that helps solve the problems we face, rather than add to them.
has made strides towards reducing carbon emissions through use of renewables, massively reducing waste to landfill and reducing printing and use of paper files. The firm is steadily closing the gender pay gap each year, and has done so every year that it has been reporting on gender pay data. We also promote volunteering among our staff, as well as charity fundraising and support.
What have we done about ESG at Mills & Reeve?
We have some great people helping to drive the ESG agenda within M&R, such as Ainslie Wilson-Shearer who heads our EDI initiatives, and Jessica WilkesBall, our new sustainability officer who will spearhead our Net Zero strategy.
The good news is we didn’t have to start from scratch. Mills & Reeve has consistently been ranked as one of the best places to work, has won awards for its approach to EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion) and staff wellbeing, and
Recently we went through an ESG audit by EcoVadis, one of the leading global ratings agencies in the field of sustainability and ESG. We scored in the top 25% of companies assessed by EcoVadis, and well above the average for our sector.
So what are we going to do next?
Our strategy is simple – to do more, and get better, in as many areas of our business as possible. In 2022, we’re focusing on a number of areas such as our drive towards net zero, materially increasing our contribution to community through volunteering opportunities, ensuring that our governance structure embeds ESG into our decision making processes, enhancing our procurement processes to make sure that we use our own influence to promote better ESG practices in our suppliers, and continuing the progress that we have made in making Mills & Reeve an inclusive workplace. What could your organisation do about it? Your ESG strategy has to be proportionate to the scale and size of your organisation and meet the needs of your key stakeholders. We all know ESG is a wide, and sometimes confusing, area.
But don’t let that stop you from starting – any action, however small, is a step in the right direction. So, if you want to get started on your ESG “journey”, here are a few ideas: • Figure out where you are now – maybe do some form of audit around ESG – so you know what you’re already doing well, and where you could improve. • Speak to your key customers – that way you can gauge what it is they are looking for in their suppliers. • Engage with your staff – they are key to your business, they’ll be very keen to help, and they will have some great ideas. And staff engagement makes it much more likely that your ESG strategy will work. • Look at your policies – in areas such as environment, diversity and inclusion, anticorruption or modern slavery, and ask yourself what more you can do to improve them (and make sure that everyone knows what they say!). • Set a (realistic and credible) target for carbon net zero.
• Start to report on what you’re doing – whether it’s an annual report, a page on your website or a just a social media feed, your people and your customers will want to know how you’re developing your ESG strategy, and to share in your successes. • Choose the low hanging fruit and start to make improvements now – don’t wait for a fully developed “perfect” strategy. And finally… ESG is not a fad – this is an irreversible shift in the way we think about, and do, business. And as we (hopefully) move into a postpandemic world, the drive to “build back better” means ESG now has a priority, and momentum, that would not have been likely even two years ago. But if your organisation can get this right, you’re more likely to recruit and retain the best people, more likely to keep and grow your customer base, more likely to be able to attract funding to grow, and more likely to make a difference (in the right way). What’s not to like about that?
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In the news Director of digital & data strategy appointed
An interview with Kristen French Q: What was your previous experience before M&R? A: I have spent half my career as a management consultant setting data, digital and analytics strategies for companies such as Barclays, Epson, Logitech, B&CE and Grant Thornton. The other half has been spent client-side running digital and social media teams for companies such as EDF Energy and Nature Publishing. Q: When did you join M&R? A: My start date at Mills & Reeve was 29th November 2021. Q: What are your main responsibilities? A: My responsibilities are to help Mills & Reeve teams to leverage data in ways that help those that work at M&R do their jobs easier, faster and to find ways to use data to provide Mills & Reeve a competitive advantage in the industry.
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Q: What are the best/ most interesting/ enjoyable projects you’ve been involved in this past year? A: This is a hard one to answer. As a consultant, I have had the opportunity to work on wonderful projects which have all been interesting and enjoyable. A few examples are that I have had opportunities to turn around a failing digital division through redefining digital services and optimising operational processes, (this may not sound fun from the brief description, but it was fantastic to have the opportunity to solve such a comprehensive problem). I have helped a food retailer implement a data lake and map all of its data infrastructure. Most recently, I have worked on launching a digital-only retail company from inception.
