4 minute read
The President’s Foreword
The President’s Foreword
SPRING 2025
Welcome to our Spring edition of Central London Lawyers’ Magazine.
I want to start by remembering our friend and colleague, Paul Sharma, who tragically died earlier this year after a long illness. Lots of people knew Paul through his work on the national Law Society council and he was also the past president of WHLS in 2020/2021. Our thoughts and sympathies are with Paul’s wife and children. Please do read our short tribute to him on page 6. We will all miss him.
In this edition of Central London Lawyer I would like to draw your attention to our first events of the year - both past and present. In January, our International sub-committee hosted an event for London’s international lawyers discussing why they chose the route to qualification they did and the particular challenges they face. They are planning quarterly meets ups (see page 12) so do get in touch if you have an interest in international legal issues. In addition, don’t miss their articles on their attendance at the Trobades de Barcelona, Memorial Jacques Henry and last, but certainly not least, their celebration of our member and past president Professor Sara Chandler’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the Modern Law Awards. Many Congratulations Sara!
As part of my aims for my presidency I wanted to highlight WHLS’ commitment to equality and diversity and so I was delighted that WHLS were able to host an extremely successful International Women’s Day event in March, which our members loved and which you can read more about on page 15. I know from the feedback from my own firm’s attendees both junior and senior lawyers alike left feeling empowered and inspired to champion fellow women lawyers.
Looking forward, I cannot wait to welcome our colleagues from our twinned European bars to our London Links event from 5 to 7 June. We will be showing them the sights of and giving them an experience of legal London and have three sold-out networking events with them over the course of the three days.
We are putting together a WHLS team to take part in the London Legal Walk on 17 June (see page 24). No doubt many of you will be participating with your firms and other organisations, but if you would like to join the WHLS team let us know.
On 8 July 2025, we are hosting our annual summer party, which is a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and network with new. We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible for drinks on the terrace at Barbie Green, near Barbican. Tickets are on sale now and already selling quickly so I encourage you to buy yours as soon as you can so as to not miss out. You can find more details and how to buy tickets on page 7.
Do take the time to read Anita Winsome’s interesting article on the Arbitration Act (page 19) and what that means for London as the hub of international dispute resolution, and Rachel Brushfield’s top tips on building your career capital (pages 16-17). As ever, Rachel gives some practical advice that you can easily follow.
Finally, we have a reminder on page 22 of the wonderful work of the Solicitor’s Charity and how they can support you and your dependants – financially, emotionally, physically and with your career. If you or anyone you know is having a tough time do make contact with them.
Please keep an eye on our social media channels for other great WHLS events for your diary.
I hope you enjoy this Spring 2025 edition of the magazine, brought to you by our amazing WHLS Editorial Team. As always my grateful thanks go to them and to all of our contributors for their hard work
Nicola Wainwright
President
Westminster & Holborn Law Society
