OUR FLAGSHIP EVENT: TODAY AND ALWAYS: OUR ANNUAL BANQUET

OUR FLAGSHIP EVENT: TODAY AND ALWAYS: OUR ANNUAL BANQUET

21st January 1909: who's there? The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Alverstone. He's dining with us. The Attorney General, Sir William Robson, and the Solicitor General, Sir Samuel Evans, they are there too. Fast forward 116 years to 2025. The Solicitor General is here again, but it is Lucy Rigby MP, a former Slaughter & May associate, and she's giving a speech.

In the early years of the Mansion House Banquet we had many Solicitor Generals dine with us; Sir Ernest Pollock in 1921, followed by Sir Thomas Inskip in 1928 and Sir JB Melville in 1930.

Before the 2025 Banquet we posted a picture of the 1947 Banquet Table Plan, to promote this year's Banquet, asking "Will your name be on the list?".

Well, we have indeed had some impressive names on our previous Mansion House Banquet lists: Prime Minister David Lloyd George, was a life-long member of the Company, served on our first Court and attended many dinners.

In 2025, we had Lord Reed, the President of the Supreme Court, Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice; and Lord Justice Sir Colin Birss, Deputy Head of Civil Justice dining wih us.

Our guests from judiciary had dined with us many times before of course, the Master of the Rolls for example, was first with us in the form of Lord Sterndale in 1919, then later as Sir Ernest Pollock in 1924, Lord Wright in 1936, Lord Greene in 1948, Lord Evershed in 1961 and Lord Denning in 1963, to name a few.

This year, 2025, the Annual Banquet was held on Tuesday 25th February in the exquisite Egyptian Room at Mansion House.

Just to be inside such a wonderful building was a treat in itself. But that treat was simply the first of many that were in store for the 300 guests who donned their finest attire to attend this stunning event. (Forget the Met Ball in New York, some of the outfits worn were straight out of Vogue - a big call out here to the Mistress Solicitor, Panthea Parker.)

On arriving, our affiliated Cadets, from 71 Cadet Detachment London Irish Rifles, provided us with a guard of honour. These are an exceptional group of young people, and we were particularly proud to have them standing behind the Master when he signed the military covenant on behalf of the Company on Remembrance Day last year. On arrival at Mansion House, they greeted each and every guest and making them feel as though they were the most special and important person there. The champagne flowed as old friends caught up and new bonds were formed. Nobody was a stranger or an outsider. The welcoming and encompassing arms of the Company bound us as a family.

It was an extraordinary event in so very many ways and each of us who were lucky enough to attend were truly privileged.

We were summoned into the breathtaking dining room where tables were sumptuously laid out and adorned and, as we took our seats, the excitement and aura that prevailed signalled that a very special evening lay ahead.

In 2025, we had a wonderful menu. Our members in 1909 would have been proud. We have their menu card: "Tortue Claire"; "Filets de Turbot Duglere" and "Claret La Rose 1893".

Our members 36 years later, would have been even prouder. Their Banquet, the first after the war, was held on 13th December 1945. Owing to war-time food regulations there was a scaled back menu of mock turtle soup, roast chicken, and not much else.

The simply delicious food (a starter of salmon, a main of duck and a dessert that, even though full, we all somehow felt we absolutely had to make room for) were paired with fine wines selected by the Company’s own Wine Committee headed up by Nick Hughes who excelled himself in the selection for the evening.

The "no war restrictions" dinner was delightfully and joyfully punctuated with various toasts and other fond nods to tradition and bygone days. Two trumpeters playfully competed with each other from separate mezzanine balconies - it was almost as though they were engaging in a language with each other the rest of us could only guess at - but it was exquisite both to watch and hear.

Then there was the Loving Cup. This is a City tradition which began in the Anglo-Saxon era, when King Edward the Martyr was stabbed to death in 979 whilst eating at a Banquet. You can't be too careful in the City!

Each table had a huge trophy type chalice; it had to be passed around by one person holding it, another guarding their back from would be assassins and a third opening the lid and then closing it after the holder removed a chocolate to eat. Pre-pandemic, the chocolate had been wine to sip, but COVID ruined that. Some Livery Companies have moved back to wine, but solicitors are a cautious bunch.

But the highlight of the evening was not the glamour nor the delicious culinary treats nor the fun and games - but the speeches.

Forget boring wedding speeches - these were on point, relevant, heartfelt, provocative and inspiring.

They came from Lucy Rigby KC MP Solicitor General, Barbara Mills KC Chair of the Bar Council (more about this to follow) Vincent Keaveny CBE, Virginia Cannon (Salter) and the Master himself, Edmund Parker.

The Master excelled himself. He had a letter in his hand, sent from the Year 2050, by a guest called "Kier" (a nom de plume) at the 2025 Banquet, who had joined the Livery Company having been inspired by what he had seen

Kier reminisced at how he had attended the Banquet with his friends, "Boris" and "Theresa" and which inspired him to become a Liveryman and to go on to do great things for both the Company and the profession as a whole. The Master then invited all of the solicitor "Kiers" Borises" and Theresas" there as our guests to join the Company (Note to Master, once his office comes to an end in June, maybe could stop writing books about derivatives and move on to science fiction).

Mention was also given to the Company’s amazing charitable efforts including its fundraising for the incredible Rights of Women organisation (much more on this in following pages).

The only criticism of the evening - it all went by way way too quickly. The time just flew by and we are all counting the seconds until next year. It was an extraordinary event in so very many ways and each of us who were lucky enough to attend were truly privileged. ■