Q: What hobbies do you have outside of work? A: I am a portrait painter and a restorer/upcycler of damaged furniture. Q: What is your favourite piece you have restored? A: My favourite is a restoration piece I did on a box, the piece happened not to be modern, but I chose it because it shows a dramatic shift.
Kristen shares her top tips on digital and data: 1. Digital is a solution for many things, but not for all things. In many instances, traditional means of communicating or engaging will result in greater outcomes. 2. Data is becoming one of the most important assets a company can have. 3. Data is only as good as the analysis conducted on it.
4. How we use digital is nothing like digital how we will use 10 years from now. 10 years ago, one of the key metrics for evaluating digital behaviours was how long people spent surfing the web or just wandering around the web with no real purpose other than discovery. This metric was measured in 10s of hours per week. Now so few people surf the web, the metric is no longer used.
Before restoration
After restoration
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Mills & Reeve news Memories of the Flying Pig pub Many of you, especially those who worked in or visited the Cambridge office, would have had a trip (or many trips) to the pub next door, the Flying Pig. We are sad to say that, unfortunately, the Flying Pig was closed in October 2021. We would love to collate the memories that people have of time spent there with colleagues. If you have any memories or pictures, please email us on alumni@millsreeve.com.
New look blogs
Carol stars on Sky Sports! Carol Couse featured on Sky Sports News in September 2021 to discuss the recent developments on the European Super League court case. You can watch Carol speaking here.
Manchester office move At the start of 2020, the Mills & Reeve Manchester office relocated to No.1 Circle Square. The new Manchester head of office, Chris Ross, says the move is a perfect fit for the office’s growth strategy and will boost its strength in a number of its key sectors including technology, education and healthcare.
Keep up to date with our insights page 26
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Ten of our blogs moved over to the Mills & Reeve website in October 2021 with a fresh new look. This was to further enhance our ever expanding legal insights section, also containing legal briefings, news, webinars and events. Now hosted on our main website, it will be far easier to find further relevant content, whether that’s legal insights or details about Mills & Reeve’s legal offering and services. Take a look here.
Celebrating Claire Clarke and Justin Ripman’s silver and pearl anniversaries at Mills & Reeve! A huge milestone for Justin Ripman, who has now been at the firm for 30 years after joining on 28 October 1991, while Claire Clarke has celebrated her 25th anniversary at Mills & Reeve after joining on 4 November 1996. We’ve had a dig through our photo archives and have found some great photos of their first days at the firm, a look back at Justin’s modelling career (he agreed to do some modelling for Jarrolds, a key client of the firm) and of course the famous Grey Partridge awards!
Mapping the FutuRE Mapping the FutuRE is an interactive map giving a vision for the future of real estate. The map offers insights and predictions on a wide range of topics affecting the real estate industry. It can be navigated by asset type, including science parks, student accommodation, offices, health and care and many more.
The map also links to the key themes that are reshaping the industry: ESG with a focus on sustainability, the future of construction and planning. Click on the map below.
