31 January, 2019

Ampersand advocate helps with Women in the Law UK Scottish launch

Ampersand’s Susanne Tanner QC was amongst the speakers at the Scottish launch for Women in the Law UK on 30th January 2019.

Women in the Law UK is a not-for-profit professional and personal development organisation with more than 700 members. The support network has been running in Manchester, where it began, for several years, and last year expanded into London, Leeds and Liverpool and now Edinburgh.

Founded by barrister Sally Penni to provide support to women at all stages of their legal careers and to address the gap in female representation in leadership roles within the profession. It runs a wide-ranging programme of events.

The Edinburgh launch took place at the offices of DWF  and focussed on the theme of “How to have confidence, clarity and connection in your career”. Feature presentations were by DWF director Caroline Colliston, Stowe Family Law Managing Partner Rachel Roberts and Susanne Tanner QC of Ampersand.

Women in the Law UK’s events are held under the Chatham House rule, enabling speakers and audience members to speak freely and learn from each others’ experiences in a confidential environment. Previous events have covered subjects including career progression, why lawyers need to sit on boards, how to network and make it work for you, and what lawyers can learn from inspiring businesswomen.

Ms Penni, who is also vice chair of the Association of Women Barristers, said “2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the Law Society of Scotland as well as the centenary of women being permitted to practise the law. It seems apt, therefore, that we should choose this year to hold our first event north of the border.

“There is a lot going on here at the moment, including the Scottish Legal International initiative launched last year to promote the sector globally. We hope that our events will do their bit to help equip female solicitors and advocates to play a full part in, and reap the career benefits of, these developments.”

Susanne Tanner, said “The event was a great success, with a good turnout of solicitors, Vice Dean of Faculty, in-house Counsel, trainees, students, academics – and 2 men!”

Individuals and businesses interested in joining Women in the Law UK should email: womeninthelawuk@gmail.com to request a membership form.

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