We are delighted to confirm we raised £847.50 for Marie Curie UK at our 88th Annual Dinner on Friday 13 April from our Charity Raffle.

Kirstie, Ollie and Rebecca presented community fundraiser, Peter Sara, with the monies this week.

The largest international survey of women in the law has been released by the Law Society of England and Wales, shedding light on the road to gender equality in the legal profession.

“People working in law across the world have spoken out about the challenges the profession faces in achieving gender equality,” said Law Society vice president Christina Blacklaws.

“I am a passionate believer in equality. Where there is inequality, I will not flinch from tackling it. I know I’m not alone in this - justice, fairness and the rule of law are what drew most of us to the legal profession. Unconscious bias in the legal profession was the most commonly identified barrier to career progression for women, while flexible working was seen as a remedy by an overwhelming 91% of respondents to our survey.

Interestingly while half of all respondents said they thought there had been progress on gender equality over the last five years there was a significant difference in perception by gender with 74% of men reporting progress in gender equality compared to only 48% of women.”

PADLS strongly echoes the views of Christina Blacklaws. In particular, we are delighted to currently have our youngest female President, Kirstie Goulder, leading our society. Kirstie has been working closely with Christina to support her Women in the Law project and research.

Key figures:
 

• 7,781 people responded to the Law Society’s Women in the Law survey

(5,758 women, 554 men and 1,469 unknown or other)

• 74% of men and 48% of women reported progress on gender equality in the last 5 years

(overall 50%)

• Main barriers to career progression perceived as:

- Unconscious bias (52%)
However, only 11% said unconscious bias training is consistently carried out in their organisation
- Unacceptable work/life balance demanded to reach senior levels (49%)
- Traditional networks/routes to promotion are male orientated (46%)
- Current resistance to flexible working practices (41%)

• 91% of respondents said flexible working is critical to improving diversity

- 52% work in an organisation where flexible working is in place

• 60% are aware of gender pay gap in their place of work

- Only 16% see visible steps taken to address gender pay gap
 
Christina Blacklaws concluded: “With our women in leadership programme, the Law Society is committed to giving women and men in law the tools to make positive changes towards gender equality.

“Every law firm, lawyer and client will benefit from greater equality in our places of work. I believe the justice system will also be stronger if the legal professions better reflects the values we uphold.”
 

Our next AGM will take place on 21 March 2018 from 5pm at Buckles, Peterborough office.

We are sorry to announce that Sharon Hannah sadly passed away last Saturday, 10 February 2018.

Sharon was a local, family lawyer who many of our senior members will remember. She articled at Greenwoods Solicitors LLP and was one of the first female solicitors to qualify in Peterborough. After leaving Greenwoods, she joined Norris & Co, and then subsequently set up her own firm, Hannah & Co.

On behalf of PADLS, we pass on our sincere condolences to Sharon's family and friends at this difficult time.

If anyone would like more information about her funeral, please contact Jeremy Roberts on jeremyroberts.co@btconnect.com

This month, PADLS' President, Kirstie Goulder of Greenwoods Solicitors LLP has been interviewed by the Junior Lawyers Division of the Law Society for her role as the youngest president of a local law society, answering questions on her decision to become a lawyer and experiences of working with local law societies. A link to the full article is here: http://communities.lawsociety.org.uk/junior-lawyers/advice-and-features/qa/kirstie-goulder/5063757.article

The next committee meeting will take place at Hunt & Coombs, Peterborough from 5.45pm on 7 February 2018.

The AGM will take place at 5pm prompt on 21 March 2018 (venue TBC but likely to be Buckles Solicitors, Peterborough).

We were lucky enough to be invited to a tribute at Peterborough Combined Court Centre today to mark the work of Honour Judge Peter Greene on his retirement and 70th birthday.

It was fantastic to see so many local advocates in one court room showing their appreciation to Honour Judge Peter Greene, sharing tales of their experiences with him explaining why they found him to be such a fair, professional and disciplined member of the judiciary.

On behalf of PADLS, we wish you all the best on your retirement and will miss seeing you regularly, particularly at our Annual Dinners.

Unfortunately, as a result of Theresa May's decision to call a General Election on 8 June 2017, the planned trip to the House of Parliament had to be cancelled. This will be re-scheduled after the long vacation, probably in October or November of this year.

The original interested parties have been asked to indicate their interest in attending a later visit and we are still looking for others who might be interested. If you are interested, please contact John Chrisp, Serjeant & Son by telephone (01487 812325) or email (jarc@serjeantandson.co.uk)

Our next Annual General Meeting will take place at Buckles Solicitors, Bourges Boulevard, Peterborough on Wednesday 22 March 2017 at 5pm.