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Promotions Partner promotions
Associate promotions
• Frances Churchard
Principal
Senior
• Lucy Howard
• Abisola Latunji-Cockbill
• Abigail Williams
• Liam Burnett
• Andrew Jeffcoat
• Alex Curnow
• Lisa Taylor
• Charlotte Lewis
• Alex Daffern
• Tom Filby
• Charlotte Shaughnessy
• Alison Chaloner
• Christina O’Brien
• Amy Bell
• Daniela McGowan
• Amy Warnock
• Emma De Meyer
• Becky Hall
• Emma Nash
• Charlotte Morris
• Hayley Simonds
• Chris Brand
• Kelly Barnett
• Ciara Moore
• Peter Collins
• Danielle Arnold
• Phil Hutchinson
• David Hickmott
• Rachel Brand
• Emily Robb
• Sarah Jacobs
• Fay Lyttle
Senior Paralegal Promotions
• Stephen Atkinson
• Giverny Wroe
• Samantha Liptrott
• Stuart Lloyd
• Harriet Brittain-Lewis
• Kirt Wilkinson
• Tiran Gunawardena
• Jacob Walker • Jade Brooks
Newly Qualified Associates
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• James Faradjollahi
• Ashley Kerr
• Katrina Hopkins
• Emma Newstead
• Kelly Harrison
• Fabian Ashurst
• Lena Barnes
• James Dorrell
• Lucy Brand
• Jill Wright
• Mark Benton
• Johannes Arens
• Melissa Welch
• Judith Houston
• Monty Chamberlain
• Kate Ciborowski
• Peter Domaniewski
• Kieran Leahy
• Preena Lal
• Kirsty McCollum
• Rachel MacIntosh
• Lauren Michaelides
• Rae Huizar
• Louise Lister
• Rhys Jones
• Lucy Wood
• Ross Buckingham
• Maya Parmer
• Sam Minshall
• Maya Segas
• Sam Sutton
• Megan Whitaker
• Sophie Briggs
• Nancy Joyce
• Tom Flounders
• Nancy Wesby
• Tom Samuel
• Sian Hughes
Legal / Business Support promotions • Abbie Webb - Senior Executive Assistants
• Jana Harmitt-Read - Senior Document Production Specialist
• Maria Gooch - Senior Central Inception Team Assistants
• Anna Baylis - Senior Executive Assistants
• Jasmine Didymus-Baines - HR Systems Advisor
• Matthew Kates - Senior Facilities Assistant
• Ceri Newdick - Senior Executive Assistants
• Kam Sangha - Learning & Development Advisor
• Michelle Coughlan - Senior Executive Assistants
• Charlotte Jarman - HR Manager
• Karen Cornelius - Senior Administrative Assistants
• Sarah Davis - Senior Executive Assistants
• Katy Oddy - Senior Business Development Advisor
• Sarah Freeman - Senior Recruitment Manager
• Kelly Williams - Senior Administrative Assistants
• Sobia Ali - Senior Executive Assistants
• Kerry Coogan - Senior Business Development Assistant
• Sonali Menon - Senior Finance Assistants
• Kizzy Peacock - Senior Client Partner Administrator (Education)
• Stephen Cant - Senior Central Inception Team Assistants
• Kris Arpon - Senior Digital Marketing Executive
• Vanessa Suckling - Senior HR Manager
• Lauren Porter - Executive Assistant
• Verity Smith - Senior Administrative Assistants
• Charlotte Lilwall - Senior Administrative Assistants • Ciaran Roche - Senior Administrative Assistants • Claire Buckley (Senior Executive Assistant/DPS) • Emma Farmer - Senior Client Care Advisor • Emma Ruiz - Senior Receptionist / Facilities Assistants • Emma Starling - Senior Central Inception Team Assistants • Eve Taylor - Document Production Specialist
• Lizzie Costello - Events & Marketing Executive
• Francesca Salvaggio - Senior Executive Assistants
• Lorna Williams - Senior Finance Assistants
• Vibha Mistry - Senior HR Business Partner
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Hatches and matches Congratulations to our colleagues who have hatched and matched since the last issue!
Dorothy Rachel Andrews Charlie Andrews
William George Attwood Sarah Whyman
Sophie Elizabeth Duncan-Muller Joanna Duncan
Toren Guilding Miriam Guilding
Dexter Matthew Hall Becky Hall
Ettie Harrison Emma Harrison
Lowri Jones Alexa Jones
Max William Murphy Alexandra Murphy
Layla Parker-Raoof Mahir Raoof
Phoebe Grace Sears Victoria Sears
Jessica Squibb Jennifer Squibb
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Chris and Lucy Brand from our Norwich office got married in July 2021
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And finally…
I retired as commercial, property partner in 2007, having been with the firm since 28 February 1972.
Using your loaf Unlike other alumni who have contributed to this illustrious (albeit occasionally inaccurate) publication, I cannot astound readers with tales of an intellectual, non-legal career passionately pursued after leaving Mills & Reeve. (I’m looking at you, Penny Hubbard). I retired as commercial property partner in 2007, having been with the firm since 28 February 1972 (at the start of what were then called “articles”). After two years’ full time consultancy drafting precedents (which is much more intellectually rewarding than you might suppose) I faced the terrors of retirement — confronted by the chasm of the unknown.
Stephen Christy Position Recumbent in retirement Position while at Mills & Reeve Trainee: Feb 1972–Mar 1974 Assistant solicitor: Apr 1974–May 1980 Partner: June 1980–May 2007 Consultant: June 2007–May 2009 Dates employed by Mills & Reeve From 1972 - 2009
At whom would I bellow (per Salim Somjee) once not surrounded by colleagues? What would I do if not typing all my own letters and documents and annoying the IT department? Would such brain as I might once have had addle in idleness? So many concerns, so many fond farewells from those at the firm doubtless heaving sighs of relief… I have always enjoyed photography, so perhaps it’s appropriate to present a few snapshots from a retired life. [Image 1] 15 January 2011, 3.10 pm, Bandhavgargh reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India. Almost everything stops for sights like these: heart, breath, movement … only the slight depression of the shutter finger emphasises the need sometime to breathe again.
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Image 2 [Image 2] In 2011, on 15 May, I was at an altitude of 5,000 metres on the Tibetan plateau. At 8.00 pm, I stood on the balcony of what was flatteringly called a “hotel” watching the sun set on the north face of Everest. Lack of running water in the hotel, concrete chutes for toilets, bone-chilling cold … all were forgotten in the sight of what I had for much of my life dreamed of seeing.
[Image 3] 7 October 2014 at 3.00 pm in the Brazilian Pantanal. I sat in a small boat in the middle of an equally small river in unshaded 40°C heat. The jaguar relaxed, washing, on the bank a short distance away — sensibly shaded by the trees. So it continued for almost an hour … sweaty Englishman contemplating comfortable cat.
You may have noticed there is something of a cat theme.
I have always loved cats, great and small. Part of my retirement has been devoted to photographing some of the larger members of that family. However, never underestimate feline intelligence.
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And finally… [Image 4] Botswana, 2015 — and one camera shy leopard takes refuge from the author’s camera while the author grins inanely above it. (That encounter subsequently became rather interesting. What are you supposed to do when a full grown leopard stares at you from a small eye-level mound nearer to you than the closest focussing distance of your lens — and your driver discreetly takes out his pocket knife because, as he said afterwards, he “once had a leopard in the jeep”?)
The cat trips seemed to be becoming ever more adventurous so perhaps it was only natural that the last one was for two weeks in the Kalahari Desert in 2018. While it probably taught me, finally, that cameras and camera lenses become heavier as the age of their owner increases, it was a truly unforgettable — if a little demanding — experience.
Image 4 [Image 5] Imagine two weeks travelling dirt roads in a jeep, basic accommodation (I am being polite), getting up at 5.30 am every day to be out from 6.00–11.00 to try find wildlife in 30°C+ heat, returning for a late breakfast and then going out again from 2.30 until 6.00 in the evening. Our guide had warned us there was no guarantee we would see the cheetahs, lions and leopards we so much wanted to photograph. So it was, on the first morning that (within three hours after our 6.00 am start) we had photographed lions, a leopard and a cheetah with cubs. Of course, by no means was every day like that.
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Image 6 You must remember the ends of the BBC wildlife documentaries — after you have seen all the wonderful, apparently effortless, wildlife filming in the documentary itself. There’s always a little bit at the end which invariably seems to show an entirely fruitless hunt for the subject matter and then the narrator says, “Then, just as the crew were packing away their equipment on the final day …”. [Image 6] So it was, on our last morning in the Kalahari, having set our guide the almost impossible task of finding for us a caracal (which are incredibly difficult to see, let alone photograph), we turned a corner on a dirt track and the guide spotted tracks. They were, he assured us, tracks of a caracal that had passed that way the previous evening. We turned the next corner and had that heart-stopping moment seared into the memory of every wildlife photographer. I still grin when I recall it.
I was going to tell you so much more because retirement has not been all about cats. It’s been about the Himalaya, it’s been about devoted support of Apple and a continued fascination with IT—and, oh yes, it’s been about wholemeal sourdough bread. I am delighted to inform my doubtless rapt audience that following the unfortunate accidental drowning of Lucy, my sourdough starter, some years ago her successor, Bruce, is flourishing and is producing a quite ridiculously tasty seeded wholemeal sourdough loaf once a week.
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